Welcome

PERFORMANCE HORSE MEDICINE &
SURGERY, PODIATRY URGENT CARE

Bend Equine Medical Center was created to be an institution of excellence dedicated to the horse. We offer an exceptional combination of talented and caring staff, state-of-the-art facilities and advanced diagnostic and theurapeutic equipment.

Introducing The Lameness Locator Have a difficult lameness or multiple limb lameness? This cutting edge technology by Equinosis has become a valuable aid to diagnosing difficult lamenesses. For more information, visit: www.equinosis.com Schedule your appointment now!

We are dedicated to providing the highest level of care to our patients. This includes staff specialists in both surgery and internal medicine who have pursued advanced training and can offer the most current and effective diagnostics and treatments.

BEMC opened in 1998, following a fourteen month construction phase that incorporated design features from veterinary hospitals and universities across the country.

Our 7,000 square foot climate-controlled equine hospital contains a large equine treatment area, a spacious surgery suite, heavily padded induction and recovery rooms, a clinical laboratory with hematology machines and a microbiology laboratory, a complete pharmacy and a reproduction laboratory.

Bend Equine Patient
of the Month

Denny Ward

Denny is our February Patient of the Month!  He presented to BEMC after being not quite right for a couple of days. He had been seen by a local veterinarian who drew blood and discovered Denny was in severe renal (kidney) failure. Denny came to Bend Equine for further treatment. Denny is unfortunately a veteran of our hospital- 3 years ago he was very sadly maliciously shot in the head by a stranger while he and his herdmate were out in pasture. His buddy April suffered the worst of the gunshot wounds because she was shot in the chest and had to spend a month in intensive care at BEMC. Denny was fortunate that the bullet missed several vital structures in his head and he recovered without incident.
Denny’s very dedicated owners stood by him once more while he went through extensive intensive care for renal failure. In this case, it was unclear what was causing Denny’s renal failure which was frustrating for all. However, after spending 12 long days in the hospital he is back to pasture with his girlfriend April and they are swapping hospital stories.
Renal failure in horses has many possible causes however the most common by far is NSAID toxicity. NSAIDs are the group of drugs containing Banamine, Bute, Ketofen, Firocoxib (Previcox/Equioxx). Most of the time these drugs are very safe when used as directed however in some horses and circumstances, even non-toxic doses can lead to renal failure.
Some good rules to follow to try to keep your horse safe are:

1) DO NOT administer an NSAID to a horse who is not eating or drinking without the direction of a veterinarian. Dehydration is one of the primary predisposing conditions to a horse developing renal failure due to NSAID use.
2) DO NOT use an NSAID for more than 3 consecutive days for any reason without consulting a veterinarian.
3) ALWAYS give the appropriate dose of NSAID to your horse for his weight. Most NSAIDS last for 12 hours in the bloodstream so NSAID doses should always be administered at least 12 hours apart (Exception is Firocoxib which stays in the system for 24 hours!) ie An 800lb horse should not get a 1200lb dose of Banamine. More is not better.
4) NEVER administer one NSAID within the same 12 hours as another NSAID. This will lead to toxic doses. ie- Bute and Banamine in the same 12 hour period, Banamine and Firocoxib in the same 24 hour period etc.
If you ever have questions about whether or not an NSAID should be given to your horse, do not hesitate to call your veterinarian. Remember these are prescription drugs for a reason!

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