Large Animal / Mobile Services

In order to purchase medications such as antibiotics or anti-inflammatories, there must be a current VCPR in place; i.e., if we have never seen your animals, we cannot prescribe medications for them. Please see the VCPR page for more info. 

Mobile Services

• Please remember Dr. Detwiler is a veterinarian, not a cowboy - Your large animal(s) needs to be caught/contained/able to be handled for us to do anything with them. There are many instances that require us to use a squeeze chute for cows or a stock for horses, for example. We will always ask about your facilities prior to visiting your ranch.
• We provide some mobile services for our small animal patients as well, such as at-home euthanasia. If your small animal is sick or injured and needs a work-up, we will ask that you bring them to us at the clinic where we are staffed and fully equipped to handle your concerns.

Herd Health Checks

• This can be used to establish a current VCPR/establish care as a new client or if you have some general questions/concerns about the care of your large animals. If you do have particular questions, please let us know when scheduling your visit so that we can come as prepared as possible.

Pregnancy Checks

• Dr. Detwiler can palpate or ultrasound your cow, horse, goat or sheep depending on how far along in their pregnancy they are, and what kind of information you are looking for. When we are preg-checking several animals, we will typically use our portable ultrasound.

Breeding Soundness Exam (BSE, often referred to as ‘semen testing’ or ‘bull testing’)

• A squeeze chute and on-site electricity are required for this process, and it is helpful to not collect the samples in extreme weather conditions (frozen sperm are hard to test!). Most people will have bulls tested in the spring before sending them out with a herd or prior to selling a bull to ensure they are a satisfactory breeder.

Calving/Dystocia/C-Sections

• We are prepared to handle calving emergencies at your ranch - Dr. Detwiler pulls calves, treats vaginal and uterine prolapses, as well as performs C-sections, when necessary.
• If you have a calving concern or emergency, please don’t hesitate to call. There are some situations that are urgent and need to be addressed ASAP to save the calf and cow/heifer, others are less critical.

Selenium Deficiency

• We are Selenium deficient in the Mission Valley which is why it is vitally important to supplement your herd (as a Selenium deficiency can cause White Muscle Disease, for instance). Licks/blocks/loose mineral feeds will not provide your herd with enough Selenium; Bo-Se (Selenium + Vitamin E) or Multi-Min 90 (Selenium, Zinc, Manganese & Copper) are two different injectable options we offer for cows, goats, or sheep. Sheep should not be given Multi-Min because of the copper content (and sheep are especially sensitive to copper).

Equine Floats

• Dr. Detwiler does float teeth on horses, and we will perform this procedure at our clinic barn, in our stock. The horse will be tranquilized, so we do not perform floats in the wintertime/when it is too cold to safely tranquilize your horse. If you are unsure if your horse needs one, we are happy to come out for an exam ahead of time. Signs that your horse may need a float (especially with an older horse) are weight loss/not maintaining their usual weight, losing/dropping feed on the ground (quidding), or acting as if a bit really bothers them, for example. Sometimes there will even be an abscessed tooth that needs to be extracted – we can do that too! 

Colic

• Horse colic is an unfortunately common occurrence, especially in the wintertime when water freezes, heaters fail, and feed is different than what our horses are used to eating. If you suspect your horse is colicing and you are planning on having Dr. Detwiler out, please do not treat your horse with anything prior to our arrival; this can mask how sick they truly are and may alter our treatment plan. We refer surgical colics to Blue Mountain in Missoula.

Castrations

• Dr. Detwiler does perform surgical castrations, but there are many variables to work with such as age of the animal, if they are a cryptorchid, if you have appropriate facilities, time of year/weather conditions, etc. Please call with any questions or to see if your animal is a candidate for our castration services.

Vaccinating

• Brucellosis (aka Bangs) vaccinating may be required for your heifers depending on what your plan is for them; this vaccine is required prior to entry in many states. If you are intending on selling cattle, it is important to know where they are going and what those requirements will be. We are happy to help answer any questions you may have about shipping cattle.
• Horse vaccine protocols also vary depending on what you are using the horse for and where/if the horse will be traveling. Our horse clients are typically vaccinating with a 5-way and West Nile Virus in the springtime, and de-worming a couple times per year for horses that are staying in our area.