🩺 Vet Guide: Why Older Horses and Pets Need Wellness Exams in 2025 | More Than Just Vaccines 🐴🐶

By Dr Duncan Houston, BVSc

Annual vaccinations are important—but they’re just one part of maintaining a healthy horse or pet, especially as they age. In fact, for senior animals, **vaccines may no longer be the most important part of their wellness care**. 🧠🐾

In this guide, I’ll explain why a complete physical exam, routine bloodwork, and condition-specific screenings are critical for your older horses and pets in 2025—and how this can actually save you money (and heartache) long-term. 💙

📋 The Truth About "Just Vaccines"

Many pet owners bring their animals in once a year for “shots”—but skip the **exam and diagnostics**. Unfortunately, this approach often misses **early signs of disease**, especially in aging animals who may not show obvious symptoms until it's too late. ⚠️

Vaccinations are still important, of course—but without a physical exam and bloodwork, you’re missing the opportunity to detect silent problems and prevent expensive emergencies. 🧪

🧠 What a Wellness Visit Should Include

1. Full Physical Exam

• 👀 Eyes and ears
• 🦷 Teeth and mouth
• 🫀 Heart and lungs
• 🍖 Musculoskeletal condition
• 🧠 Neurological reflexes
• 🦠 Lymph nodes and skin

2. Bloodwork Panel

• 💉 CBC (Complete Blood Count) – Detects anemia or infection
• 🧪 Chemistry panel – Checks liver, kidney, and electrolyte balance

3. Urinalysis

• 🧫 Detects dehydration, early kidney disease, glucose issues, or infections

4. Weight, Nutrition, and Metabolic Risk Review

• ⚖️ Horses with cresty necks or fat pads? Check for **Cushing’s disease** or **Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS)**
• 🐶 Overweight dogs or cats? Test for **hypothyroidism** or **diabetes**
• 🐱 Underweight cats? Test for **hyperthyroidism** or **chronic kidney disease**

5. Parasite and Disease Screening

• 🦟 Annual **heartworm test**—yes, even for dogs on preventives
• 🐴 Consider testing older horses for internal parasites based on risk and fecal egg count

📈 The Importance of a Baseline

Even if your horse or pet seems healthy now, doing yearly lab work creates a **baseline** for your vet to compare over time. That way, when values start to shift in future years, you’ll catch changes **early—before symptoms appear**. 🧬

This can make all the difference between managing a condition affordably or treating an emergency expensively. 💸

🩺 Senior-Specific Concerns

🐴 For Older Horses:

• 🧠 Check for signs of **PPID (Cushing’s disease)**
• ⚖️ Screen for **Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS)** if overweight or laminitic
• 🦷 Get a **dental exam**—older horses often have sharp points or missing teeth
• 🧪 Annual bloodwork for liver, kidney, and immune health

🐶🐱 For Senior Dogs and Cats:

• 🧪 Bloodwork to catch kidney or liver dysfunction early
• ⚡ Screen for **thyroid disease**—overactive in cats, underactive in dogs
• ⚠️ Weight gain or loss? Could be cancer, diabetes, thyroid, or arthritis
• 🩺 Monitor for heart murmur, joint stiffness, or eye changes

📲 Use Ask A Vet to Monitor & Track Your Pet’s Wellness

The Ask A Vet app makes senior care simple, consistent, and proactive:

• 📅 Set reminders for annual wellness visits and lab work
• 📋 Track trends in bloodwork and physical exam results over time
• 📸 Upload photos of weight change, dental issues, or skin lumps
• 🧠 Ask about subtle symptoms or screening needs based on breed and age

✅ 2025 Takeaways for Aging Animal Care

• 🩺 Annual exams are **about more than just vaccines**
• 🧪 Routine labwork helps detect silent disease early
• ⚖️ Weight change is a red flag in all senior animals
• 💰 Preventive care is cheaper than emergency treatment
• 📱 Use Ask A Vet to track aging trends and stay proactive

📲 Final Thoughts from Dr Duncan Houston

Your horse or pet may seem “fine”—but senior animals often mask symptoms until it’s too late. **A comprehensive wellness exam each year can catch early disease**, optimize treatment, and extend quality of life. Don’t skip it just because “they only need a shot.” 🧠💙

Download the Ask A Vet app to stay ahead of aging issues, track test results, and give your horse or pet the healthiest life possible in 2025. 🐎🐾📱