Large Animal & 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 not perform certain procedures, like dentistry on horses or BSEs on bulls, in unsafe situations.

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.

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.

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.

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 them.

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.

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 injection) is the most effective way to supplement, particularly newborn calves.

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 a float, please call to schedule an exam.

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 the horse with banamine prior to our exam — it interferes with diagnosis.

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.

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.

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 stabled.