Ashley Troncatty, DVM

09/02/2025

🚨 Attention Horse Owners! 🚨

A positive West Nile Virus case has been confirmed in Santa Barbara County. 🦠🐴

Is your horse up to date on their West Nile Virus vaccine? 🐎💉

👉 Don't wait! Protect your horses from this potentially deadly virus.
✅ Schedule a vaccine today with your vet.
✅ Ensure their safety and well-being!

🗓️ Call Dr. Ashley Troncatty at 818-414-2040
Stay safe, and keep your horses healthy! 🌿

West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus. WNV primarily causes disease in birds, humans, and horses and is transmitted by many different species of mosquitoes. Since 1999, more than 27,600 U.S. horses have been confirmed with WNV neuro-invasive disease with an estimated average case fata...

08/30/2025

✨Celebrating 1 Year of growth and dedication with Morgan! ✨

It’s hard to believe it’s been one year since Morgan joined our team!🎉🐴 In that time, they’ve not only mastered the skills of an equine veterinary assistant but have also significantly grown both professionally and personally.
From learning new techniques and taking on more responsibility, to developing a deeper understanding of equine care, Morgan has truly become an indispensable member of the team. Their dedication, hard work, and passion for horses have made a real impact on our practice and it’s been incredible to watch them evolve over the past year.
Thank you, Morgan for everything you do! We’re lucky to have you on our team! 🐴🏇🏾

08/20/2025

The term "fat leg" is pretty self-explanatory, but do you know the difference between stocking up and cellulitis?

Many horses will "stock up" with subcutaneous edema (fluid swelling) in two or more legs (usually the hind limbs). Stocking up generally results from a significant decrease in exercise and usually resolves as the horse starts exercising again.

Lymphangitis (or vasculitis, big leg disease, staph infection, or cellulitis), however, is a bacterial infection and a dramatically different condition. While its causes may vary, it’s easy to spot once it sets in. The swelling will be extreme, hot, very painful to the touch, and the horse will be depressed due to the fever and discomfort.

If you think your equine friend has cellulitis or even if you're not sure, we encourage you to seek professional help promptly. Your equine practitioner will make the best treatment recommendations, both to reduce swelling and to address any sort of bacterial infection that might be active or that could occur due to the edema in the soft tissue.

02/24/2025

Congratulations!! 🐎🏇🏾🏆

02/01/2025

01/29/2025

FUN FACT FRIDAY!

Are you familiar with the many adaptations that help your horse stay warm during the cold winter months?

🌾 Hindgut digestion of hay produces the most heat, acting as a small furnace inside of the horse. This is why free choice; good quality hay is so important in the winter.

💪 Horses have a huge muscle mass and muscle activity produces heat. This includes running and playing and even shivering if their body temperature starts to drop. It is important to remember that these activities also will result in a bigger caloric demand so free choice hay and in some cases, grain, is often needed.

🧥 To blanket or not to blanket is a constant debate but either way, as it starts to get cold your horse will grow a thicker coat. If you decide to leave your horse unblanketed you may notice that they look “fluffy”. This is due to a phenomenon called piloerection where the hair stands up to better trap air within. Two layers of the coat also help with warmth. The inner layer is softer and has air pockets to create an insulating layer. The outer layer is coarse and has oils that keep moisture from penetrating the insulating layer and keep the horse warm.

⚖️ Wild horses go into the winter heavier than ideal, and the fat serves as an extra layer of insulation. However, if a horse is going to be kept heavily blanketed and in a barn during the cold weather months this is unnecessary and can lead to obesity related issues.

🦵Their distal limbs (below the knees and hocks) are made of mostly bones and tendons, tissues that are resistant to the cold temperatures.

🦶The hooves have an alternative route of blood circulation through larger vessels that can be used in low temperatures. This is why horses can stand in snow without detrimental effects.

👃A horse’s nose has a robust blood supply and is rounded so that it is less susceptible to frostbite than a human’s nose.
•
Courtesy of the AAEP Horse Owner Education Committee

08/16/2024

Have you ever been told to not allow a hot, sweaty horse to drink cold water because it could lead to colic, founder or tie up?

This notion is actually a myth, and a dangerous one too, because it could lead to dehydration and very serious (and real) consequences. A sweaty, hardworking horse needs to be rehydrated without delay (i.e. don’t wait for the horse to cool down first).

The key, however, is to know how much water to allow at one time — because of the equine stomach’s relatively small capacity, offer small amounts of water every 20 minutes until the horse drinks his fill rather than letting the animal drink it all at once.

Remember that water is the most vital nutrient for a horse. A horse’s daily water requirements are influenced by many factors, but the average idle 1,100-pound horse in a cool environment will drink 6 to 10 gallons of water per day. That amount may easily double or triple in a hot environment! Therefore, it goes without saying that providing cool, clean water to your horses at all times is of paramount importance.

Source: Equus Magazine and AAEP member Dr. Anthony Blikslager. More information about offering a horse water can be found at https://equusmagazine.com/.../offering-a-horse-water...

08/05/2024

Adrian Aleman's A Famous Ribbon was a prompt even-money favorite in Saturday's 440-yard, $44,506 Bank of America Los Alamitos Championship Challenge (G2) at Los Alamitos Racecourse.

Prepped by Heath Taylor, A Famous Ribbon covered his quarter-mile trip in :21.841, and his margin of victory was a neck from Hes Judgeandjury. Jose Nicasio rode the 5-year-old son of One Famous Eagle, who earned the $23,144 winner's share of the purse from his fourth career stakes win and second graded stakes victory, as well as a berth in the October 26 Bank of America Challenge Championship (G1) at Albuquerque Downs.

A Famous Ribbon was bred in Texas by Weetona Stanley, and he was making his first start since June 15, when he ran fourth in the Willie Hickman Memorial Stakes (R) for Texas-breds at Sam Houston Race Park. His Sam Houston season also included a neck victory in the 440-yard, $75,000 Sam Houston Classic Stakes (G2) on May 10.

A Famous Ribbon led from start to finish in the Los Alamitos Championship Challenge despite encountering some early trouble. Taylor said that the sorrel gelding might make another start at Los Alamitos, perhaps in the August 25, 400-yard Go Man Go Stakes (G1), before the Challenge Championship in New Mexico.

"We’ll just have to see how the horse comes out of it and go from there,” the trainer said.

A Famous Ribbon was winning for the eighth time in 18 races and increasing his earnings to $199,571.

For a more detailed recap of the race, go here - https://losalamitos.com/News.aspx?id=6847.

Photo by Amber Mendez