Annabessacook Veterinary Clinic

Annabessacook Veterinary Clinic Companion, Equine, and large animal clinic. Including food animals

03/20/2026

Our Small Animal Clinic will be closing at 5:00PM tonight, Friday March 20th.

For any urgent care needs please contact Atlas Veterinary Urgent Care in Augusta, PetMedic Urgent Care in Freeport
Maine Veterinary Medical Center in Scarborough
Portland Emergency and Specialty Care
or the Lewiston Emergency Clinic.
If you have a large animal emergency please contact our staff at 207-933-6424.

03/18/2026

Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT) in Horses

Shockwave therapy is a non-invasive modality that delivers focused acoustic energy to stimulate healing and modulate pain.

Mechanism of action:
• Increases regional blood flow and neovascularization
• Stimulates tissue repair
• Modulates inflammation
• Provides short-term analgesia

Indications:
• Tendon and ligament injuries (including suspensory desmitis)
• Back pain and muscle soreness
• Periosteal reactions (splints, stress remodeling)
• Meniscal injuries and periarticular stifle pain
• Chronic soft tissue injuries with delayed healing

Clinical considerations:
• Best used as part of a structured rehab program
• Typically performed as a series
• Often requires sedation
• Analgesic effects can temporarily mask lameness

03/05/2026

🐎 Kissing Spines in Horses: Why a Full Work-Up Matters

Kissing spines (overriding dorsal spinous processes) are a common cause of back pain in horses, but diagnosing and treating them isn’t as simple as taking a radiograph.

The first step is always a thorough veterinary exam. This often includes a full lameness evaluation and sometimes watching the horse move under saddle, since back pain may only become apparent when the horse is being ridden.

Radiographs can show narrowing or contact between the dorsal spinous processes, but X-rays alone don’t tell the whole story.
Some horses have dramatic-looking lesions that cause very little pain, while others have only mild narrowing but are quite uncomfortable.

Because of this, diagnostic blocking of the back is often performed. Numbing the suspected area helps determine how much of the horse’s discomfort is actually coming from those lesions and helps guide how aggressive treatment should be.

Treatment options may include:
• Subcutaneous mesotherapy
• Deep spinal injections around the affected processes
• Shockwave therapy
• And most importantly, targeted rehabilitation and strengthening

Rehabilitation and core strengthening are critical for long-term success and helping horses return to comfortable work.

Surgery can also be a very viable option in some cases—especially when a thorough diagnostic work-up confirms the pain source and the horse does not respond to medical management.

Back pain is a common issue in performance horses, and early evaluation by your veterinarian is important for both horse health and performance. If you notice changes in behavior, reluctance to work, or sensitivity through the back, it’s worth having your horse evaluated.

A proper diagnosis allows for the right treatment plan—and the best chance of getting horses comfortable and back to doing their job. 🐎

03/05/2026

Our Small Animal Clinic will be closing at 5:00pm again tonight, Thursday March 5th, due to a doctor being out sick.

For any urgent care needs please contact Atlas Veterinary Urgent Care in Augusta, PetMedic Urgent Care in Freeport
Maine Veterinary Medical Center in Scarborough
Portland Emergency and Specialty Care
or the Lewiston Emergency Clinic.
If you have a large animal emergency please contact our staff at 207-933-6424.

03/04/2026

🐴 Why Do We Perform Flexion Tests?

Flexion tests are used during lameness exams, pre-purchase exams (PPEs), and performance soundness evaluations to assess areas of discomfort within joints and surrounding soft tissues.

During a flexion test, we hold a limb in a specific flexed position for about 30–60 seconds, temporarily increasing stress on certain joints and structures. The horse is then immediately trotted off, and we carefully evaluate for changes in stride length, stiffness, or degree of lameness.

🔎 If a horse is actively lame:
An increase in lameness after flexion helps narrow down which region may be painful. It gives us direction — but it is not a diagnosis on its own.

📝 During a PPE or soundness exam:
Flexions can uncover subtle sensitivities that aren’t obvious at baseline, helping identify small underlying concerns before they develop into larger performance issues.

If a response raises concern, next steps may include:
➡️ Diagnostic nerve or joint blocks to localize the lesion
➡️ Imaging (radiographs or ultrasound) to identify the specific structure involved

Flexions suggest the area. Blocks confirm it. Imaging defines it.

It’s all part of a systematic approach designed to accurately diagnose problems and protect long-term performance. 🐎

03/04/2026

Our Small Animal Clinic will be closing at 5:00pm tonight, Wednesday March 4th, due to a doctor being out sick.

For any urgent care needs please contact Atlas Veterinary Urgent Care in Augusta, PetMedic Urgent Care in Freeport
Maine Veterinary Medical Center in Scarborough
Portland Emergency and Specialty Care
or the Lewiston Emergency Clinic.
If you have a large animal emergency please contact our staff at 207-933-6424.

03/03/2026

For every horse we see 🐴 — there’s so much more happening behind the scenes.

A “routine” barn day might include exams, vaccines 💉, microchips, Coggins bloodwork 🩸, dentals 😁, client conversations, treatment plans, and follow-ups. But the day doesn’t end when we pull out of the driveway.

For every 30 minutes we spend with a horse, it can be up to an hour of behind-the-scenes work.

• Processing and submitting lab work
• Writing detailed medical records
• Reviewing diagnostics and results
• Preparing prescriptions for out-of-office pharmacies 💊
• Completing billing
• Answering messages and updating plans 💻

It’s mentally taxing. After a full day on the road, the administrative side can mean several more hours of focused, detailed work. It’s no one’s favorite part of the job… but it’s absolutely vital in maintaining high-quality patient care.

Managing our time wisely is essential to keeping burnout rates lower and making sure we can still get home at a reasonable hour 🏡

And of course… coffee helps ☕️

03/02/2026

🎓 The amount of education veterinarians complete is significant:
Years of undergraduate coursework 🧪
Extensive science prerequisites 📚
Graduate training or advanced degrees (for many) 🎓
Four years of veterinary school 🩺
And often additional internships, residencies, or specialty training 🐎

It’s a long path — and it doesn’t stop at graduation.

What makes this profession special is the commitment to continued learning. Veterinary medicine is always evolving. New research, new techniques, new diagnostics, new treatments. To provide the best care, we have to stay curious, stay humble, and keep growing.

Imposter syndrome can still show up, even after years of training. But confidence comes from experience, mentorship, continuing education, collaboration, and the willingness to keep improving.

For anyone in vet school, a new graduate, or considering this career — know that the learning never ends, and that’s a good thing. It’s what keeps our medicine advancing and our patients thriving.

02/27/2026

Sometimes we go into full power-cleaning mode. 💪🧼 and no one wields a scrub brush like Kyle!

When a horse stays in a quarantine stall, biosecurity matters. Isolation helps prevent the spread of contagious disease and protects every horse in the hospital.

Afterward, the stall and all equipment are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before another horse uses the space.

Biosecurity is essential in an equine hospital and just as important in every boarding facility. Healthy hospitals happen on purpose. 🐴

02/25/2026

Happy hump day!


I truly work with some of the most capable, hardworking, and big-hearted humans out there. The long days, emergency cases, schedule changes, emotional conversations, and everything in between are a whole lot easier (and honestly a whole lot more fun) because of them. We divide, conquer, troubleshoot, laugh, support each other, and show up — every single day — for our patients and our clients.

There’s so much that goes on behind the scenes to keep a veterinary hospital running smoothly, and I’m incredibly grateful for the crew I get to do it with. We’re a solid team — and I genuinely love the people I work with. 💙

02/25/2026

The first day of spring is less than a month away! 🌸
Which means…it's time to schedule your equine companion to receive their spring vaccinations!

If you are wondering what vaccinations your equine friend should receive, the answer is — There are no “one size fits all” vaccine recommendations. A veterinarian who knows your animal and your management system is your best resource to recommend what vaccines your equine should receive and with what frequency!

While vaccination does not prevent disease in all circumstances, a good immunization protocol minimizes the risk of infection and remains an essential component of responsible ownership. A vaccination appointment is also the perfect opportunity for a yearly check-up of your equine friend and a great way to catch any health concerns early.

If you have yet to contact your veterinarian about scheduling vaccinations, we encourage you to do it soon!

02/24/2026

Here comes the BOSS

Huge shout out to our mentor, our boss, and our fearless leader — the original GOAT of veterinary medicine in Maine, Dr. Charlie Brown 🐐✨

Her leadership, wisdom, and dedication to patients and colleagues alike set the standard for everything we do. We are incredibly lucky to learn from someone who has shaped veterinary medicine in this state in such a meaningful way.

And yes… I did have to beg her to do this video 😅 But I’m pretty sure she secretly thinks it’s very funny (even if she won’t admit it).

Thank you, Dr. Brown, for your mentorship, your humor, and for leading by example every single day. We appreciate you more than you know!

Address

417 Route 135
Monmouth, ME
04259

Telephone

(207) 933-2165

Website

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