APRIL 2023 THE RIDER /55 Palm Beach Equine Clinic Helps Mini Donkey Return To Health When Natasha Masri pur-


chased Gypsy, a then four- month-old miniature donkey, on October 21, 2022, she could not wait to take her new pet home. Less than two weeks later Gypsy arrived at Masri’s farm along with four other miniature don- keys and horses. While the other new ani-


mals were thriving at Masri’s farm, Gypsy’s health slowly started to decline. By January of 2023, Masri could tell that Gypsy was not herself. The young miniature donkey was lethargic, laying down a lot, and losing weight. Masri called her regular veterinarian to examine Gypsy. After a few days it was evident that Gypsy’s condition was not improving so Masri and her vet- erinarian decided to call Palm Beach Equine Clinic in Welling- ton, FL, for an internal medicine specialist. “Within two hours Dr. Fer-


nando Marqués was at our farm ready to help,” recalled Masri. “When I met Dr. Marqués my anxiety vanished because I could tell he knew what he was doing. He was very good about talking to me as he was working with Gypsy, which was invaluable to me as someone without a medical background.” Dr. Fernando Marqués, a


board-certified internal medicine specialist, began his evaluation of Gypsy by asking Masri for the miniature donkey’s medical his- tory. Masri explained Gypsy was lethargic, losing weight, had a


to try to fix the underlying prob- lems and really get to the root of the issue.” The next step included Dr.


Marqués taking ultrasounds of Gypsy’s thorax and abdomen. “On the right side of the


thorax there were some minor ul- trasonographic changes but oth- erwise everything else looked normal,” said Dr. Marqués. “Then we went ahead and did imaging of the thorax and ab- domen with x-rays. In this case, we wanted to determine if it was a nutritional problem, an infec- tion, a parasite, or something else. On radiography, there was nothing relevant that I could find.”


After examining Gypsy, Photo courtesy of Dr. Fernando Marques


fever, and had bloodwork abnor- malities. Dr. Marqués then con- tinued with a physical exam to learn more about Gypsy’s overall health.


“When I did a physical


exam of Gypsy, I found a cardiac murmur,” explained Dr. Mar- qués. “The cardiac murmur was


consistent with the laboratory finding, which was regenerative anemia. The thickness of the blood changes when an animal has anemia, and that can create a cardiac murmur. After discover- ing that, we decided to investi- gate the diagnosis of regenerative anemia further. We always want


Dr. Fernando Marques and Gypsy.


Dr. Marqués, Masri, and her reg- ular veterinarian decided that the miniature donkey should be sent to Palm Beach Equine Clinic for further evaluation. Gypsy arrived at the clinic, and Dr. Marqués immediately started her on intra- venous (IV) fluids, vitamin B12, and a dewormer. He also ran ad- ditional blood tests beyond the ones the regular veterinarian completed at Masri’s farm and performed a fecal test. “While Gypsy was at Palm


Beach Equine Clinic, we gave her IV fluids, monitored her, made sure she was eating enough nutrients, and performed blood- work tests,” explained Dr. Mar- qués. “We found Gypsy’s regenerative anemia was multi- factorial, infectious, parasitic, and nutrition related. After a few


days of a dewormer and a differ- ent feeding program, she started eating really well and gaining weight again. All the blood pa- rameters were normalizing as well. During this time, I was in contact with Masri and her regu- lar veterinarian so we could work as a team. It was important we were all on the same page and communicating on a daily basis.” After five days of receiv-


ing a different feeding program and a parasite treatment at Palm Beach Equine Clinic, the team decided that Gypsy could return home under the care of Masri’s regular veterinarian. Dr. Marqués outlined a new feeding plan for Gypsy to make sure she was get- ting all of the nutrients she needed. Masri also switched Gypsy over to timothy hay, which is easily digestible and has high fiber and energy content. Additionally, Dr. Marqués and Masri decided it might be best to feed Gypsy separately from the other animals to ensure she was eating her entire portions of grain and hay. Once Gypsy was back home, Dr. Marqués continued to check in with Masri and her reg- ular veterinarian. “I was extremely im-


pressed with the way Dr. Mar- qués was able to collaborate with our general veterinarian,” de- scribed Masri. “He kept her in the loop so when Gypsy came home there was a plan in place and everyone was communicating.” Since coming home to the


farm, Gypsy has returned to


being energetic and running around with the other miniature donkeys and horses as she did when Masri first met her. “As a new miniature don-


key and horse owner, having a go-to for these animals at the be- ginning of their lives leaves me feeling so grateful and confident that I can handle anything with them,” said Masri. “Anytime I have an emergency, Palm Beach Equine Clinic will be the first place I call.” “As a new miniature don-


key and horse owner, having a go-to for these animals at the be- ginning of their lives leaves me feeling so grateful and confident that I can handle anything with them,” said Masri. “Anytime I have an emergency, Palm Beach Equine Clinic will be the first place I call.” Since coming home to the


farm, Gypsy has returned to being energetic and running around with the other miniature donkeys and horses as she did when Masri first met her. “As a new miniature donkey and horse owner, having a go-to for these animals at the beginning of their lives leaves me feeling so grate- ful and confident that I can han- dle anything with them,” said Masri. “Anytime I have an emer- gency, Palm Beach Equine Clinic will be the first place I call.” Palm Beach Equine Clinic frontdesk@equineclinic.com 561-793-1599 13125 Southfields Road Wellington, FL, 33414


Barrel Racer Jordon Briggs and Tie-Down Roper Riley Webb Take Home Titles in the Championship Shootout “We are so proud of our Team Durango® athletes who com-


RODEOHOUSTON, which was held at NRG Park in Houston from February 28th through March 19th. Five more team members qual- ified for the Championship rounds with three reaching the Semifi- nals.


Jordan Briggs - Professional Barrel Racer


Nelsonville, OH (March 24, 2023) - Team Durango® athletes showed out at the 2023 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo where two members took titles in the Championship Shootout. Barrel Racer Jordon Briggs went back-to-back, taking home $58,000 and the championship for the second year in a row after clocking in at 14.73 seconds. Tie-Down Roper Riley Webb also took home $55,625 and the title with a time of 8.9 seconds in the Championship Shootout.


onship Shootout, taking 4th with a score of 81. Breakaway Roper Martha Angelone qualified for the Championship round but came up just short of the Championship Shootout with a time of 3.3 sec- onds. Tie-Down Roper Caleb Smidt qualified for the Championship rounds on Sunday, March 19th but also came up just short of the Championship Shootout, placing 5th with a time of 10.8 seconds. Steer Wrestler Jacob Talley also made it to the Championship round, placing 10th after clocking in at 15.9 seconds. Breakaway Roper Cheyanne Guillory qualified for the Championship round, placing 7th.


suffered while competing at last year’s NFR, Bareback Rider Orin Larsen qualified for the Semi Finals round, placing 6th with a score of 79.5. Barrel Racer Stevi Hillman qualified for the Semi Finals round and came up just short of qualifying for the finals with a time of 14.72 seconds. Breakaway Roper Kelsie Domer qualified for the Semifinals after placing 4th in Super Series I.


In some of his first action since returning from a broken thumb Saddle Bronc Rider Zeke Thurston made it to the Champi-


peted last week at Rodeo Houston,” said Erin DeLong, marketing director for Durango®. “Their mental dedication, emotional invest- ment, integrity and grit, continue to lead to great accomplishments both in and out of the arena, and it is incredible to see their hard work pay off.’ Other members of Team Durango® performed well at


Riley Webb - Professional Tie-Down Roper


rango® | Durango Boots About Durango® Founded in 1966 Durango® Boots manufactures and markets


For more information about Team Durango® visit - Team Du-


quality-crafted western and fashion footwear for men, women, and children. It is a division of Rocky Brands™, a publicly traded com- pany on NASDAQ® under the symbol: RCKY. For more informa- tion visit www.durangoboots.com.


Advertise your business In The Rider Business directory. For more Information call (905) 387-1900 or email barry@therider.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56