Wellness Exams and VCPR

What is a VCPR and why is it important?

VCPR stands for veterinarian-client-patient-relationship. This is a relationship or establishment of care that is legally required before a veterinarian can treat or dispense prescription medication for an animal. A veterinarian cannot legally dispense medications for an animal that we do not have an active relationship with, even if the animal has been on the same medication for years. So how do we establish and maintain this relationship? The veterinary practice statutes for the state of Montana require that a veterinarian sees your animals at least once every 12 months to maintain an active VCPR.

While this is a legal requirement, it is also extremely beneficial to your animal’s health. By maintaining a relationship, we are able to be more familiar with your animals. This can allow us to notice subtle changes that may go unnoticed otherwise. This can lead to early detection of illness which can be crucial. It also allows us an opportunity to provide preventative medicine, such as vaccines, dewormer, dietary adjustments and more. As we all know, prevention is the best medicine!

We value our clients and community and we want to work closely with you to provide the best care possible for your animals. Maintaining a VCPR allows us to work as a team for the betterment of our animals.

What is included in a wellness exam?

A Wellness Exam is a great way for us to establish and maintain a valid VCPR. We typically perform a wellness exam once or twice a year depending on the needs of the horse.

This exam consists of:

  • Visual assessment of the horse’s eyes, ears, nose, skin and haircoat, hooves, and conformation
  • Taking the horse’s vitals: temperature, pulse and respiratory rate
  • Listening to the horse’s heart, lungs and abdomen
  • Weighing the horse or obtaining an estimated weight with a weight tape and evaluating their body condition.
  • Visualizing the horse’s mouth and teeth to determine when they may need to a dental float next.
  • Administering vaccinations and dewormer
  • Discussing the horse’s diet and exercise routine may also be a part of this exam
  • Addressing any questions or concerns you may have about your horse

Additional treatments or exams may be scheduled after a wellness exam if necessary. For example, if we notice a horse is showing some signs of lameness, we may recommend scheduling a thorough musculoskeletal exam where we are able to have the proper equipment and take the time to look more closely at this issue to determine the cause of lameness and the best treatment.

What can I expect with a VCPR exam for livestock?

For livestock herds (cattle, sheep, goats), we do not need to perform thorough exams on each individual animal in the herd (for most herds, that would take a very long time!). A VCPR exam for livestock herds includes a visual exam of the herd and assessment of the facilities. It may also include examination of any sick animals that may be observed at that time. This allows us to have conversations about feed, vaccination protocols, and to simply be familiar with your herd and setup. For very small herds or individual animals (for example, a pet goat), a wellness exam may be performed which would be similar to that in horses.