Experience Day

Got a chance to head out with the mixed animal vet on her large animal calls on Wed.
It is great to get out of the clinic and touch some horses!

Started with equine vaccinations.
We vaccinated for Rabies, West Nile, WEEV/EEEV, Rhinotrachietis, Influenza, and something else that I can't for the life of me remember.

Most horses will tolerate vaccines well, we used a 20 gauge needle so it is small, but 1 1/2" long. It is common to use the nice meaty part of the neck but semimembranosus/semitendinosus or pectorals are also good spots. This vet picked one on the left, one rostral on the right and then another right but more caudal to spread out the injection points. All are intramuscular vaccines.

We did 3 vaccine calls, getting a chance to meet different clients and talk about daily horse care. It is amazing that anyone can just buy a horse, even without knowing anything about them. I guess that is why we are here, to educate!

Then saw a wound that was previously as deep as a pinky finger, now only a cm deep! Great progress to such a major wound. The owner has been changing the bandage every 3 days and keeping the horse on stall rest. He should be able to have individual dirt turn out in a week or so. I'm sure he'll love to be able to walk around and get some fresh air! (But really, he lives on a farm, there is nothing BUT fresh air!)

Then a lame pony. Xrays showed no bony changes or issues. This is hard to show clients. They want to know why their horse is lame and when you take $300 of xrays of the whole leg, and all you can say is, "well nothing is broken but your animal is still lame" they get upset. I feel the same way when we do bloodwork and everything is normal. I like being able to relieve some of their worry by giving them a diagnosis. This is something I just have to accept. Anyway, the vet offered to ultrasound the tendons, but she warned that even if they narrowed it down to a tendon, she would not change her treatment protocol so the owner opted out. So the owner will have to wrap the both front legs everyday and keep him on strict stall rest for 6 - 9 months. Bute for 5 days for pain, but then he will start to feel better. Plus we don't like giving bute for much longer than that because it has some dangerous side effects.

For those not familiar with bute it is called Phenylbutazone and is an NSAID.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenylbutazone

SO ulcers, kidney issues, clotting disorders, and others are risks of being treated for too long. And because it is so popular and works so well in horses, we recommend keeping its use to a minimum so that when the horse really needs it, we can bring it in without too much risk. It is a fine line, between therapeutic and toxic. But all drugs have a line.

Then saw an alpaca for some vaccines. I guess they are VERY susceptible to clostridial diseases so get an 8-way clostridial vaccine and rabies.

And then ended with another lame horse but it looked like an abscess so hopefully with some days of stall rest and poulticing, it will pop and the horse will be right as rain!

It was lovely to tour the country side with her. She was so insightful and accepting. I asked lots of silly questions and never did I feel intimidated or stupid. I love feeling like an equal, it makes me more confident! I also got to ask questions about the lifestyle of a mixed vet, and talk about how she keeps her work-life balance stable.

All around a great day, and I can't wait to get back out there!