Kesmarc?

Veterinary Science Graduate Certificate from UofI
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Hey!!

Anyone had any experience with KESMARC? I'm very interested in equine sports medicine, and this place seems pretty awesome.

Thanks!
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whats KESMARC?
 
Kentucky Equine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center.

www.kesmarc.com

I've considered doing an internship there, and I'd also love to hear from anyone who has or at least has been there/knows about it!
 
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it does seem awesome.

but it's not a vet clinic? i only read a couple sentences, but it says the staff works with the referring vet.

don't get me wrong... it does look like a lot of fun!
 
Ive been to Kesmarc. Its more of a therapy/rehabilitation place, not so much veterinary. A lot of horses go there for sales prep to swim in the pool or go on the underwater treadmill and a lot of horses are there post-op. They don't have any vets that I know of, they work under orders from vets. They have the pool, a hotwalker, underwater treadmill, indoor jogging track and outdoor training track, and a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, and they may have added some new toys since I was last there. I think they take externs if you're really interested in checking it out. Hagyard in Lexington also has a sports medicine externship/internship which you may be interested in, but you have to be in vet school.
 
I was referring to doing an internship while I'm still pre-vet. Does anyone know of any other equine pre-vet-type internships?

I know KESMARC does not have their own vets, but I think vets come there to check on patients sometimes, and if you are an intern, you help assist. Here's the full description of their major internship from their website:

"This program is a minimum three month stay, with extensions up to one year if required. Equine science students, those studying Veterinary Medicine and Equine Rehabilitation would benefit most from this program. Our program aims to give students a "real-life" view into the world of equine veterinary medicine, equine rehabilitation and equine veterinary nursing and the commitment required to succeed in these fields.

Interns in our DERBY program will be provided with "dorm-style" accommodation at our facility. All linen and kitchenware is supplied, with up to four interns sharing two bathrooms and kitchen and living room areas. This negates the need for transport to and from work, especially for our international visitors. Interns are responsible for their own work visa and travel arrangements, insurance coverage and food supplies.

Interns are expected to work a six day week, with hours varying due to daily schedules.
Duties expected of our interns include (but are not limited to) the following:

* Daily administration of medications and supplements.
* Bandaging including sweats, poultices, post surgical and shipping.
* General care including monitoring temperatures and appetites, grooming, bathing, picking feet, checking legs, etc.
* Preparing horses to swim and aquatred.
* Putting horses on and off the walking machine.
* Assisting veterinarians as required (with radiographs, ultrasound, scoping, etc.) Please note although we do not have a veterinarian on staff we have multiple veterinarians performing different procedures on a daily basis.
* Assisting farriers and dentist as required.
* Preparing horses to ship (ensuring coggins and health certs are obtained).
* Daily record keeping on all horses for health records and billing purposes.
* Supervised operation of Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber treatments
* Any other duties that may arise in the day to day running of a large equine facility.

Our aim is to provide you with a sound understanding of Equine Rehabilitation protocols, while allowing exposure to some of the best equine veterinarians in the world. You will also have the chance to explore and enjoy our wonderful Bluegrass area, "the horse capital of the world"."

Does anyone know if this would count as veterinary experience? You're often following rehabilitation orders from vets, administering meds, and doing other vet med type things.
 
thelarson said:
Does anyone know if this would count as veterinary experience? You're often following rehabilitation orders from vets, administering meds, and doing other vet med type things.
Click to expand...

I live in Ontario, Canada - applying to the Ontario Veterinary College at Guelph - and I know for our application I would consider it "Animal Experience" as opposed to "Extra Curricular Experience".

Whether or not it counts as *veterinary* experience per se, the program sounds pretty sweet!!

Any idea when they will be accepting applications next?
 
If you're doing meds and "nursing" type tasks, and under the supervision of vets (whether or not they work out of that same facility or just come to the site multiple times a week) that sounds like a vet experience to me. VMCAS's instructions on the division of activities into animal vs. vet experiences was pretty much whether or not it took place under the supervision of a veterinarian. From what you've listed, I'd say this would count. But aside from that, it sounds like a neat experience, especially if you think you want to go into equine medicine.
 
I don't know if you want to travel for this, but New England Equine Medical and Surgical Center (newenglandequine.com) in Dover, NH has an awesome extern program. If you are traveling, they usually have room in the intern apartment for you. I would aim for Spring/Summer because I went during winter break and it was kind of dead (and cold!)

Hope that helps, let me know if you have any questions about that one, they do have a whole description on the site but anything else, I'll be glad to answer!:D
 
WOW! That place sounds cool!! How far ahead do they book their externs? Like could I get in for next spring/summer? I'm SO excited!!
 
PlantersPunch - thank you SOOO much for bringing up that externship! It sounds like an incredible experience. Dover is actually very convenient for me - my dad lives about 15 minutes from there! :)
 
So PlantersPunch -

I applied for an externship there, and got in! I'm going in July. What did you do while you were there? What should I expect?? I'd SO excited! I wish I was going there next week instead of writing finals! July is so far away, lol. Anything you have to tell about it would be awesome though.
 
NE Equine is really nice. I worked with them/used their facilities for some of my senior research project last year to finish up my undergrad. I really wanted to try and do an externship they summer but they were completely booked by the time I asked about it. Now I have a full time job and can't really take the time off to go up there.
They have beautiful facilities and the staff is really nice! I watched my first colic surgery while I was there. :)
 
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Sounds cool!! What was your research project?
 
I would like to reopen this discussion. I have been accepted to intern with Kesmarc this summer, but also have an opportunity to work at LSU's vet school, where I'm guaranteed a letter of recommendation from a vet.
Has anyone interned here? Are there opportunities to work with a vet long enough to receive a letter of recommendation?
Thanks for your help! I want to ensure that I chose the best opportunity, which will be reflected on my vet school app.
 
I interned at KESMARC Florida last summer, and I have only fantastic things to say about it! The amazing and diverse cases I saw there were so interesting. The summer season gets pretty booked with horses, so you will see alot of cases. There are quite a few vets that come daily and are so nice and willing to let the interns help and explain what they are doing.
A cool thing they do in Florida that I am sure they do in Kentucky is that they can set up times for the interns to go to a local equine clinic and watch different equine surgeries. It was a great experience and I saw so many surgeries that I would not have seen otherwise.
I got to know the vets pretty well because you usually have a few vets that have multiple equine patients at KESMARC at a time, so you get to know those vets well. I think you could ask for a letter by the end of the summer because you do get to know them well. I already had my letters lined up before this summer so I didn't ask anyone of them.
I am sure the LSU vet school job would be good too, but I have to say I loved my internship at KESMARC. I got to work with some amazing horses and the experience I got from it is priceless. My vote is for KESMARC, but I might be a bit biased. :laugh:
 
WOOOOOO KESMARC!!!!!!!! :biglove::love::biglove:
I formally interned there (the Kentucky facility) two years ago, and I've returned nearly every Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Spring break since I live nearby. My internship was 100% the best summer of my life: I worked with some incredible horses, made amazing friends, had the opportunity to participate in fantastic medicine, and made alot of professional connections.
That said, I'd never worked with horses before, so alot of the joy was likely the result of novelty :)
The work is variable -- some days you'll just be doing alot of bandaging and medicating, others you'll have a vet show up to collect stem cells, one to do lameness exams on a dozen horses, and a third to scope yearlings going to sale.
Lots of students generally intern over the summer, so you'll probably have a fun group of people to work with.
As to getting your letter, it depends. You'll have the opportunity to work with alot of different vets, but there's no single supervising DVM. You can probably arrange to go observe surgeries at Woodford equine if you can be spared from the barn, and you can find a vet to ride with on your day off. I think obtaining a letter would be doable if you were focused on it, especially if you talked to Lanie beforehand.
Please PM me if you want to talk more! :thumbup:

ETA: the work description posted by thelarson above is pretty accurate in my experience. And I didn't stay there, but I will say that the apartment kind of sucks :)
 
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My experience at KESMARC was not the best. I stayed in the apartment and was the only intern for about 2 weeks, which may have colored my stay. I really enjoyed it at first (and it is a really great experience, at both the Florida and KY locations), but after two 70-80 hour weeks of it, I got tired and run down. The horses were awesome, but unfortunately I didn't really get to observe the vets as much as I wanted to since they were a bit short-handed. I ended up leaving after 3 weeks. However, it really is a great experience for those looking to get some time in with equine rehabilitation. They have a beautiful facility (both locations) and a friend of mine who I met at the KY facility runs the one in Florida. And when you're in KY, you're in the heart of the racing industry, so if you go, try to make it for the auctions at Keeneland and get out to see some races!
 
Thanks for all the help. I really appreciate it!
 
dont know if anyone is still around on this thread.

Im interning at KESMRC Florida starting september for a year.

any extra info about working and living there is appreciated.
 
I'll send you more information than you could ever want in a PM. I was at the FL facility this past summer for 3 months. I'll fill you in a little bit later when I have time to sit down a write a novel. :laugh:
 
Does anyone know how long it takes to hear back from Kesmarc as to whether you are accepted into the internship program? I'm hoping to participate in the summer program 2015. The deadline according to the website is Dec 1st. I sent my application in about 2 weeks ago. Thanks for the help!
 
My friend was at the KESMARC facility in Florida when the hyperbaric chamber exploded. Besides that traumatic experience she also had other negative things to say about her stay at that facility.
 
I heard back from them in late February. I worked at the one in Kentucky this summer-it was a really terrific experience: I learned a lot and the people were all very friendly. Every time a vet or farrier or anyone comes, they want you to go watch or help if needed. They really understand you're there to learn and want to help you have as many opportunities as possible. If you have any questions about the program, feel free to message me.
 
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Anyone hear back from them yet for the Summer internship?
 
I know that Rood and Riddle is looking for overnight barn techs for this spring... And they're pretty much always looking for good barn tech help, year-round. They're also hiring surgery techs, which would give you the opportunity to observe and assist with literally dozens of surgeries a day. Looks like Hagyards is also hiring for similar positions.

I think you might have a better experience (with more regular hours and have more of an opportunity to work with vets) working (and getting paid) at Rood and Riddle or Hagyards than doing an internship at KESMARC -- just my 2 cents.

http://www.roodandriddle.com/job.html

http://hagyard.com/Careers.html
 
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I'm not sure if this has already been addressed, but has anyone had issues with getting a response from KESMARC?

I mailed my application in mid-June (2016) for the Derby program starting in January 2017 & haven't heard anything at all. I tried emailing them to inquire about it about a month ago and I still haven't even gotten a reply for that.

I'm trying not to put my eggs in one basket for the spring, but I have a friend who did this program about 2 years ago and she applied and got a response with a few weeks. I figured if I was going to be rejected, they would have done it by now.
 
Ben and Me said:
I know that Rood and Riddle is looking for overnight barn techs for this spring... And they're pretty much always looking for good barn tech help, year-round. They're also hiring surgery techs, which would give you the opportunity to observe and assist with literally dozens of surgeries a day. Looks like Hagyards is also hiring for similar positions.

I think you might have a better experience (with more regular hours and have more of an opportunity to work with vets) working (and getting paid) at Rood and Riddle or Hagyards than doing an internship at KESMARC -- just my 2 cents.

http://www.roodandriddle.com/job.html

http://hagyard.com/Careers.html
Click to expand...

I tried Hagyard but they wanted people who already have thoroughbred/race horse medical experience.
For some reason they interviewed me anyway (after taking forever to reply to my application & even vaguely rescheduling it) & then sent me a lovely rejection letter.
I was under the impression that undergraduates use internships & volunteer work as a chance to learn & gain experience, not to add on to things they already know.
 
I interned at KESMARC this summer, and shadowed at Hagyard as a high school student before that. KESMARC is a wonderful place and you will work hands on with veterinarians. It is not a clinic, but you will disperse medication, provide treatment to horses, and be very hands on in all aspects of their care. The only things you don't really do are cleaning stalls/feeding. Once a week (typically) you have to stay late to do barn check (unless you live there, in which case you just have to go to the barn), and your day will average from about 7:30-5:30. You work six days a week and have the option to use your day off to ride with some of the veterinarians or chiropractor or farriers. You will also bust your butt doing things such as laundry and tacking horses for the exercise rider. In approximately two months I worked almost 600 hours. It is difficult, but if you go in with an open mind and the desire to ask questions you can learn a lot.
As for Hagyard, they also a wonderful place, but exceptionally picky. I got to shadow there only because I used the vets and one put in a recommendation for me. Typically they would never allow a high school student, but like I said, special circumstances. Due to a busy day I ended up assisting in taking x-rays, moving horses for surgery, and even getting to aid in small procedures. I was treated just the same as their vet student interns, which was an amazing experience because technically I was just there to watch.
 
AniSci said:
I'm not sure if this has already been addressed, but has anyone had issues with getting a response from KESMARC?

I mailed my application in mid-June (2016) for the Derby program starting in January 2017 & haven't heard anything at all. I tried emailing them to inquire about it about a month ago and I still haven't even gotten a reply for that.

I'm trying not to put my eggs in one basket for the spring, but I have a friend who did this program about 2 years ago and she applied and got a response with a few weeks. I figured if I was going to be rejected, they would have done it by now.
Click to expand...

I recommend calling them and speaking directly to Marsha. She's the one who runs the main office and the only person in charge of all the internship stuff. It's very likely your application got buried under all her other things.
 
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