Equine Vet Shadowing Pre-req?

[jtom]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I thought it might be a good idea to get some equine experience. I went into a local equine veterinary hospital and talked to the vet. I told her I was interested in vetmed and wanted to shadow her if possible. She then asked me whether I have worked with horses before and I said I hadnt. She then said she had a piece of advice for me: do not ask any equine vets for shadowing if you have never worked around horses before. She said that I would have to first work in a stable for some time before anyone would allow me to shadow them. She was actually rather rude to me. Is this true? I am not sure at this point as I had never pursued equine vets before.

If this is true can I work around not having equine hours as long as I have other experience?

Thanks!

 

[lalzi22]

I don't think she meant you have to have prior equine experience to shadow an equine vet, only that it would make vets feel more comfortable having you around. This is probably true, but not something as steadfast true as she is making it out to be. That being said, maybe try some other places and if no one will take you, you could always volunteer at a barn (scooping stalls, hosing down the walksways etc...) and then go back to her. If not, you dont NEED equine experience...it is just another diverse experience. I did fine without any (besides riding horses, so no vet experience), but I had other diverse experiences to make up for it. If you really cant get any, try to get into an exotic clinic, wildlife clinic, LA vet etc...

 

[jtom]

I will definetly pursue a wildlife clinic. For Large animal vets, do they not normally have an office and just drive to their clients? I can only find small animal practices online. Not sure if I should look somewhere else for LA vets.

Thanks!

 

[Roxysocks]

I agree with lalzi...based on the sheer size and unpredictability of horses, I think that most equine vets in general prefer that any student under their watch is familiar with horse handling and safety. Don't take her reaction personally...it's probably a liability thing. If you really want to get equine experience (which I would highly recommend, then again maybe I'm just biased 🙂) then find a local barn and explain that you are applying to vet school and looking to get practical horse experience. Once you "learn horses" any eq vet experiences you have will be more informative and rewarding...

Good luck!

 

[twelvetigers]

I shadowed a vet without previous horse experience... it was fine to just watch from a safe distance. She asked me to restrain for a float though... and I tried. Scared the crap outta me though - the horse had me dangling off the ground, just about. The tech had trouble restraining the horse too, so it wasn't just me, but... I'd rather have some familiarity before I touch anything. So it may be in your best interest as well.

On another note, are you going for a "most threads posted" award? Lol.

 

[moosenanny]

Don't get discouraged! I'd keep asking around to see if you encounter a different equine vet who doesn't care about your lack of prior horse experience. I shadowed a mixed animal vet who didn't care that I lacked prior experience with cows and horses. He had the attitude that I had to start somewhere 😛

While diverse experience looks good on an application, you don't need equine experience (unless you want to tell ad coms that's your goal in vet med). You can still pursue large animal and/or wildlife in addition to small animal as a way to stand out and have a strong, diverse resume.

I think you should look up as many horse vets as possible and keep pursuing it! Good luck with finding one who will let you shadow🙂

 

[Roxysocks]

For Large animal vets, do they not normally have an office and just drive to their clients? Thanks!

Many equine practices have their own clinic for clients to bring horses in for procedures or intensive care, etc. The majority of equine vets I've worked with split their days between traveling to farms and working on patients in the clinic. Then you also have your specialist practices or hospitals that require referrals in which case all patients come to them. So, it really all depends on the individual practice and their case load, funds, number of vets, etc!

 

[skittles12]

I think it would be good to at least have a basic understanding of horse handling before working with an equine vet. Even the calmest horse can become unpredictable--even during simple procedures! However, like others said, I don't think equine veterinary experience is required for you to get into vet school. In regard to your question about large animal vets not having an office--the vet for my horses has both. Part of the week he is in the office caring for small animals, and the rest of the week he makes farm calls. You could always try calling some local stables and ask who their vet is.

 

[jtom]

On another note, are you going for a "most threads posted" award? Lol.

Haha......yes.

 

[ATX00]

I'm going to be shadowing an equine vet this summer, so in the meantime I'm going to a local barn as often as possible with a friend who has horses there. If you have a friend of a friend of a friend who rides, ask if you can tag along to get comfortable on the ground around horses. Then see if that friend can put a good word in with the equine vet they see.

Also assuming you live in a city, I would plan on having to drive some to get to LA/equine practices. All the LA/equine clinics around here are at least ~30 minutes from where I live.

 

[Chees493]

In my area literally all the equine vets are exclusively ambulatory and most have home offices if they have offices at all and I doubt you'd find them in the phone book. The easiest way to contact ambulatory vets is to contact local barns/ranches/farms and ask about the vet(s) they use. I'm sure you can find someone to shadow even with no experience, just don't expect to do much. 😉

 

[teatime]

I'm looking to do the same this summer. I have some experience with miniature horses at the zoo I volunteer at. But its mostly grooming and stuff, and the little guys I imagine are a LOT different than the normal ones, and even they can be a handful!

I wonder how successful I'll beat approaching equine vets too...

 

[cowgirla]

I'm looking to do the same this summer. I have some experience with miniature horses at the zoo I volunteer at. But its mostly grooming and stuff, and the little guys I imagine are a LOT different than the normal ones, and even they can be a handful!

I wonder how successful I'll beat approaching equine vets too...

Actually most minis I know are MORE of a handful than the big guys...Napoleon syndrome

 

[twelvetigers]

Napoleon was of an average size! That's one of those weird history things, like George Washington and the cherry tree. It's like, who came up with that?

 

[Minnerbelle]

If this is true can I work around not having equine hours as long as I have other experience?

Yep, you can definitely be okay without having equine hours as long you have a good breadth of experience and/or other qualities otherwise. Obviously in an ideal world, you would have plenty of equine and food animal experience... but sometimes it's just not feasible.

Not only did I have 0 equine vet experience, the only VET experience I had was in basic research under an MD, and shelter med.

It only came up once in my Ohio interview, when I was asked how comfortable I was on a scale of 1-10 with handling large animals. I answered that because of my animal care internship, I feel comfortable enough with them to perform regular husbandry tasks, but that I wasn't comfortable/knowledgeable at all when it came to veterinary handling. They didn't seem to care at all, seeing as I was accepted 5 min later.

 

[eventualeventer]

Yeah, a lot of minis are little s**ts because they've been allowed to get away with murder (like little yippy dogs), and in some ways it's harder to discipline and/or hold on to them because they're small and fast. A lot of the ones I've met go for the rearing thing when they get mad, but you can usually just stand there and laugh at them because even when they rear all you have to is stand up and you can stay with them. 😀

It seems a little odd to me that you weren't even allowed to shadow. At my job, we have vet tech students doing externships all the time, and 90+% of them are SA people and have never touched horses. We show them how to do TPR's and simple things on the good horses, but they mostly are there to observe, just like you would be. We've never had issues that I know of because we know that these people don't have horse experience and don't expect them to deal with the difficult horses or be around during dicey situations, and they get an informal briefing on where to stand, etc., before they go in the stall. It sounds like the vet you talked to just didn't want to bother with someone who couldn't really help out, which is a shame (you do have to start somewhere!). If there are any other equine vets in the area, I would ask them and explain up front that you don't have horse experience but you are eager to learn by watching while staying out of their way and not expecting to actually handle the horses.

 

[jtom]

I didnt take it personally and I will call the few other equine vets around here. I was just taken back when she said to not bother calling any other equine vets, I thought there was a rule about having horse experience prior to shadowing that I was not aware of.

 

[HopefulAg]

Napoleon was of an average size! That's one of those weird history things, like George Washington and the cherry tree. It's like, who came up with that?

This. Only reason Napoleon is considered short is because we're huge now a days in comparison. We have fourth graders topping 5', so ah, yah.

 

[cowgirla]

This. Only reason Napoleon is considered short is because we're huge now a days in comparison. We have fourth graders topping 5', so ah, yah.

My sister had a classmate who was 6.3 in the third grade. It was a little terrifiying. I felt bad for the kid though. He looked so old and mature...and he just wasn't.

 

[shortnsweet]

I didnt take it personally and I will call the few other equine vets around here. I was just taken back when she said to not bother calling any other equine vets, I thought there was a rule about having horse experience prior to shadowing that I was not aware of.

Hmm there isn't a rule really..I think she just phrased it incorrectly/rudely. The equine world is a pretty small one...and many people who want to go into equine vet med tend to snatch up those places pretty quickly, or the techs they have stick to them like glue. They are large animals and racehorses esp can be unpredictable--- she probably didn't want to have to worry about the liability and watching out for you while trying to get the job done. I wouldn't take it personally...but I would take other people's advice on here and try to get some basic horse experience under your belt...maybe volunteer at a barn once a week and muck out stalls in exchange for some horse "lessons", then try again. 🙂

Btw..where are you from, I might be able to give you the names of some vets.

 

[heylodeb]

On a similar note - I have called many large animal vets in my area explaining my need for experience, asking to shadow, etc and not ONE of them has even had the decency to call me back. I understand they are busy and that their clients should come first, but a simple phone call in return would be polite. (and I have 1,000s of hours of horse experience...)

Just haven't called the right one, yet, I suppose!

 

[rileyroo]

On a similar note - I have called many large animal vets in my area explaining my need for experience, asking to shadow, etc and not ONE of them has even had the decency to call me back. I understand they are busy and that their clients should come first, but a simple phone call in return would be polite. (and I have 1,000s of hours of horse experience...)

Just haven't called the right one, yet, I suppose!

don't take it personally. it happened to me when i was first trying to get experience. i found that a lot of equine vets do better if you go in person. the one i've been working with for the past year even asked me to come to the clinic, sat me down and talked with me, then said "i just like to meet people in person first instead of making a decision over the phone."

 

[ORvetgirl]

I second the going in in person thing...also, maybe ask about a one-day job shadow, and if that goes well, ask about volunteering/shadowing on a more regular basis. My equine experience started as a one day job shadow as a freshman in high school for a class requirement--I just walked into an equine practice I drove by regularly and asked to talk to the office manager about doing a job shadow. After that, it became a semi-regular thing, and one summer in undergrad I was able to talk them into giving me an unpaid full-time position (financed by a program through my undergrad institution) riding with one of the ambulatory vets.

I did have horse-handling experience before all of that, but if you can get them to slowly trust you, and show you are dedicated and interested, things can really develop from there.