Large Animal Experience in Southern California

[stel]

Hi,
I'm in desperate need of some large animal experience in the Southern California Area (specifically somewhere around the LA/valley area all the way to Santa Barbara area).
I've already tried Conejo Valley Veterinary Hospital and they said they just have too many people right now to even allow me to shadow a vet. Does anyone have any recommendations? I work full time at a small animal clinic, but really need some large animal experience on my days "off."
Thanks!

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[hippo11]

i definitely feel you...it's definitely hard to find a place in the LA area where you can get good large animal experience. i recommend Chino Valley Equine Hospital in Chino (near Pomona around the 57 and the 60). i was unfortunately only there for a couple of days because my work schedule became too busy to juggle extracurricular stuff, but it seems like you can get good horse experience there. the staff is friendly enough and are very open to having volunteers. they are a 24/7 clinic so if you want to do weekends it would work. i don't have their contact info with me...but you can google them. good luck!

 

[Iain]

I volunteer at Chino Valley Equine Hospital (spent 12 hours there today) and it is fabulous! Ted Fischer who owns the practice is undoubtedly one of the top surgeons in the US!! There is a great mix of emergencies, unique cases, and there are regularly some cool horses (unfortunately some less then cool ones too).

I am very fortunate the interns really took me under their wing - while a lot of the volunteers stand and watch, I get to help out in minor rolls like holding horses, help hanging fluids, milking mares, etc. I think there are a couple reasons why I get to help out a bit more - obviously having been around horses for a while, I have a level of comfort and skill handling them, I show a great level of interest and dedication (while many volunteers stay for 4 hour shifts, I stay anywhere from 12-16 depending on what is going on), and lastly when one of my horses was there I bought beer as an apology for my horse being so badly behaved (she was not that bad - just grumpy!!!) - no better way to get on their good side.

Having had Dr. Fischer operate on one of my horses I just asked him about volunteering, however this is a rather expensive route! I would just call the front desk during business hours, and enquire. As Hippo mentioned they are very welcoming, I am just not sure how it all works.

 

[birdvet2006]

Iain, say hi to Dr. Tom Brauer for me! (Say "Cindy Fulton" says hi...though his wife knows me better than he does).

I spent 2 weeks doing an externship there a couple of years ago and loved their colic case-load (my favourite of all things equine). I wished I had gone there AFTER my 4th year though, rather than in 3rd year. I would have gotten so much more out of it.

My family is in Chino Hills, so it was quite convenient. I hear they've started to build the new clinic, finally. Have you seen it? How's it going?

 

[Iain]

Yeap abdominal bandages are very trendy at CVEH - all the cool horses have them!!

Unfortunately the new hospital is still a couple months away. I am not sure the reasoning for all the delays, I guess building an equine hospital is a very unique venture, so finding contractors, sub-contractors, getting licensing is no easy feat. When it is built, it will be incredibly impressive!!!!

 

[chathaid]

i hear it's because they just realized they still need to install a fire hydrant.
just out of curiosity, which days are you there? i used to volunteer there
every monday, but now i'm only there every other week.
btw, most of the volunteers there are students in vet tech programs, which
is probably why they're not allowed to do much more than "watch"...

Yeap abdominal bandages are very trendy at CVEH - all the cool horses have them!!

Unfortunately the new hospital is still a couple months away. I am not sure the reasoning for all the delays, I guess building an equine hospital is a very unique venture, so finding contractors, sub-contractors, getting licensing is no easy feat. When it is built, it will be incredibly impressive!!!!

 

[Iain]

just out of curiosity, which days are you there?

Every Saturday, and occasionally I go in during the week (mostly to watch some of Fischer's cases). I was there this past Monday, but nothing much happened. 1 horse scoped, 1 rectaled, and then I slept on the sofa the rest of the time - that sofa is so comfortable!!

 

[RQD1982]

When vet schools say 'experience' what exactly are they looking for? Do you they just want you familiar with restraining animals, seeing procedures, so you know what to expect? Or do they want you gain some hands on veterinary skills?

The reason I ask is over the past 2 years I have been volunteering with a local equine vet, and especially this year she been teaching me how to do certain things. I have tubed horses, given injection (including putting a horse down), assisted in castrations, rectaled a horse (after her), etc. All of it was under her watchful eye, and I have never felt uncomfortable doing it, but would a vet school frown upon this as stepping outside your boundaries, and/or doing things they want to teach you, or is looked highly upon that you have experienced more, and demonstrated you are responsible enough to gain a practicing veterinarian's trust?

 

[HorseyVet]

When vet schools say 'experience' what exactly are they looking for? Do you they just want you familiar with restraining animals, seeing procedures, so you know what to expect? Or do they want you gain some hands on veterinary skills?

It's largely more important that you were thoughtful and learned something about the feild then specifics. Your knowledge should be reflected in some way by the time you spent at an experience. I wouldn't worry about too many specifics, or if youd do (which I'm sure is the case for a lot of people) don't try to come off like you're already a vet before you got to school. I've heard some horror stories about people thinking they knew a lot more then they did and then getting nailed.

With all medicine there are a lot of non-text book things that you can and should learn through the shadowing experience. Most of my experience was equine/LA, simmilar it sounds to what you've been doing, and I've learned a ton of "unteachable" non-medical per se stuff that I'd likely not get in school and which I feel is utterly priceless. Maybe it's my bias, but I think the gap between theory and practice is largest in equine non-referral center situations (aka the real world...lol).

 

[kate_g]

When vet schools say 'experience' what exactly are they looking for? Do you they just want you familiar with restraining animals, seeing procedures, so you know what to expect? Or do they want you gain some hands on veterinary skills?

I can't say I know what vet schools are looking for, so I have no advice as far as how to stress your experience in your application. But I think having the hands-on practice will help *you* tremendously. There was a thread somewhere in one of the more MD-geared forums in which people were panicking to the tune of "I know I'm super-smart because I'm a premed and I've got a 4.0 GPA, but I'm terrified of having to learn clinical procedures and afraid I'll screw up." Because of the much tighter regulation, I think a lot of people get to med school essentially never having touched a patient. (Or at the very least, never having given an injection, placed a catheter, intubated, or any number of other things that you'd never let a pre-med shadower do to a real human patient.) All the interns and residents who replied said "yeah, I was terrified too, but after you do it a hundred times it's easy." I was kind of blown away by that thread, because after years of volunteering and research I'm really pretty comfortable doing the stuff I know how to do, and not in the least scared to learn to do new stuff. I agree with HorseyVet that you can't let it give you delusions of grandeur, but I think the ease of getting this "amateur" experience in the veterinary world is a real plus.