- Joined
- Jun 18, 2008
- Messages
- 207
- Reaction score
- 2
Despite having no horse or large animal experience, I got into a few different schools, including my top choice, yay! The lack of experience is not from a lack of desire, though, simply a lack of opportunity. I have lived in dense, highly populated metropolitan areas my whole life, and unfortunately, have had limited exposure to horses and large animals! The nearest horses and large animals are still about a 30-45 minute drive from where I am.
Even after getting into schools, though, I'm still trying to get experience in different areas of vet med, for my own edification (I'm working as a technician, and still shadowing vets at other hospitals and seeking out volunteer experiences). And trust me, I've been searching for large animal and equine experience, but it's really hard to come by when you live in the middle of the city! I hopefully will be getting some equine experience soon at therapeutic riding center for children with disabilities. It's about a 30 minute drive away, so not too bad, and I'm willing to make the drive (and spend the gas money) because I like volunteering with the kids and I can at least get some horse exposure. I'm still looking for equine and large animal vets, too (because I want diverse experience and I truly am interested in this area of veterinary medicine).
So, I will hopefully be starting school with a little bit of experience, but truth be told, I'm a little nervous to work around horses and large animals! It's a new (exciting), but unknown area for me. And I understand that things can be dangerous, especially when you're inexperienced. But we all have to start somewhere, right? What I'd like to know is how many of you started school with little or no horse and LA experience? What was it like working around these animals in school? What kinds of opportunities (extracurricular, wetlab, etc) are there in school if you would like to get more experience working with those animals? To broaden this question, I'll ask everyone what it was like to work around animals that you had little or no experience with going into vet school?
It seems like many of the SDNers have their own horses, or at least, extensive horse experience. I'm really envious of (and happy for) you guys. 🙂
Even after getting into schools, though, I'm still trying to get experience in different areas of vet med, for my own edification (I'm working as a technician, and still shadowing vets at other hospitals and seeking out volunteer experiences). And trust me, I've been searching for large animal and equine experience, but it's really hard to come by when you live in the middle of the city! I hopefully will be getting some equine experience soon at therapeutic riding center for children with disabilities. It's about a 30 minute drive away, so not too bad, and I'm willing to make the drive (and spend the gas money) because I like volunteering with the kids and I can at least get some horse exposure. I'm still looking for equine and large animal vets, too (because I want diverse experience and I truly am interested in this area of veterinary medicine).
So, I will hopefully be starting school with a little bit of experience, but truth be told, I'm a little nervous to work around horses and large animals! It's a new (exciting), but unknown area for me. And I understand that things can be dangerous, especially when you're inexperienced. But we all have to start somewhere, right? What I'd like to know is how many of you started school with little or no horse and LA experience? What was it like working around these animals in school? What kinds of opportunities (extracurricular, wetlab, etc) are there in school if you would like to get more experience working with those animals? To broaden this question, I'll ask everyone what it was like to work around animals that you had little or no experience with going into vet school?
It seems like many of the SDNers have their own horses, or at least, extensive horse experience. I'm really envious of (and happy for) you guys. 🙂