typical lifestyle of an equine vet?

[bluesails]

Hi! I've been meaning to ask this question for a while, because I'm an international student who's aiming to study equine medicine in the US and I'm still not sure whether I want to permanently relocate or not.

All of my experience with equine vets has been in my home country, a third-world country in Southeast Asia, so things are very different. Most of the equine vets don't go on to specialize, and even if they go abroad to do so they end up returning and having to treat cases whether or not they specialized in that field or not, just because we lack equine vets. A lot of them go to farrier school abroad too so they can make good recommendations about shoeing, since we don't have a farrier school in the country - people learn through apprenticeships. It's a very different approach but I've come to really admire the resourcefulness, creativity, and adaptability of the vets I've shadowed so far.

Anyway, I wanted to ask - what is the typical lifestyle like, for an equine vet in the US? Obviously this would depend on whether the person is currently doing an internship or residency or working at a private practice... but I'd appreciate any info you can give me. 🙂

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[awaring1]

An equine vet can have a very different lifestyle depending on what they want to do.

Equine vets in rural areas often double as a large animal vet because not all areas can support a vet to do 100% equine all the time. In some areas people do maybe 50% equine and 50% LA, but it all depends on where you live.

If you are fortunate enough to live in an area with a lot of horses, you then have the option of working for yourself or partnering with a local practice (if there is one). There are mixed practices where some vets work in the office on small-animals and there are other vets that are on the road doing farm calls for LA and/or equine. There are also 100% equine practices in some area that tend to have more specialists and will usually have a surgery suite and clients can trailer into the facility for treatment. Working with a practice gives you the opportunity to share the on-call emergencies and can give you a more regular schedule. If you are working independently you can find your own clients in the area and your business can spread by word-of-mouth. Sometimes independent vets in a certain area can work together so that you do not have to cover ALL of the 3am emergencies in your area.

Most equine vets are very independent and can handle basic problems by themselves. If there is a problem that is beyond their ability they will usually refer the client to the closest equine hospital that has specialist that can treat the issue. If there is a veterinary school teaching hospital close by they are usually the source of the specialist.

It is tough to pin-point a "typical" lifestyle since there are so many variances. If you work in Kentucky, about 90% of your clients may be racehorses and you will deal with primarily leg/lameness isuess, ulcers, pre-sale exams, etc. If you live in a rural area you will deal more with vaccinations, colic and any other random thing that happens. If you specialize in surgery after vet school you may only see most of you patients on the table.

Not sure if I really answered any of your questions. Anything specific you would like to know?

 

[shortnsweet]

You will learn to love the truck you drive....as you typically spend 10+ hrs in it a day as ambulatory equine vet. Have good music playlists 🙂

😍Equine Med!

 

[bluesails]

An equine vet can have a very different lifestyle depending on what they want to do.

Equine vets in rural areas often double as a large animal vet because not all areas can support a vet to do 100% equine all the time. In some areas people do maybe 50% equine and 50% LA, but it all depends on where you live.

If you are fortunate enough to live in an area with a lot of horses, you then have the option of working for yourself or partnering with a local practice (if there is one). There are mixed practices where some vets work in the office on small-animals and there are other vets that are on the road doing farm calls for LA and/or equine. There are also 100% equine practices in some area that tend to have more specialists and will usually have a surgery suite and clients can trailer into the facility for treatment. Working with a practice gives you the opportunity to share the on-call emergencies and can give you a more regular schedule. If you are working independently you can find your own clients in the area and your business can spread by word-of-mouth. Sometimes independent vets in a certain area can work together so that you do not have to cover ALL of the 3am emergencies in your area.

Most equine vets are very independent and can handle basic problems by themselves. If there is a problem that is beyond their ability they will usually refer the client to the closest equine hospital that has specialist that can treat the issue. If there is a veterinary school teaching hospital close by they are usually the source of the specialist.

It is tough to pin-point a "typical" lifestyle since there are so many variances. If you work in Kentucky, about 90% of your clients may be racehorses and you will deal with primarily leg/lameness isuess, ulcers, pre-sale exams, etc. If you live in a rural area you will deal more with vaccinations, colic and any other random thing that happens. If you specialize in surgery after vet school you may only see most of you patients on the table.

Not sure if I really answered any of your questions. Anything specific you would like to know?

Thanks, this was really helpful! 🙂

Would you know if female equine vets have a really hard time balancing family and work? (Obviously this applies to all vets, but I mean whether there's a significant difference for equine vets.)

Also, what average salaries are like for equine vets as compared to small animal?

Thank you again - just trying to ask questions I've always just had vague estimations about.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Wait wait, how does this:

You will learn to love the truck you drive....as you typically spend 10+ hrs in it a day as ambulatory equine vet. Have good music playlists 🙂

translate to this:

😍Equine Med!

😕😕😕

If you wanted to spend 10+ hrs of your typical day in a truck, why not become a truck driver? You'd be doing what you love, and I have a feeling you'll earn much more that way! 😛

But seriously, is 10+ hrs in a truck being a typical day an exaggeration? And if really true, how many hours do you actually spend on clients/patients?

 

[shortnsweet]

Wait wait, how does this:
translate to this:
😕😕😕

If you wanted to spend 10+ hrs of your typical day in a truck, why not become a truck driver? You'd be doing what you love, and I have a feeling you'll earn much more that way! 😛

But seriously, is 10+ hrs in a truck being a typical day an exaggeration? And if really true, how many hours do you actually spend on clients/patients?

I love equine med, and it is what I plan to do. The reality of it is though, unless you work in a clinic/hospital full ltime, you spend quite a bit of time driving to your clients. I have now done ambulatory vet work in 3 states on the East Coast, and usually see about 3-5 barns a day, some only having one horse to check, working from 8am until at least 6pm, more if an emergency is called in. If you get backed up at one place, you may see fewer that day. For example, two weeks ago I drove from mid-CT, to Long Island for one horse (2 hours there, 2 back), then back to Western CT(1 hour there, 1.5+ back with rush hour traffic) for one horse, then back to mid CT, just in one day. Prepurchase exams can take a few hours and injections can take half an hour. But no...it is NOT an exaggeration that you will be spending a lot of time in the truck driving to the barns all over the state. You get caught up on paperwork and phone calls while your tech drives to the next place. And no, I don't want to be a truck driver😛. It's not an easy life, but I love it.

And to the OP...I know plenty of female equine vets who have a life and family and are very happy. It is not a 9-5 job, but they make it work, and their families are very understanding. Salaries depend on the state and your clients, but personally I have seen interns making about 30K, and some of the established private practices making up to 80K, though that can vary greatly--And board certifications increase those numbers.

 

[awaring1]

Wait wait, how does this:
translate to this:
😕😕😕

If you wanted to spend 10+ hrs of your typical day in a truck, why not become a truck driver? You'd be doing what you love, and I have a feeling you'll earn much more that way! 😛

But seriously, is 10+ hrs in a truck being a typical day an exaggeration? And if really true, how many hours do you actually spend on clients/patients?

There could be a lot of driving, but it doesn't need to be that way. It all depends on what district you cover. My own equine vet is about 45 minutes away and she says that is as far as she will drive. If you are in an area such as FL or KY you can see several different farms, spent 1hr+ with each patient and only drive 10 minutes between each of them.

And I am pretty sure most equine med people (including myself) would gladly spent 50%+ of their day in a car if it meant we could practice on horses for the other 50% and make a living off of it. Doesn't make a lot of practical sense, but the passion for horses is in the blood and is sometimes not compatable with soluble common sense and has a difficult time passing the blood-brain-barrier. 😀

 

[Minnerbelle]

And I am pretty sure most equine med people (including myself) would gladly spent 50%+ of their day in a car if it meant we could practice on horses for the other 50% and make a living off of it. Doesn't make a lot of practical sense, but the passion for horses is in the blood and is sometimes not compatable with soluble common sense and has a difficult time passing the blood-brain-barrier. 😀

lol, well the 50/50 I can understand, but I'm just really having a hard time wrapping my head around 10+ hrs/day driving on a regular basis. I can understand doing that once in a while, but dang... Do they all live on 5 hr energy drinks? I knew you horse people were some other kind of breed, but this is just insane to me. I know that I certainly couldn't do that and not fall asleep behind the wheels. I dunno, maybe I'm just a wimpy urbanite. And how much do you have to charge to make up for the services + travel time + gas +5 hr energy + overhead (though i'm guessing that would be sig less than for a non-ambulatory clinic)? Is this why the average starting salary for equine vets is so freaking low?

 

[breenie]

Yeah, that is not typical in other areas. Some of the larger equine clinics around here will drive an hour, max, across their territory. I'm speaking as a midwesterner.

 

[awaring1]

lol, well the 50/50 I can understand, but I'm just really having a hard time wrapping my head around 10+ hrs/day driving on a regular basis. I can understand doing that once in a while, but dang... Do they all live on 5 hr energy drinks? I knew you horse people were some other kind of breed, but this is just insane to me. I know that I certainly couldn't do that and not fall asleep behind the wheels. I dunno, maybe I'm just a wimpy urbanite. And how much do you have to charge to make up for the services + travel time + gas +5 hr energy + overhead (though i'm guessing that would be sig less than for a non-ambulatory clinic)? Is this why the average starting salary for equine vets is so freaking low?

I would really think that 10hr/day is a unique instance and not a regular thing. There is not a lot of big money in horse med so I think the cost of gas would make that much driving impossible. Unless they are some sort of specialist that is in high demand over a large area I doubt many vets would agree to drive that much. If I ever need coggins done or stuff like that I usually arrange a time with my vet where she will be in my general area anyway.

Overall I would say an equine vet drives about the same as typical LA vet. Maybe a little bit more since they have fewer clients per farm (vs. 100 head of cattle).

 

[bluesails]

And I am pretty sure most equine med people (including myself) would gladly spent 50%+ of their day in a car if it meant we could practice on horses for the other 50% and make a living off of it. Doesn't make a lot of practical sense, but the passion for horses is in the blood and is sometimes not compatable with soluble common sense and has a difficult time passing the blood-brain-barrier. 😀

haha, agreed.

Thanks so much for the info everyone.

 

[JumpHigherLivie]

Re why an equine vet's salary is so low we were told in school (and I do personally believe this) that a large part of it is because there are a number of people that want to "be a pony vet" at whatever cost (or lack of salary as the case may be) and that as a profession we've been driving down the salary. I mean absolutely no offense to any equine people (I am a horse person was an avid equine vet med person and never believed I would have made a switch until I did). And yes, the horse market is crap right now and that certainly doesn't help ... but let's face it even when the market wasn't crap the equine vets weren't racking in the money. 🙂 If you make it 10 years out in the field the salary tends to make a larger than average spike.

Your family life will largely depend on how/who you practice with. If you're by yourself or with one other, that's a lot of on-call time and a lot of holidays. If you're in a larger practice there's more ways to split the on-call and holidays (but often lower payout). If you have an understanding spouse who is able to be home with kids, not as huge of a deal as if you have a spouse who is also on call...

Internships are very competitive and they, for the most part, do not use the match system (for better or for worse, take your pick lol) and require a lot out of their participants. That being said, most of the true equine people seem to eat it up. 🙂

 

[EllieGirl89]

Re why an equine vet's salary is so low we were told in school (and I do personally believe this) that a large part of it is because there are a number of people that want to "be a pony vet" at whatever cost (or lack of salary as the case may be) and that as a profession we've been driving down the salary. I mean absolutely no offense to any equine people (I am a horse person was an avid equine vet med person and never believed I would have made a switch until I did). And yes, the horse market is crap right now and that certainly doesn't help ... but let's face it even when the market wasn't crap the equine vets weren't racking in the money. If you make it 10 years out in the field the salary tends to make a larger than average spike.

Actually, I was told something different for the discrepancy. I was told by the woman who runs the "business" type classes at my vet school that equine vet starting salary averages are so low because very few people actually go right out of school and into equine practice. Most people who want to practice equine medicine do an internship right out of vet school, where the salaries tend to be in the $30,000 range. Once they get out of the internship and into practice their salaries are a bit more on par with the starting salaries of their small animal and food animal colleagues.

 

[breenie]

Actually, I was told something different for the discrepancy. I was told by the woman who runs the "business" type classes at my vet school that equine vet starting salary averages are so low because very few people actually go right out of school and into equine practice. Most people who want to practice equine medicine do an internship right out of vet school, where the salaries tend to be in the $30,000 range. Once they get out of the internship and into practice their salaries are a bit more on par with the starting salaries of their small animal and food animal colleagues.

Hate to bring up the crazy horse people stereotype... but horse people also tend to be VERY loyal to their vets (if they do in fact like them). I think it can be a bit harder for new grads to get established, even if they are at a clinic with a lot of business. Depending on how you're paid (based on somewhat on production, straight salary, etc), I suspect this has some influence. Also everyone pays the n00bz less.

But your point is probably the stronger driving factor. 😉

 

[bunnity]

I think the objection to the 10 hour thing is that the person that originally mentioned it said they would be driving 10 hours a day (and then presumably practicing another ?? hours a day on top of that). That makes no sense that you would be driving 10 hours a day unless you were driving to a farm 5 hours away.
Unless what they meant is that you work 10 hour days which include a lot of driving, which is a different thing.

 

[shortnsweet]

Unless what they meant is that you work 10 hour days which include a lot of driving, which is a different thing.

Thought I made that clear in my second post, but whatever.