10 Things Your Equine Vet Wishes They Could Tell You

Your equine vet has an important job to do of providing preventive and emergency care to your horse. They often deal with all kinds of horse owners. It’s essential they learn to communicate with their clients effectively. Sometimes, that means not saying everything they are thinking. If they could, here’s ten things they wish they could tell you.

1) The answer isn’t always clear when it comes to diagnosing horses. Since they don’t speak our language, your vet is purely relying on symptoms and testing. It can be tricky to identify what is hurting and where.

2) Your equine vet isn’t late on purpose. Emergencies often keep them from arriving on time. Be considerate that maybe there was a difficult situation at their last farm call, but they will get to you as quickly as possible.

3) It is your responsibility to know how your horse behaves on a normal basis. This will make it easier to identify where the issue is.

4) Your vet doesn’t have everything in stock on their vehicle. You might have to go to the clinic or order in special medicine or bandages. There wouldn’t be enough space to store everything possibly needed.

5) They like appointments to stay on topic and professional. It’s great that you feel comfortable talking to your vet, but try to refrain from gossiping about your personal life and barn drama.

6) Veterinary medicine is a business. Unfortunately, services can’t be given away. Vets are not in the practice to be rich, but they do have expenses that need to be satisfied.

7) Don’t be afraid to speak with one of the other staff members. They are knowledgeable and often very capable of answering your questions. Vets are very busy people and depend on their staff to help.

8) They can’t save them all. Vets are not miracle workers. Sometimes, there’s nothing that can be done besides humanely putting the horse down.

9) Don’t believe everything you read online. Take your vet’s advice and not Google’s.

10) They care! Instead of working in an office, they choose to make barn calls all hours of the night, all weather conditions, and treat sick or injured horses. It can be rough, but their love for horses and medicine makes it worth it!

Being a veterarian isn’t easy! Make sure you are understanding the next time you need to schedule an appointment or have a question to ask. Things are not always as they appear.