Happy Vets- Hoofbeats

Happy Vet Happy horse happy horse owner

by Amanda Dickerson With less vets available, and fewer equine veterinarians coming into the industry, it is important to consider the working environment and conditions we expect them to work under. The veterinary profession is an important aspect of the horse industry and is vital for our horses’ wellbeing.

What vets want you to know about how to make their visit the best it can be, whether it’s a routine trip or an emergency.

As a horse owner, it doesn’t matter if you’re competing at the highest level, trail riding once in a while, just keeping paddock ornaments, have one horse, or a dozen; it’s inevitable that sooner or later you’ll need an equine vet.

The veterinary profession is a challenging one. One vet we spoke to told us that over the last 30 years, fifty percent of vets have become so disillusioned with their work life that they are no longer practicing. We need to look after those who are still out there caring for our horses as it’s getting harder and harder to encourage young vets into the profession and especially ones who want to work in rural practices.

Your vet is an essential member of your horse management team and treating him or her as such is the first step to developing a great working relationship. Here’s what vets want you to know about how to make their visit the best it can be, whether it’s a routine trip or an emergency.

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When you make the call Book in the number of horses you actually need to have looked at. According to Dr Steve Dennis, President of Equine Veterinarians Australia (EVA), this is the reason vets often run late – owners saying ‘while you’re here, can you look at this other horse who has a sore eye…’

“Please, please, please, if you have a second or third case to be looked at, notify the vet or the vet practice so the day’s schedule can be adjusted to allow it to be fitted in,” says Dr Steve Dennis Several of the vets who participated in our survey commented that you should always go through a clinic switchboard and the vet on-call, never the vet’s personal number, even if you know it.

“Texting or social media contact after hours for advice is rude,” says Dr Jade Franklin of Longford Equine Clinic, Tasmania.

Getting to you Make it easy for your vet to know where they’re going when they arrive on the property and, if it’s possible, open gates for them, the courtesy is always appreciated, says Dr Franklin.

When your vet arrives, have your horse readily available. “I do expect that horses are caught and ready for examination. If not, then at least have a halter/lead rope ready and the horse in a small yard/paddock. If multiple horses are being examined, make sure they are close by or you have an extra helper to improve efficiency,” advises Dr Iain Trueman of Esk Veterinary Services, Queensland.

Not everyone is comfortable being photographed or filmed while they’re working, so please ask your vet before breaking out the camera, and respect their answer. In Dr Franklin’s view, “Uploading photos or videos of vets performing procedures online is unacceptable without their permission.”

Know what’s normal for your horse. Knowing their vitals when they’re healthy can help your vet to assess them in an emergency.

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Keeping your vet safe A 2006 study found that more than half of all vets have had at least one serious injury in their career, resulting in an average of 7.4 days off work. A recent Australian study found that of the serious animal-related injuries to vets, almost one-third were from horses. Injuries were a result of activities such as suturing, wound care, tubing for sand and drenching.

For Dr Dennis, the first safety issue is the level of handling of the horse. “Please do not ask your vet to do routine procedures on horses who haven’t had, or don’t often get, good handling training. The classic example is the minimally handled colt being booked in for castration. Too often these colts are left unhandled too long by clients, who decide that ‘getting his nuts out’ will allow them to train the horse more easily. Castration involves administering anaesthetics via injection – if a horse is spooked by this, it becomes an unsafe procedure for the handler, the vet and the horse.”

Vet treatment can heighten a horse’s sense of flight or fight, meaning they react to things that wouldn’t ordinarily bother

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e vet in advance, information you can give thof the vets told us the better. Here’s what most they wanted to know:

ved to be normal When your horse was last obser d When the first symptoms appeare in the history, Anything unusual or significant ls on the farm such as travel or new horse arriva e of feed • Recent deworming or chang • Hendra vaccination status e or after symptoms • Any medications given befor appeared d or potentially • If supplements are being use overused.

• • •

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It might sound obvious, but more than one vet we spoke to brought up handlers wearing thongs for vet visits. Make sure you’re wearing safe footwear and clothing for handling horses.

When holding your horse, stand on the same side as the vet, so if your horse moves, it moves away from, rather than into, the vet.

After the visit If you didn’t pay your bill at the time of the vet seeing your horse, “pay your bill within the credit terms agreed upon with the veterinary practice,” says Dr Trueman. “If you’ll be paying late, make a phone call and inform the practice manager when payment will be forthcoming.”

Respect your vet’s need to charge for their services and have an open discussion with them about the costs involved in providing you with a quality service.

Shelter fro m elements, the running water and a area or cru tie-up sh makes a safer env ir and easier onment situation for the vet to your horse treat .

We all know vet fees are expensive, but as Dr Williams says, “The constant ‘Vets are money grabbing’/ ‘I have paid for your car or holiday/ I have paid for a whole wing of this hospital or that X ray machine’ comments…’ Do you say the same to your accountant, lawyer or doctor? Think about how damaging this can be, especially to younger vets who are just making their way with huge debts, and to older vets who are still practising and certainly haven’t become rich out of it! If vets were just about the money … they would be doing something else.”

Some treatments or examinations may require a hard surface for trotting-up, power for equipment or a darkened area for other procedures.

them. Lock up dogs and other animals, and make sure horses (other than mares with foals) are in yards by themselves when being seen.

Barbed wire, star pickets, slippery mud … these can all make even routine vet visits more hazardous. Proper facilities can be critical to the ability to perform some procedures. If you have a well-lit, undercover area with a solid floor, and power and water nearby, you’re onto a winner as far as most vets are concerned.

Dr Paula Williams of Westvets, Queensland points out that Hendra continues to be a significant risk to vets. “If you’re in a high risk area then be prepared that if you elect not to vaccinate then some of your local vets may have a non-Hendra vax policy (i.e. a policy that states that only vaccinated horses will be attended to, or a policy that states they will not attend a sick, unvaccinated horse). Find out which vets local to you will attend non-vaccinated horses and cultivate a client-vet relationship – don’t expect them to just attend at the drop of a hat. Also be prepared that in an emergency your ability to get a vet may be limited and be prepared to wait or have to travel the horse to a facility.”

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If you’re not happy with some aspect of your vet’s care, raise it directly with the vet or the practice rather than through social media. As Dr Williams says, “This portal can be very damaging to vets and they don’t always have the ability to respond/address such things in the same forum due to confidentiality issues.”

Be kind The veterinary profession has a suicide rate that’s four times higher than the Australian average and twice that of any other medical or paramedical profession. According to Dr Dennis, one of the issues that comes up over and over again is the effect of client demands on vets’ mental health, and that a minority of clients can bad mouth a vet inside the large echo chamber that is social media and this can get reposted to a wide audience.

“Work conditions for equine vets often involve long hours and demanding schedules and reading posts from dissatisfied owners can be the last straw for some,” says Dr Dennis.

Another vet told us about the strain on vets: “The top of the veterinary award is less than $70,000 a year. For a new grad, about $40,000 … this is much lower than human nurses and school teachers. Veterinarians don’t get any Saturday or Sunday penalty rates. We work long hours. We love our patients and most of our clients but receiving abuse and refusal to pay by some clients, in addition to having to compromise care due to financial limitations, and deal with death on a daily basis has resulted in the suicide of many veterinarians with many more leaving the profession.”

We’ll leave the last word on caring for your vet to Dr Dennis: “Being a horse vet is sometimes a difficult and dangerous job – please respect the demands on horse vets and acknowledge their efforts. A simple thank you and a smile can go a long way to lift the spirits of anyone and make their day go better.”

Important Members of the Equine Community This article, Happy Vet, is one that’s a must read for every single horse owner as we know full well that from the moment you take ownership of a horse, you’ll be requiring the services of a vet.

How to take your horse’s vitals

It’s never a case of IF you’ll need a vet, it’s always a question of WHEN you’ll need a vet.

With a shortage of vets across Australia at the moment, and fewer young people wanting to take up this profession, it’s no surprise that this situation is having an impact on the number of vets available.

There are a variety of factors resulting in situations where it may become more difficult to seek prompt veterinary attention for your horse.

In many cases, your vet visits, attends your horse or horses, and goes. Sometimes they are chatty and friendly, sometimes abrupt, rushed, and uncommunicative.

As they often don’t have time to spend in idle chatter, you may never have considered just how their day has been going, or thought to question how they might cope with the stressful (and let’s face it, sometimes upsetting) situations that could arise in the course of their working week, which can often involve horrific injuries, dealing with neglect - intentional and unintentional - and situations where a horse that had a treatable condition if it had been seen to earlier, has to be euthanised.

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the equine vets out there, they’re incredibly important members of the equestrian community and here at Hoofbeats we’ve been especially fortunate to be Media Partners with Equine Veterinarians Australia (EVA).

So many veterinarians have given their time over the years to contribute to the magazine so that helpful horse management and care information can be made available to the horse owners of Australia.

How to take your horse’s vitals Write these down and keep them with your first aid kit. Check them regularly, especially if you’re bringing your horse in or out of work.

1.

Check at rest and, if you’ve just brought them in from the paddock, stand them quietly for 15 minutes or so beforehand.

2.

Breathing. Watch your horse’s nostrils or flanks and count how many times they go in OR out in 30 seconds (counting both in and out will double the rate, leading to a panicked call to the vet!). Multiply by two to get the rate per minute. Normal is 8-15 breaths per minute.

3.

Temperature. Yes, rectal temperature is still the best and most accurate way to check. Start by knowing how your thermometer works and how you’ll know when it has a reading. Smear a little Vaseline or lubricant on the thermometer, stand to the side of your horse and lift its tail. Gently insert the thermometer and wait for the required time or the beep, remove the thermometer and check. Normal is 37.5–37.8ºC.

4.

Heart rate. A heartbeat has two parts (‘lub-dub’) counted as one beat.

Count the number of beats in 30 seconds and multiply by two to get the rate per minute (With a stethoscope). Stand on the left side of the horse and place the stethoscope on the ribs just behind the elbow. (Without a stethoscope). Feel along the left side of your horse’s jawbone, just under its cheek, for a thick cord, about the thickness of a pencil. Press gently on it with fingers (don’t use your thumb) and you should feel the beats.

A normal heart rate is 32-42 beats per minute.

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