Vet Times

Tag: equine

  • No substitute for experience

    No substitute for experience

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    Recently, for the first time in years, I tried my hand at polo again. I had played a few times before as part of a Pony Club team, and although I loved it, in all honesty, we were pretty rubbish. So it was quite a nice surprise to be able to actually hit the ball.…

  • One year as a vet student

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    Having received my results for the professional exams, I can finally say that I’ve finished my first year at vet school! Being brutally honest, the first term was a bit of a culture shock. I had focused so much on getting into vet school and being a vet that I didn’t really think about what…

  • Too many graduates, not enough jobs?

    Too many graduates, not enough jobs?

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    No doubt spurred on by a survey carried out by the Institute of Employment Studies (on behalf of the RCVS), this last week has seen an interesting focus on the availability of jobs within the veterinary profession. Curiously enough, the survey seems to show that the increasing number of graduates over the past few years…

  • Laminitis: is hay the culprit?

    Laminitis: is hay the culprit?

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    Now home for the summer, having finished my first year at vet school, I’ve been back at the farm, mucking out the ponies and riding, as if I’d never left… and this means I’m back to the ongoing battle with laminitis. While the ponies are more at risk during the spring, Gracie, our 12.2hh, seems…

  • My barking mad challenge

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    You know you’re going somewhere remote when your first exchange with a local Norwegian at the airport is: “People don’t go to Alta, people get sent to Alta.” Joking aside, Alta is a fairly small community well into the Arctic Circle, and we were leaving civilisation behind altogether by venturing into the wilderness with seven…

  • Do something amazing – give (your pet’s) blood

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    I had heard of the Pet Blood Bank before, but only when it was mentioned in one of our blood lectures did I start wondering. I don’t know how often veterinary professionals make use of the service in general practice, but I do think it’s fantastic that a resource like this is available to help…

  • Pony Club values

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    Sat in our equine lectures so far, I’ve found myself dozing off a little. Not because of the morning-after headache following one of Glasgow’s vet school socials, or from utter boredom, but because I already knew a lot of it. Yes, I’ve had my own horse and have been riding since I was 11, but…

  • The possibility of failure

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    A week before the December exams, I found myself making the five-hour train journey south to not-so-sunny Leicestershire for the first time since I left for uni in September. This wasn’t because I couldn’t stand being away from the horses for a minute longer (though it was starting to get that way), but because I wanted to go back for the…

  • A bundle of nerves

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    “If a nerve is squashed, it’s not too serious, it goes back to normal. If the nerve is severed or torn, the cow will be lame for a long time – the prognosis is bad.” That made me sit up a little straighter than normal for a Monday morning lecture. During my riding accident, I…

  • Common vs anatomical

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    In anatomy, we have the ongoing debate about whether we need to use the anatomical names for bones or the “common” equivalent. Though we are examined only on the anatomical terms, how important is it to be aware of the others? “In the distal limb, we have the third metacarpal bone, proximal, middle and distal…