Finding a vet you can trust is as important as finding a good trainer or the right horse. If you can't honestly say that you trust your vet with your horse's life, then you really need to find one with which you can. A good equine vet is not just your average vet, they need to be well attuned to the importance of our equine friend.
A top dressage horse can be worth thousands if not millions of dollars. Your vet not only needs to know horses, he needs to know you and your horse specifically, so he can address each situation. A good vet knows that one horse will sulk if a splinter gets in his toe and the other will only show any sign of a grizzle if every bone in his body hurts. One will not eat everything all the time and if the other stops eating everything all the time you know it means trouble.
Good vets, however, are also very busy. The key is having a relationship with your vet based on mutual trust and, well, common sense. You cannot call your vet for every ingrown hair or muscle spasm, nor can you call him a week after your horse started to show that something serious was going on. If I call my vet and say can you drop by sometime, I know, and he knows, that means just when you are passing, no rush. If I call him in tears and say “please come," I know that granted he is in the country he will be at the stable within 10 to 15 minutes.
Your Choice in Vet
As I am based in Portugal, I rely on Vasco Lopes for the veterinary care of my horses. Practising since 2001 Vasco decided to specialise in Equine Veterinary care because horses were always his passion. Now with his own private practice at the Quinta Dos Cedros performance centre, he says that being an equine vet is one thing, but understanding the needs of top performance horses is quite another.
“Originally I didn’t want to be a vet particularly, but when I started the course I knew it was horses or nothing, as horses have always been a big part of my life," he said.
Vasco advises that in order to be a good high performance vet it is very important to know firstly whether or not the horse is currently in competition and what discipline they compete in. “There are a variety of problems that are more specific to a certain discipline," said Lopes. "Therefore it is important to know what type of work and competition the horse is involved in in order to give an accurate diagnosis and treatment.”
Problems can occur as a result of the way of working the horse, or gear. “For example, if the rider works more on one rein, if the saddle is not correctly fitted, but the main thing for me is rider balance," Lopes explained about recurring problems. "If the rider is not in balance, or does not work the horse evenly on both sides, the horse will compensate. The main goal should always be to work for the horse, not fit the horse to your own imbalances."
In order to maintain the trust of your vet, you must trust in them. "A vet can sense a lack of confidence and when a client loses faith in their vet that is really when the partnership is over," he added.
Working alongside Vasco in Cedros, Lucia Carvalho always liked horses and believed the medicine and more specifically, the sports medicine, to be very challenging! “Helping to manage the sports career of a horse is very interesting, and moreover I love the part of the diagnosis and discovering what the horses have, plus treating and often solving the problem of a high level athlete, is very rewarding," said Carvalho.
Once you have found a vet who understands equine veterinary care, and on top of that, understands the needs of a performance horse, maintaining this relationship is up to you. When it comes to listening to your vet, you have to trust that what they tell you is right, or you should find someone that you do trust or that treats your horse in line with your goals.
Open Communication
Equine vet Tom Schell, D.V.M, DABVP(eq),CVCH of Nouvelle Research, Inc, originally attended veterinary college with the intention of specializing in companion pets and had had no prior experience or even exposure to horses.
“A college mate of mine was the opposite and he introduced me to the world of horse racing while we were attending vet school. Actually, we spent a lot of time away from the college and more time on the race track, which increased my interest. I then spent a large amount of time out in the barns at the University, gaining more interest in horses. I think the reason I opted to change my focus was because of the size and enormity of the horse, the power and the grace. One persuading factor was their eye, which always seemed to be quiet and peaceful, asking for help," Schell explained.
Agreeing that horse clients can be difficult at times, Tom says the most bothersome thing he noted over his years of practice was that many clients would schedule a call for a certain problem to be evaluated, but once there they raised many other areas of concern and even asked for him to evaluate other horses on the property.
“The problem with this habit is that time is limited in equine practice and when we are asked to do more things than originally scheduled, then often we are late to the next call, which fuels irritation onto the next client," said Schell frankly. "Often, if we simply tell our client we need to reschedule an appointment to evaluate the problems not on the day's list, they get upset as they do not want to pay for another call.”
In order to earn the respect of your vet, Tom advises that you respect your veterinarian's time and have a willingness to follow through with the vet's instructions as recommended.
“I do think that some problems are created by horse owners, and more so that they manifest as a result of the lifestyle or environment provided by the owner of the horse," he added. "I think, at times, we can lose focus on the horses themselves, remembering their needs for overall health and instead stay more focused on our desires and needs. When this focus is out of balance, then problems develop.”
In conclusion I would say that you have to work for the good of your horse, trust in your vet, trust in yourself, and know your horse well enough to know when to call for veterinary care.
by Sarah Warne - Photos © Astrid Appels
Related Links
Veterinary News on Eurodressage
Veterinarians on Stand-by for Healthy Equines on the Olympic Centreline