How far from a reliable Vet

[nootka]

Half hour to an hour, depending on some variables.

Liz M.

 

[Coventry Lane Farm]

We are lucky that our particular vet lives on the border of the back side of our farm and is minutes away There is a few other vets close as well within 45 minutes that handle equine and other large animals. We have been lucky that our vet is that close and is handy in case of an emergancy occurring with the help of his paging system as well. He has never left us down.

 

[eagles ring farm]

we are fortunate compared to some of your stories

our vets office is about a half hour away there are 3 vets in the practice and they take turns day by day and are available 24 hours a day. but they cover such a large area who ever is on duty could be an hour or 2 away and involved in another emergency at the time . we have no other except one equine vets in our area and i hear he is not any good

but we have been lucky when we need them they have always made it in enough time

lori

 

[Bess Kelly]

Well, I'm sure considering myself lucky about now -- after ready some of the posts for those who have no one around.

My primary vet is well versed in many exotics, does all type farm animals and is equine specialized and worked extensively in breeding & the issues from covering to foaling, etc. We go back MANY years and I have a wonderful relationship with him in that he will ALWAYS (!!!!!) call me within a few minutes of my call if it is an emergency -- will come out any time of day or night. If he's out of town, he will stay on the phone if that is what I need to guide me through. If only a vet can do what's needed, he contacts one for me if I need to get them there or have them ready for me to arrive. I have his home (office), pager and cell phone numbers on auto dial...and communicate by email all the time. Plus, he is a fantastic vet! (AND a great farrier, too....if any help is needed on an animal)

There are two more horse vets in the area, one have a large surgical facility and 2 other vets on staff. Both are within 10 miles of me.

There is a State lab about 20 miles out, so I can get lab work pretty quickly. Hey, coggins within 1/2 hr if I want to wait after carrying blood in. But, great place for reasonably priced results for cultures & sesitivity for best meds to use, etc. Also, necropsy work there.

There are two vet colleges within 4 hrs......one in VA & one in NC.

AND.......we have a wonderful orthopedic vet about an hr from me we now primarily does small animals BUT was specializing in racehorse for many, many years. He was able to handle my mini's broken leg a few years back. Has surgical unit, etc. (Luckily I did NOT need to use the surgery part!)

I'm able to keep several type meds, tranqs, antibiotics, etc. on hand in case of an emergency.

 

[jleonard]

We are very lucky and live near two of the best equine hospitals in the world, Rood and Riddle and Hagard (formerly Hagard-Davidson-McGee). Our primary vet works out of Rood and Riddle (both hospitals are 35-40 minutes away), but he only lives about 15 minutes from us, so can be here proto when need be. I cannot imagin living so far out that there is no one avaliable in an emergency situation. That must be awful. I am so glad I am lucky enough to live near both of these wonderful hopitals and have a great vet, it sure makes it easier to sleep at night, not worrying about what would happen should an emergency arise.

 

[backwoodsnanny]

This was exactly why I asked the question Mona is 80 miles out and does so much of her own vet work. I just am in awe of all she has done to help her little guy. It made me so thankful that I have vets relatively nearby. She and several others handle all of their own emergencies with just a vet on the phone my hat is off to them.

 

[Kim]

We are lucky in that we are only about 20-25 minutes away from an excellent equine hospital with specialists of all kinds and wonderful facilities. All the vets are great, although we do use only one for routine work as we have a relationship with him, and he knows the horses. In an emergency, however, whoever is on call will come out right away, and I've never had to wait more than half an hour - even at 2 or 3 am! If necessary, they'll also talk to you on the phone as they're on their way to tell you what you should be doing until they arrive and keep updated on the horse's condition. I really don't know what I'd do without such great vets!

 

[Fred]

My vet is 10 to 15 minutes from me they have 4 vets on staff and are currently looking for one more. There is someone on call 24/7. Were it not for them I would have lost Becky last October, and Shadow twice from different issues. I work with many different vets in the area [farrier wise] and this group is the most knowledgeable. Several of the different vets in the area tend to blow off the minis [they are not a REAL horse you know] but I've never had that problem here. I have a vet tech degree so my rapport with them is probably better than some of the other clients and they also know I do not call unless it is an absolute emergency. Linda B

 

[MiniHoofBeats]

Our vet actually LIVES just about 15 minutes from us and she is good friends with my family, she's given us her personal cell and home numbers so we can call her if anything emergency related happens =) Plus I just love it how our vet gives us 60 days to pay dues so if an emergency comes up we're not stuck with coming up with a few hundred, or a few thousand dollars right away!

 

[Sterling]

My equine vet is about a 20 minute ride out...my small animal vet is only 10 minutes. My equine vet has a 24 hour ER service as well. For the 17 years that we have lived here we have used the same vet and I have to say I feel lucky and blessed all at the same time. One of my fears of relocating will be just that....that my vet support system may not be as good as we have it here, big or small I really need to do my homework don't I ?.

 

[whitney]

I have 4 vet clinics. 10 mins, (2) 18 mins, 30 mins. The Michigan State University Vet Clinic is 1 hr. away.

 

[KenBen]

The nearest vet is 20 minutes. The vet I use is 1 1/2 hours away. We have learned to do most of our own vet work. Foaling we take care of it. The last case we had was a severe rope burn and I called our vet and he told us what to do. He comes once a year and does the vaccinations.We do our own deworming.

Ken

 

[Southern_Heart]

Adding my 2 cents again

Speaking of Vets being so far away and some really are far away, :new_shocked: Its always a good idea to read all you can about different problems that can arise in Miniature horses. I know the vets can not always be there in good record time, so I feel its very very important to know all you can know about any problem that could come up and how to handle it till the vet can get there or that you can get your horse to the vets.

Sometimes I have to be my own vet, assess the problem and take action for the sake of my horses. Its always a great idea to have supplies on hand for any emergency, wether it be shots or pills, or just plain stuff for cuts.

I will not call my Vet unless I feel that I can not handle the situation and all this is from learning over the years, be it hands on or reading books, LB Forum or learning from the Vets or Club seminars and the Internet. No matter where you get your knowledge from, its worth its weight in gold when you have an emergency.

I just wanted to state that the wonderful world of knowledge is out there. Seek and you shall fine and it may save your horses life someday.

:

JMHO

Joyce

 

[Michelle@wescofarms]

We're 15 miles from UC Davis. They handle the majority of our ranch calls both routine and emergencies etc. ICU visits and hospital stays - I do often send to Loomis Basin (60 miles away) as their staff has more mini horse knowledge and is more personable. The UCD Teaching School (onsite hospital staff) tends to view every horse - IMHO - as the opportunity to educate their students which would be great except they'll do alot of not necessarily needed tests.

I just had a mare in there for a retained placenta. The ICU vet told me on release she had done an ultrasound on the mares abdomen as she thought we might have missed the foal - me, the two field vets and their two senior students? I doubt we all could have!!!

We also use an alternative practice vet, 20 miles away for many treatments - WNV, Pneumonia, the after care from conventional hospitals, etc.

 

[CountryHaven]

Our farm call vet is 50 miles away. He is great, and has two other vets on staff as well if he's not available. So far I've never had one of them out, although I have met them. Our second choice to call is about the same distance in the opposite direction. He's an excellent vet and an equine specialist, but he hates to come out this far. In fact the first time I called him wanting to know if he would take us on as clients he told me no, but I asked him to come out once and vaccinate for me. He looked around and decided he could take us... since that time though, although he's very good, I've had a few emergencies I was made to feel uncomfortable with when I had to beg him to come out, so I switched to the other vet.

It's also just an hour and a half to the U of I, and they are great.

All said though all the vets are kind of far in extreme time counts type of emergencies. That's one of the best reasons this forum is so valuable. Learning from others experiences helps when you are faced with a seconds counts emergency and you know what to do, or at least how to try.

 

[CountryHaven]

Our farm call vet is 50 miles away. He is great, and has two other vets on staff as well if he's not available. So far I've never had one of them out, although I have met them. Our second choice to call is about the same distance in the opposite direction. He's an excellent vet and an equine specialist, but he hates to come out this far. In fact the first time I called him wanting to know if he would take us on as clients he told me no, but I asked him to come out once and vaccinate for me. He looked around and decided he could take us... since that time though, although he's very good, I've had a few emergencies I was made to feel uncomfortable with when I had to beg him to come out, so I switched to the other vet.

It's also just an hour and a half to the U of I, and they are great.

All said though all the vets are kind of far in extreme time counts type of emergencies. That's one of the best reasons this forum is so valuable. Learning from others experiences helps when you are faced with a seconds counts emergency and you know what to do, or at least how to try.

 

[wildoak]

We are fortunate in our area to have 4 good equine vet clinics, all within about 30 minutes. One is a busy surgical clinic, trips there are generally only emergencies. The vet I use routinely has taken on a new associate and has a couple of other good vets, one who comes in a few days a week and another who comes in periodically for surgeries. Great clinic, they do lots of repro work and lots of minis.

Jan

 

[Sonya]

My vet is about 3-4 miles away and he lives about a mile further. I am so lucky - I have access to him 24/7, including his technician if I can't get ahold of him, even the office manager. I have their home and cell numbers too, I am very lucky. He is a great vet.

 

[Kendra]

I'm lucky enough to work for the Equine Clinic that we've used since ... well, ever! They have four vets, all of them equine specialists and all of them excellent vets. It takes me 30 minutes to get to work. They don't do major surgery's (colic, fractures, etc), but there are two referral hospitals nearby, the one Kim refers to, only 1/2 hour in the other direction, and one in Okotoks, a little over an hour away. Luckily, we've never had to use their services.

I remember in college I was talking to a girl from Manitoba who's horse died enroute (4 hours away!) while he was colicking ... it was a wake up call at how lucky we are here! Now a good friend of mine lives in the same area, and has no good horse vets around, the one they use tells them to give a shot of Banamine and won't even come look at a colic, says they'll either die or get better!! :new_shocked:

 

[whimsical]

Our vet's office is about 5 minutes away. They have 3 vets in the office with someone on call all the time. We used a few vets in the area that were independent and they left us hanging when an emergency came up, just because they couldn't manage it all by themselves. I feel much better with these guys.