Veterinarian Specializing in Small Equines?

[MerelyAmanda]

I am currently going to college and deciding on a Major. I've always wanted to work with horses and become a veterinarian.

I have noticed on the forums that many people mention they have trouble finding a vet that deals with Miniatures and other smaller equines. I was considering seeing if there was a way to specialize in small equines. I love Miniatures and I would love to be able to treat them.

I wanted to ask opinions about this idea. I am still doing research to see if its even an option, but if you found a vet that specialized in Miniatures would you give them a chance? Do you think there would be a decent amount of demand for someone with that specialization?

The schools I am looking into currently are UF and Texas A & M.

 

[Magic]

I would LOVE to have a vet that specialized in miniatures!!

At our previous place, my vets were quickly becoming specialists because of my horses, lol! Here, not. Or at least not yet.

I think that if you end up working in an area heavily populated with minis, you may do very well. I'm sure you would have to treat full size horses as well, to make enough money. Good luck!!

 

[MerelyAmanda]

I love horses and would have no trouble treating ones of any size.

However, I have noticed from reading the board that a lot of "Big Horse" vets don't seem to know the right doses for Minis, or the unique aliments they can have, how to deal with their small size when it comes to foaling and pregnancy, etc.

I was thinking that many Mini Owners might welcome the chance to have a Vet that knows Minis and enjoys treating them.

 

[txminipinto]

Hello,

I work at Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine where I assist in instruction of vet students. At this time, there is no specialty of the small equine but we see quite a few minis here so students at A&M do get an education in miniatures. The main issue with vets, currently, treating minis is the over/under estimation of body weight. The main issues that minis suffer from more so than the larger cousins are dwarfism and locking stifles. Most other conditions are one and the same when compared to big horses.

Personally, unless you live here in Brazos Valley where there are more miniatures than any where else, I do not see a demand for a mini only vet. My advice, if you haven't done so already, is volunteer/work at an equine hospital to get a feel of the hours and work. It's hard enough to get into vet school w/o any experience and several students drop out each year after deciding this isn't what they want to do. Veterinary medicine isn't a job, its a life style. There is no 9-5.

Good luck!

 

[chandab]

A vet that specializes in horses would be great, one that knows minis would be awesome. I imagine to make a go of it, you would have to be in an area with lots of minis, and perhaps also be willing to work on cats and dogs, too. [Around here vets' primary patients are cattle; with cats and dogs secondary and horses usually rank third (sometimes they rate above cats/dogs, but not always).]

 

[Karen S]

Hi Amanda,

I live south of Ft. Worth near Burleson and we have a very good vet here that owns the Burleson Equine Hospital. Dr. Putnam is the primary vet for all of the Miniature horses in our area (he is the staff vet for the AMHA Nationals). I have known him for many years and he comes highly recommended for both big and small equine.

If you are serious about wanting to become a vet, please work in an animal hospital or mentor with someone from the University. My daughter is a recent grad of Tarleton State University and was in the pre-vet program there. She had the grades and loved all of the aspects of vet medicine, but there is a lot more to it that you may not be able to stomach. One of her classes that she had to take as part of the curriculum was a meat class, and in this class they had to witness the killing of a cow and pig. This class pretty much will be the tell all if anyone can stomach what happens to all animals when they are killed. This lets you see what could happen out in the day to day world of working with horses. Can you dissect a foal in utro? Can you handle loosing a horse if all else fails? These are some questions you need to ask yourself. If you can honestly answer yes then being a vet will be very rewarding to you. There will be lots of long hours and the pay isn't that great. Dr. Putnam sits on the Board at Texas A & M and he told us the starting salary out of school for a female vet is $40,000 per year, not as much as what a man can make, but the tables are turning in such that veting for woman is considered a second career or second income.

Vet school is hard to get into (with only 128 spots for Texas alone) there were 1100 applicants last year alone vieing for these spots. You will need recommendations and work history to help get your foot into the door just for the interviews. Plan now, get with your guidance counselor and set in motion what you are wanting to achieve. Basic school is now five years with another five just for actual vet school.

Good Luck and study hard.

Karen

 

[Joanne]

Hi Amanda,

My experience is with the University of Califonia, Davis, which has a vet school. I agree with all that has been mentioned. If you want to do Equines only, there is a specialty for that. There is a HUGE need for large animal veterinarians at this time as there is a large turn over in that field.

As a women, you would have a lot of competition. Men stand a better chance to get into vet school these days as there are far less of them applying. That may change in the next 3-4 years when you are ready to apply to vet school, but that is how it is today.

I have heard greater salaries for large animal vets then what was mentioned here. There are also a number of incentives for large animal veterinarians at this time.

I do agree that you should get some work at some large animal clinics and see if this is the path for you.

I LOVE having a veterianarian that is excited about what they are doing and are good at what they do.

Thank you for coming onto the forum and letting us know about you and your possible career !

 

[HGFarm]

Our vet specialized in equines, and got into Minis on a personal and technical level- she is quite an expert on Minis and we LOVE her! (and have already told her multiple times she can NEVER retire, LOL)

I think a few vets in various states that really know Minis would be awesome, and really needed! You go!!

 

[whimsical]

I love you being curious and exploring your options. I know here in Texas I have found far fewer vets that are willing to work on minis than from my home state of Louisiana. Even with such a limited number of minis close to LSU vet school they have had their share of strange situations that my friends have had to bring to them and have solved with great success. And the subsequent vets feel comfortable with working with them.

My daughter is only 10 and deeply feels that she wants to be a vet also. We took her to LSU where she wants to study and she met with the Dean of Student Affairs there and he encouraged her and took her on a tour. The vets here even offer for 13 year olds to volunteer which is what she plans to do. (Not my doing, I would much rather her be a doctor or something like that).

But if I were you I would work or volunteer for a local vet or animal hospital. And visit whatever school you prefer and see if they can give you any insight as to what they prefer for you to do for admissions. See if it is what you want to do. And if you want to specialize in minis I would gladly use you. I get highly frustrated that the vets here don't have a clue what to do with the minis and don't care to learn. They have a large animal practice that does them just fine......I guess.

 

[jleonard]

I too have been considering the option of specializing in minis (though still treating biggies). I'm at pretty much the same point as you are, it sounds like, and I'm glad this topic was started, there is a lot of good info here already. I decided that I would like to do minis after my experiences with trying to breed my mares. Although I have always had wonderful vets, who did everything in their power to help with the minis, they were large men, and just could not do some things, like ultrasounds. One found a small woman vet to preform the first internal ultrasound we attempted, and the other vet had me preform the second. It just seems that there are areas of miniature care that are much better suited for small women, so yes, I can see a demand for mini vets in the future.