for those who board or have boarded at a AA full care barn, what is the general policy or norm when it comes to the owner being present when the vet looks at their horse? I’m not talking about routine things like that vaccines or the emergency situation that requires the vet to come out last minute. But say your horse has been sore or lame and the vet is scheduled to come out to do an exam. Would you’re trainer or barn manager be okay with you coming out and asking questions or hear if what the vet has to say? Or is it better to just stay out of the picture and wait until the trainer calls you and tells you what they found.
note- this is a barn where full care means the trainer has all say over the care of the horse including grooming, turnout, feed, etc. most clients are okay with just “showing up and riding.” But some prefer to be a little more “in the know” based on previous negative experiences with other full care programs
This would be a question for the trainer/barn manager. I would guess the answer has to do with the person asking the question. Some owners would make the vet visit difficult, asking lots of unrelated questions (I can see it now - if I give Dobbin more Turmeric will that fix this issue?) and other owners would learn and be helpful.
Now expect a million posts of people saying “I could never board anywhere that someone else makes decisions for my horse”.
Full care or otherwise, I am always involved in any medical decisions about my horse.
Full disclosure, I’ve never been in this situation. But I would think the owner could discuss it with the trainer before the vet visit to assure that both parties are on the same page. I would be concerned if my trainer forbade my presence at any vet visit because that indicates some kind of foul play is at hand. However, I also understand the need to be efficient with everyone’s time and not be able to ask a million questions or commandeer the appointment.
Last time I did full care, we weren’t expected to be there since it was in the middle of the day and this was before cell phones so harder to be given an ETA, but we were given a phone number to call and the vet would explain what he found and what the recommended treatment was. But we were allowed to be there if we wanted. I can’t imagine not being allowed to be there, since I’m the one paying the bill, I would expect to be involved in the decisions.
There is absolutely no way a trainer/BO/BM would tell me I could not be at a vet appt for my horse. I try to have all appointments scheduled when I can be there. There are times, due to work, that the vet and I can’t be on the same schedule. Usually my trainer will call me while the vet is on site and let them explain the situation to me so that I can ask questions.
Sorry you don’t want a million posts but it is absolutely ridiculous that someone I pay to help me with my horse would forbid me from being present for someone else I pay examining the horse. If vets couldn’t deal with dumb owner questions there would be no vets.
I have been at several full care facilities where it is NOT the norm for owners to be present. That being said, I have never had a trainer discourage me from coming. I am very hands on when it comes to my horses care, more so then a lot of other busy adult amateurs that I have known. I pass no judgement either way, I just prefer to be present for those type of vet visits, and it has never been an issue for me.
I feel that I can get a better feel for the situation and options when I am present, versus on the phone. I have found that some vets are somewhat difficult to understand on the phone and I hang up feeling confused.
Since I am paying the vet, paying for treatment, and have to live with the outcome I would insist on being present unless the times are totally unworkable. If not I would expect to consult with vet.
I would also however work hard to be a good patient and advocate. Listen hard, stay silent while vet is working, only ask relevant questions at the end, be very careful not to go off track. And study up on the relevant anatomy before the appointment. Like if it’s a hoof problem you need to know what P1 P2 P3 coffin bone navicular bone rotation etc mean and not expect vet to give you basic anatomy lesson on the spot.
One of the benefits of being at a full care barn is not having to be there for the vet (workday, etc) because the trainer can meet the vet and there’s probably also a groom to do the jogging/lunging. However, owners should always be welcome to observe and discuss with the vet if they want (and are respectful of the process and everyone’s time, which they usually are).
It’s so much easier for the vet to see multiple horses in a single visit and split the farm call when the barn does the scheduling, often vets have regular days for routine visits to regular big barn clients, like every other Monday. In urgent care situations, don’t want to make my horses wait. Think that has more to do with the impression owners are not welcome. Never known any barn that forbade owners from attending vet vet visits or even doing their own scheduling if they wanted to pay a full farm call and play phone tag waiting around all day. The barns just cannot schedule vet visits convenient to the work schedules of 20 or 30 owners.
I had no problem trusting my trainer/ barn manager with vet visits and sure didn’t want them to wait for to treat the horse in an urgent care situation, call vet first, then call me. If I didn’t trust them with that, I would never select them for full care boarding.
Others have different experiences and expectations if they don’t trust their barn staff to make the right decisions and keep them advised.
I am not often able to be there because I work. But our barn owner/manager encourages all horse owners to participate in the care of their horse and to be involved. We are more than welcome to be there for the vet, Blacksmith, dentist, etc. When I am not there, my trainer will take photographs of any x-rays and text them to me while the vet is still there, and get on the speakerphone with the vet to call me so that we can talk about it. I appreciate this immeasurably.
My trainer is always fine with that.
I would find it troubling if an owner was forbidden to be present, when they are the one’s footing the bill. I think it is not the norm for owners to be present at a lot of appointments, for many reasons - efficiency, owner’s schedule, vet’s unpredictable schedule, etc . . . But to forbid the owner from attending when there is an issue that might warrant discussion or decisions or is even just really concerning (mystery lameness, etc . . .) would raise red flags with me. I can completely understand a trainer saying “hey, it’s annual vaccinations/sheath cleaning/teeth floating/whatever, you don’t need to be here” but for an injury or similar issue, I think that’s different, and the trainers I’ve known and worked with have always been willing to accommodate the owner being there in those situations. When my young horse was injured, I attended if they were doing an ultrasound or more diagnostics, I didn’t attend if they were jogging/flexing/palpating. And if I couldn’t be there for a larger appointment, the vet was always willing to speak with me after the trainer gave me the rundown.
Your horse, your money, you should be there. Yes, you should ask questions, and expect understandable answers. Not necessarily for routine vaccinations etc. but for any visit that involves diagnostics. But No I do not expect the farm to await my presence before calling the vet in an acute emergency, but neither do I expect my presence to be discouraged.
I always arranged for itemized billing from the vet and never just allowed the barn to roll anything into a generic " meds’ charge. I wouldn’t pay that anyway. My vets were always available to explain anything or answer questions, Actually, they often called me directly to chat about what was done and got back to me in a reasonable amount of time when I called them. Never felt the need to have to be present. .
As a DVM, I would absolutely not be averse to having the owner present.
They are, after all, paying for my services.
Generally it should be totally fine for an owner to be there, as long as it is not delaying or interfering with proper care (in which case if the owner is unhappy they should move to a different barn that is okay with that). But scheduling can often be an issue. Many people work and would need to take time off work, and many vets are very non-specific in their appointments as their schedule can change in the course of a day due to emergencies. Also, it’s foolish to not use your trainer and/or BM as a resource to help you get the most value out of your vet appointments.
I suppose there are barns that discourage the owner being there. Honestly I understand that, because I have seen owners derail vet appointments by being rude, by giving the vet misinformation about the horse due to ignorance, or by creating controversy over extremely non-controversial pieces of the puzzle.
I always try to be present at my horse’s vet appointments and that has not changed since moving to a full-service barn. I would say that is not the norm, though. My trainers are totally okay with my presence but I do try to keep my mouth shut as much as I can during the exam (unless I have information that is relevant to the discussion and diagnosis). I make a mental, and sometimes even written, list of questions and makes sure I get them all answered to my satisfaction before deciding on a course of treatment. This seems to work well for everyone.
I was always present for vet visits but I was one of the only owners who did this. The trainers and barn manager had no problem with this as I come from a very medical family and studied Equine science so I could converse with the vet even more comfortably than they could. I also had my horses in self care before this so I am used to being very involved, my horses are at a more low-key boarding barn now and I still manage all of their vet care.
