Vet costs?

[cayuse]

Holy cow. My farrier, who is very, very good does work for a fairly large hospital and that price is just nuts compared to what he and I have talked about.

[endlessclimb]

Agreed, it was outright gouging. Thats why I laughed when he first set it down in front of me. Like, what? Haha. Oh wait, you’re serious.

I paid him, but that was a sharp lesson to me to ask first if it’s not an already trusted provider.

[reefy]

I like the way the practice I use does it - every January they offer a ‘wellness program’ with basic options (spring and fall vaccines plus fecal) and step up options (basic plus dental, basic plus dental plus basic bloodwork and hoof images).

I do it every January - by enrolling early, they give you a bit of a discount on whatever package you choose and then you have prepaid for it for the year. I lost my previous horse before she got her dental and they refunded that part of the plan to me. I think it’s a great program and then they know all about your horse in case of emergencies.

[treebeard]

@reefy

I like the way the practice I use does it - every January they offer a ‘wellness program’ with basic options (spring and fall vaccines plus fecal) and step up options (basic plus dental, basic plus dental plus basic bloodwork and hoof images).

I do it every January - by enrolling early, they give you a bit of a discount on whatever package you choose and then you have prepaid for it for the year. I lost my previous horse before she got her dental and they refunded that part of the plan to me. I think it’s a great program and then they know all about your horse in case of emergencies.

That’s neat! I’d take advantage of that if my vet practice offered that kind of thing.

[JenEM]

The practice I use has a wellness plan too, with a few options. If you ask, they absolutely will give you a rate sheet with the different levels of plan and options priced out–I did when enrolling and they asked which one I wanted.

I don’t usually ask pricing for routine stuff, or the “hey, this is looking weird can someone come take a look?” type appointments, or emergencies. But when we were dealing with some lameness weirdness the other year, I absolutely priced things out, including shopping MRI pricing (we are incredibly lucky to have options). None of the vets were offended by me asking “so what are we looking at cost-wise if we do Option A versus Option B?”

[CanteringCarrot]

@endlessclimb

I only got burned once not asking for an advance quote - the farrier at Purdue dropped a $700 bill in front of me for a pair of off the rack front shoes. I laughed, I thought he was joking.

I had to pull the shoes off 24 hours later as they put so much pressure on the horse’s quarter crack that it began to bleed profusely.

So this happened to you too?

I spent thousands on a quarter crack that “experts” kept making worse.

[CanteringCarrot]

I generally don’t ask for routine things like vaccines and a Coggins test.

I did ask how much an x-ray consult (me sending films to another vet and them writing up a report/opinion on them) would be, out of curiosity. That had a lot of variance in price. Which was interesting.

I came from a country that has heavily regulated vet fees, which has its pros and cons. I don’t think it would be possible to implement something like that across the entire USA, for a variety of reasons. Plus, the USA is just different (not saying right or wrong) and education is $$$.

[Jo]

@Melelio

Ours in N Tx seem considerably higher post Cov

Also in NTX and literally everything, from groceries to gas, have gone up. My vet’s costs have consequently gone up.

Literally the only thing I can imagine “price shopping” for is maybe a farm call fee. But to me, peace of mind by hanging an established relationship with a trusted vet is priceless.

[trubandloki]

@endlessclimb

I just pay the bill. I don’t get quotes ahead of time.

Yes, for routine stuff that is how I do it too.
Actually for most stuff.

If there are options for treatment we sometimes talk about cost and time associated with each option.
Sometimes not.

[LCDR]

Where I have really been burned on fees are pre-purchase exams, particularly with vets who are not local and I do not know. Over a forty year period and around 25 pre-purchase exams, the range has been $20 (that’s right) up to $3,500. These were looking for a fox hunter and lower level eventer.

[Tanabanana]

I think I’m with most people here about routine stuff. Large animals vets are getting more scarce and I’m lucky enough to be a client of an equine vet practice with 3 young vets who hopefully will never move away! This summer I had my first emergency visit with them and the overall bill made total sense. The itemization made me scratch my head but my horse is still alive so I’m all good.

Prices for emergencies beyond house calls here are a different story. The only equine hospital is two provinces away so you never end up there without estimated cost being part of the conversation and referral. It’s a constant debate here amongst horse people especially (although there are some other specialties and surgeries for all animals that can only be done there) if this means more horses are euth’d because that hospital is such a huge deal to get to. It’s part of owning horses here but it’s tough.