Right. I thought all vets are educated and licensed for pretty much most animals?
I donât see where we disagree?
Thatâs just awful. I know about the very high suicide rate among veterinarians. Do you have an opinion as to the cause? Debt? Seeing people despondent over the loss of their animals? Having to euth? Poor treatment of animals by clients? Poor treatment of vet by clients? All of the above?
I read an article, canât remember where, about the shortage of rural large animal vets. It explained that, along with the very real risk of being injured, it was almost impossible for rural vets to make a living due to the travel time to and between the farms. To just break even the vet has to charge more than many people are willing to pay. It seems like there is no solution to the problem.
1 Like
Yes I know. I still think it stretches credulity to think of the 3000 or so graduates each year only 22 become equine vets. Just the exposure to the equine component might interest some students, in addition to the ones who went in wanting to do equine.
4 Likes
One other point about the stress load on equine vets: horse people talk. And tend to know one another. So, if a Dr. makes a mistake or lacks experience in the eyes of the clientele, word gets around and peopleâs perceptions get changed. I doubt many dog or cat owners are in a network that discusses their vets.
5 Likes
And that saw cuts both ways. We also know who the crazy clients are and often speak up to defend the vets 
5 Likes
At least some of yâall have a choice of large animal or equine vets. Around here the only local vet that sees large animals is in his 70s. The other large animal vet quit practicing and is now selling veterinary pharmaceuticals. There is a mobile vet based around 60ish miles away but she doesnât have a very good reputation. There are 2 equine hospitals in Shreveport, around 60ish miles away but I donât think they make farm calls this far out.
The lotteries are in the $189+ million range and Iâve bought my tickets. Maybe if I win Iâll finance a large animal vet clinic. In return for a certain time commitment Iâll pay all outstanding student debt, provide an equipped truck, a rent free clinic for 5 years.
10 Likes
No farm calls would be a deal breaker for me. I donât mind shipping in for routine or scheduled treatments (like I did for SI injections), but when one of the horses at the barn got out over the winter and ended up with severe wire cuts, I was very, very glad the vet came right out. Not only that, since my truck was out of commission, she brought a trailer over and took the horse back to the clinic when it was determined that the wounds needed more care than we could provide. This thread is making me feel very lucky.
11 Likes
Thatâs just awful. I know about the very high suicide rate among veterinarians. Do you have an opinion as to the cause? Debt? Seeing people despondent over the loss of their animals? Having to euth? Poor treatment of animals by clients? Poor treatment of vet by clients? All of the above?
I would say the biggest issue with veterinary medicine is the inability to put your own oxygen mask on before assisting others. This is made even worse if you are already have mental health issues and desperately need the time and space to monitor your own oxygen levels.
The debt levels mean taking time off or going part-time to make time for healing is almost impossible, especially in a country where affordable medical care requires a fulltime job with benefits. There are student loan repayment plans that are based on your income and you could pay $0 if you have to quit your job to get care, but it means your interest continues to build. I have friends that have worked fulltime since graduation and owe between $50,000 and $100,000 more than when they graduated thanks to interest.
Then thereâs the nature of the job. Every other person in the office can be done without during your appointments, but not you. You must always be there and âon.â Smart, kind, empathetic, professional, and you must maintain this in the face of clients who will make their problems your problem all day long. The stories I can tell would keep you up all night long. Honestly, what made me quit full time clinical practice was anger, not sadness. I was angry at a thousand things totally out of my control: the nature of disease, abuses by clients toward me and my staff, the neglect and abuse of the animals, and bosses and associates who heaped their own problems onto my shoulders.
Euthanasia is a comparatively easy part of the job. Thatâs a removal from suffering, and thatâs probably part of the problem. This job can become like a chronic illness and the only way out can look like death.
There are so many wonderful clients and animals and so many highs to this job but the lows fall into an abyss most jobs wonât even peer over the edge at.
My personal belief is that if these rural areas are going to maintain large animal vets, they are going to need to salary the veterinarian(s) as a county or state worker and make sure they provide them a basic income that allows them to make a living without relying totally on waxing and waning pay from clients. They could then also be considered employed by a non-profit which might make them eligible for total loan forgiveness in ten years. The current attempt is paying off a portion of student loans, but forgiving part of my loans doesnât put gas in my truck, food on my table, or a roof over my head. On top of that, I believe the loan forgiveness is around $75K over three years and itâs not guaranteed as itâs a limited budget to be split among the applicants. Considering most students graduating today owe around $200K, you still finish that three year stint with ~125K of debt and youâre in the middle of nowhere, working for folks who donât want to call you out because they think youâre too expensive. You canât afford to stay and as soon as you leave, that area is back to the same issue.
26 Likes
Worthy of duplication - powerful post !
Thank you for helping us to understand.
I hope you are enjoying your life now; without the âhelplessâ feeling of anger.
6 Likes
Horse_Rider, that is a great post. I love your idea of salaried large animal vets where needed by county. But why not make it a state or federally funded position? Then there are benefits and retirement options.
I also think that there should be state/ federal tuition support. Many of the vet schools were originally land grant schools I think. Thatâs why, when I was considering vet school, I could only apply to the one nearest me (Cornell) which at the time only took two out of state students a year. Iâm not saying that they should become that restrictive, but for the sake of our food animal safety and production these vets are necessary.
Will that help the average vet? I donât know but I hope so. And it may provide a model for equine industries to support vets as well, although through private funding.
3 Likes
A good friend of mine, who is also a vet, told me she had to stop caring more for the animals than their owners did. It would be very hard to see animals suffering because of willful neglect. Even ignorance is hard to swallow. I always try to be nice to the vets who come to the barn, but now I will try even harder to make them feel appreciated.
10 Likes
In my dream scenario, it doesnât matter where the money to pay for a local vet comes from: state, federal, or county. Itâs a benefitted job with essentially a guaranteed basic income that is a livable wage. Even better if it falls under Public Service Loan Forgiveness which will cancel all your remaining qualifying school debt after 120 qualifying payments. Of course, itâs highly complicated and in most rural areas it would probably be very unpopular to essentially pay your veterinarian a universal basic income and then allow them to charge you money on top of that, but thatâs really the only way this works. If Iâm going to be on call at all hours of the day and night to travel all over, there needs to be payment. A/ Because if there is no payment, Iâm everybodyâs *itch for whatever menial animal care task they donât want to do and my value becomes zero. B/ Because I need be able to take care of myself so I donât burn out and head to the city to work 40 hours a week for twice as much at a small animal practice that never sees after-hours emergencies.
Once upon a time the government covered most higher education costs. My parents paid for the portion of their education the government passed onto them and they graduated debt free. Iâm doing the exact same thing except the portion the government now passes on to students is much, much higher. (FYI, lots of Boomers are also in school debt. This is not a Gen X, Millennial, Zoomer thing. This is a âdid you pay for an education before or after the government decided you were on your own?â thing. It is bad for every generation.)
Now the governmentâs way of helping you is offering student loans. This has led to many schools essentially charging whatever they want. A few years back, the AVMA hosted a forum on veterinary education. It was a total performance and nothing ever came of it. I will always remember that when a dean was asked what it actually costs to educate a veterinarian, he didnât know. Theyâre not calculating a cost and passing that onto the student. A veterinarianâs education is seen as important and expensive and therefore the school charges whatever the government is willing to pay out in loans. The average vet school debt has doubled in the last ten years. Thereâs no math there, just greed.
17 Likes
If you are interested in the cost of attending vet school, here is a link to the AAVMC web site and cost comparison tool.
How about when the colicking horse is acting neurologic and canât walk a straight line? Then goes down and canât get back up? Like @lenapesadie, the clinic 10 min away was no use to me that night. I needed a vet to come to me, and both vets I had used recently were unavailable. TG a vet on-call for my regular vet came to put her down in a reason timeframe at 2 am.
As someone else said, trailering an injured horse with a step-up trailer is unlikely to work. This is why I will never have a trailer without a ramp; too bad more trailer manufacturers donât follow Fautras and make a convertible ramp/door on the back of the trailer. My horse that had a catastrophic injury away from home would never have been able to get in a step-up.
6 Likes
The part about people need to network. Thatâs not nearly the solution that emergency farm call service is.
14 Likes
Pretty much the same as MDâs are facing when they graduate and go on to finish their residencies. Nurses face the same issues, with less debt. Same burn out though.
We need to change how these professions are trained and how they are treated. They are care+ technical combined and that makes it rough on the people who choose to practice themâŠ
5 Likes
Have you ever been in this situation? The horse throwing itself on the ground repeatedly? Stark white or gray gums? Good luck trying to get a sedative into the horse let alone getting it on a trailer. What would you do? Winch the thrashing horse into a trailer?
Itâs great to have back up but if you are not prepared, not having a vet out can end terribly if catastrophic injury or illness presents. There are some emergencies that require a vet to attend quickly, or an owner who is prepared to put the horse down.
17 Likes
My best horse choked twice as a youngster. Hauling him would have been a disaster. Emergency vet call out for the win.
4 Likes
Yikes. Iâve never experienced a choke.
Iâve witnessed a horrible colic though. Not possible to transport.
1 Like
