Week Two at Clinton Veterinary Service

This week, I was given the chance to try my hand at floating teeth on a mare that was staying at the clinic. I have only ever witnessed hand tools used when doing dentistry, but Dr. Trombley primarily uses motorized tools. Being able to put on all of the equipment and file down the sharp edges that this mare had on her teeth was a great experience and taught me that I still have a LOT of learning and practice to do. The veterinarians that have worked on my horse in the past have made dentistry look a lot easier than it actually is! Trying to coordinate hand movements while holding the file and working around the speculum that holds the horse’s mouth open is quite challenging.

Even though I am focused on becoming an equine practitioner, one of my goals when I first began veterinary school was to never turn down an opportunity just because I wanted to work primarily with horses. On Saturday, I volunteered through the clinic to administer intranasal vaccines to calves at the tagging and weigh in session for Clinton County 4-H. The INFORCE 3 vaccine from Pfizer (Zoetis) is a three-way respiratory vaccine to provide protection from bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV), infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) and parainfluenza type 3 (PI3). It has been a few years since I have worked with calves and it was refreshing to see how enthusiastic these children and young adults were about their animals. It was a reminder that even though I want to pursue a career in equine medicine, becoming a veterinarian involves a working knowledge of all different species.