After a few weeks taking care of family matters, my fellowship has finally started. It was a fun first week filled with reproduction, routine vaccines, lameness and more. Each day started around 7:30 at the clinic, with care of the in house patients before packing the truck and hitting the road for the first appointment of the day. This week the in house patients were simply boarding as they were monitored for ovulation and breeding, so they only needed their stalls cleaned, fed and watered. The majority of appointments seen this week were for breeding exams. Previously, I have not had much experience with the reproductive side of equine medicine, so this has been good experience for me. Watching the rectals and ultrasounds has given me better perspective on what to look for during an exam. I can now recognize a corpus luteum on ultrasound and understand that the size of the follicle helps determine when ovulation is likely to occur. I am starting to understand the importance of looking at the cervix, uterus and ovary when trying to breed. I am slowly becoming more familiar with the different drugs that can be given to maintain one stage or help enter a different stage of the reproductive cycle. It is all very new to me.
Aside from reproduction appointments, a lot of routine vaccinations and coggins were seen. One appointment was for a prepurchase. Dr. Trombley walked me through each step of the form she has worked out for her prepurchase exams. We ended up taking radiographs of the hocks and she helped me look at them and refamiliarize myself with the various bones and what to look for. Other appointments this week included a couple teeth floats, a castration, and lameness exams. Each appointment was slightly different and the clients varied widely in background. One client insisted that I should perform the sheath cleaning on her horses. It drove home the point of how a simple action can please the client help build your rapport with them. The more willing you are to do the job that may not be the most pleasant, the better opion they are likely to have.
Although it is not equine, I also had a day riding with Dr. Bean whose focus is more on bovine. With her, I was exposed to a couple lacerations, enucleations, and goat dehorning. It was fun to work with the ruminants that I don't have a lot of experience working with. It was a good crash course in how to handle them. Earlier in the week we had also been at a farm with alpacas. It just goes to show that knowing a little about other species goes a long way!
All in all it was a great first week and looking forward to the next.
Though most places I am not able to take photos, Maple insisted I get a picture with her friendly alpaca, Stella, at North Star Alpacas. Isn't she cute, even though she is not an equine!
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