Mini Horse Castration

Horses are pretty fun to work with (especially the well mannered individuals) but working with a mini horse is quite the novelty. Standing just waist high, this mini was a 2 year old male stallion (soon to be gelding). He was a bit of a pain to work with - did not like to be restrained or examined, but we were able to get the job done and get a couple of pictures as well!

What a great picture to see the height difference! I stand at 5foot 3inches and this mini was only up to my waist. Here he is looking pretty loopy as he had just received his anesthesia before surgery... We were just waiting for him to relax enough to lay him down and begin prepping him for his castration!

I was put with the job of monitoring anesthesia for the very rapid surgery and our petite patient did very well! Once he woke up we were able to leave at home care instructions for the client and get on to the next exciting case!

To check out more information about the mini horse click here.

To check out more information about equine castration surgery click here.

Missing Mala!

Rockstar is settling down into his new home rather easily. He likes having a backyard and being close to some trails in the woods for afternoon walks. And he really likes having two buddies - Checkers and Emma to play with (Roommate Erins dogs!) But he does miss Mala (even if she was a pain!).

Pretty soon we will be going down to the dog walking feild by Tufts to make lots more friends and have some EXERCISE!

Horse Sheath Cleaning

When you think about all the cool things that you will get to do in vet school - cleaning the sheath of a horse is not very high on your list. You think about surgeries and life saving procedures such as CPR and tracheostomies, but you soon learn that those types of things are not the normal everyday occurrences and animals need day to day care and basic husbandry more then anything else. For small ruminants like sheep and goats, they need foot trimming. For cows, they need pregnancy checks by rectal palpation. And for horses, they need dental examinations and, well Sheath cleanings. What is a sheath cleaning? Those of you who are horse people already know but for the rest of you - check out this site.

Meet my patient - 22 year old Quarterhorse gelding. He is taller then the Quarterhorses that I am used to being around, but he is very sweet and requires no sedation. I think his owner thought I was a bit wacky to take a picture - but she just hasnt been around enough vet students to understand those wacky quirks!

In the end, this Quarterhorse was very clean and also received his rabies innoculation. Until next year he should be all set!

First Rotation - Ambulatory Service

What a great way to start of clinics at Tufts - I probably started out with the very BEST rotation, Ambulatory. This rotation requires a pretty long drive to get out to the hospital as it is in Connecticut about an hour away. And the driving does not stop there. All day you are in the trucks with the clinicians driving around to different farms and residences seeing animals. And these arent just any trucks - they are loaded to the tee with everything that you would need from needles, syringes, vaccines, to X-ray units and ultrasound machines! The great part of it is meeting alot of different people and the varying array of species that you get to work with in a day. I have already gotten to work on cows, goats, sheep, alpacas, llamas, and horses!

For more info about the Tufts Ambulatory Service check out http://www.tufts.edu/vet/clinical/woodstock.html

A new adventure, a new blog...

For two years I traced all that me and my pug did in St Kitts at Ross University of Veterinary Medicine. Now I am attending my clinical year at Tufts University of Veterinary Medicine and find it appropos to write and record all of my doings - Rockstar will of course still be the star, but with a backdrop of American culture, changing seasons, and all of the luxuries of the US. Please let me know that you have found my blog and feel free to leave me any questions about my experiences at Ross or Tufts!

Enjoy!