My second week of my Easter break was another clinical placement. This week I worked with a racetrack vet.  Horse racing is something I have never been involved with so a lot of the cases we saw this week were new for me. Almost every horse we saw was to investigate a gait issue, do a lameness exam, inject joints with medications, change a bandage, etc. These are a few of the calls that stood out to me…

Each day started with trot up exams at the Flemington Racecourse (the same place they hold the Melbourne Cup!) We also did trot ups at other stables around the area. A trot up exam is where someone ‘trots’ with the horse up and back a path while the vet examines the horse’s gait and how they are moving. They are looking for abnormalities, swelling, pain– anything indicating lameness.

The first farm call we drove to was a horse who had chronic swelling over his fetlock. We had to do an x-ray to try and figure out what was causing the swelling. This was one of the first times I had assisted with a portable x-ray machine (as opposed to large ones that are permanent installments in hospitals).

We investigated another horse with an interesting skin issue and discussed different possibilities–infection, allergy, multiple conditions, atypical presentation of a sarcoid tumor.

During the week we also did a few nasal scope exams. Scoping is where a special camera is inserted into the nose of the horse to check for any abnormalities of the respiratory tract if trainers or owners or potential buyers would like to investigate the larynx and pharynx. Some of the horses we scoped were done before they were sent to the yearling sale and a few we scoped because there was some concern for disease.

Each evening I was reviewing lectures for an upcoming midterm. A lot of the lectures were on eye conditions. So it was particularly interesting for me when we drove out to see a horse that had a healing corneal ulcer. The horse had a lavage system sutured into its eye—to make it easy for his owner to give him his eye drugs

This tube sits just inside the eyelid of this horse so that the owner can stand back and  put medications into the other end of the tube. The meds will then drain onto the eyeball.  

http://westernveterinaryhospitalpllc.com/wvh-stories/corneal-ulcer–glass-s-story.html

My favorite call during the week was to a lovely farm with a colt who was suspected of being a cryptorchid. The vet I was working with was unable to palpate both testicles while the horse was standing. Apparently it is sometimes easier to find the other testicle (that has not descended) when the horse is sedated and rolled onto his back. After sedating horses in class a few weeks ago I was excited to see this in practice again. We  safely ‘dropped the horse’ and rolled him over. The vet immediately found the missing testicle so then we quickly gathered his instruments and he performed the castration surgery. This was also great because it allowed a discussion of open vs closed castration (different surgical methods that we have been learning about in class lately).

On Friday I had planned to wake up early and go observe a dynamic scope. Unfortunately it was cancelled and instead I spent a day at the Oaklands Junction Sale Yards with an internal medicine specialist. We were at the sales in case any of the clients wanted pre-sale scopes, microchipping, or any other assistance.

I appreciated listening in on a lot of the client interactions and observing how to generate important relationships with clients. The vet would call and talk to another vet or a specialist if there was something he was unsure about. I enjoyed my week learning about racehorse medicine and driving around the Yarra Valley, Cranbourne, Pakenham, Mornington Peninsula and other places. I’m already thinking about future equine placements I could organize.

 Special thank you to Flemington Equine Clinic who had me tag along for the week!