Questions to Ask Any Vet Before Hiring

[ontarget]

Okay, so I'm going to be starting to interview vets in the next couple of weeks to decide which one I'm going to use when I move back up north to southern PA. I already have a list of questions, but I'm sure there are many more I could be asking. What do you want to know from a vet before you "hire" them? What questions do you ask?

[tarynls]

The only questions I would ask of the vet practice would be their farm call charge and their emergency fee.

Otherwise, if you know what barn your horse will be at, I'd ask the BO & fellow boarders their opinions.

ETA: you can certainly ask about vet's credentials and schooling but remember someone graduated first in the class and someone last. That info wouldn't mean much to me.

[spotmenow]

The only questions I would ask of the vet practice would be their farm call charge and their emergency fee.

Otherwise, if you know what barn your horse will be at, I'd ask the BO & fellow boarders their opinions.

ETA: you can certainly ask about vet's credentials and schooling but remember someone graduated first in the class and someone last. That info wouldn't mean much to me.

Well said. Get recommendations from other horse owners.

[camohn]

What are the farm vs. emergency call fees...vets around here vary from 35 to 80.
IN an emergecy are they on call, so they share on call with someone and whom
If you do any breeding do they do repro work (a lot of em up here do NOT)
What is their specialty/area of interest
Are they large animal only or mixed practice? (The con here is that they are even more busy in an area that is already hard pressed for large animal vets here).

ASK someone you know up here for a reference.

[Tom Bloomer]

I would want an equine vet that is a member of the AAEP and actively pursues continuing education through this organizations media and seminars. Membership in that organization is voluntary. As such, a vet that invests in continuing education through the AAEP is obviously motivated toward equine specialty vs. general veterinary practice. Bottom line, if I'm looking for a horse vet, I want one that belongs to and participates in a horse vet organization.

[ontarget]

All vets I'm going to be talking to/looking into have been recommended by boarders at the barn I'm moving to. The BM has actually arranged for her vet to come out and meet me and my horses soon after we arrive so I can get a feel for him and whether I would like to use him. Maybe "interview" was a little off-putting?

Thanks for your suggestions. :)

[stryder]

I'd ask if he/she makes emergency farm calls. (I was shocked to learn here that some don't.) What the back-up plan is if vet isn't available.

Just as important, as Tom Bloomer points out, is continuing education. Find out what the requirement for CE is in your state, and ask how many hours your prospective vet turns in each year. That gives you an idea of how up-to-date your vet is, even if his graduation date was decades ago.

Personally, I don't care about a web-site. My vet operates out of his truck. He's always on call, comes any time of the day or night, turns in over 200 hours of CE a year. (Our state requires 45 hours every 3 years). We think the guy is a genius. No web-site.

[equineartworks]

My huge one was emergency care. I LOVE my vet but she is one of the only ones around and is swamped all the time. Luckily Cornell is a quick trip so I am covered.

I wish she handled large and small animal, which was another one I wanted, but she doesn't. :(

[Janet]

Based on your other posts I'd ask about
- work with upper level competition horses
- work with diagnosing and treating "not quite right" before it becomes an actual lameness
- opinion on, and access too, the latest technology for diagnosis and treatment

[camohn]

The good news is that there are plenty of lameness "specialists" around here that are good. The ones that make emergency calls (and yes, some here do NOT) are a top concern for me. That is who you need in a pinch.

[AKB]

Ask how big of a geographic area the vet practice covers. One of my neighbor's horses had a colic yesterday. Their vet has a practice that covers about 5 counties . The vet had other emergencies on the other end of their coverage area and could not get to my neighbor for many hours.

[2DogsFarm]

Emergency coverage is prime - I changed vets after moving my horses to a new state & finding out the vet the barn used had an answering machine only for after hours.

Continuing to update the base of knowledge is important to me as well.
Things change so quickly in medicine that any practitioner needs to keep up.

That said, I wouldn't discount input from other horseowners.
FWIW, I joined Angie's List (looking for a local handyman) and didn't realize they had a section for vets.
I was able to put in a good word for my vet of 13+ years online.