[reillyshoe]

University of Pennsylvania at New Bolton Center. I do know Texas A&M hired a farrier a few years ago, so I am sure that school also offers some rotations with the farrier. I do not know about the other schools, but I do know they do not employ a full time farrier.

[WorthTheWait95]

University of Pennsylvania at New Bolton Center. I do know Texas A&M hired a farrier a few years ago, so I am sure that school also offers some rotations with the farrier. I do not know about the other schools, but I do know they do not employ a full time farrier.

That would make sense with New Bolten. Thanks for the info! I have family in that area so was going to try and visit anyway but that sounds like a great program. I was accepted to Penn when I applied and turned it down in favor of a program I could afford but it was hard to say no to New Bolten!

[kWb]

That's fantastic! Which schools? I can only speak for my own experience at my school in addition to my friends at Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Ohio, Kansas and Colorado. CSU does have the EORC but according to my fourth year friend there it sounds like they get as little in the farrier department as we do. I'm in the process of booking some externships and I know some school's offer them for students at different vet schools...definitely the type of experience I'm looking for.

Absolutely Penn! I'm a 4th yr now and I have to say that we learn a ton about foot mechanics/dynamics (and the importance of anatomy) and you can do rotations in podology and see everything from routine shoeing to therapeutics (with glue-ons or nails depending on the horse). Podology is also rightly incorporated into the sports medicine rotation. That being said, I think one of the most important things I've learned is that I could not presume to do what a great farrier can do and having a great relationship with a talented farrier is an immeasurable asset. So...make friends

[LoveAllHorses]

Absolutely Penn! I'm a 4th yr now and I have to say that we learn a ton about foot mechanics/dynamics (and the importance of anatomy) and you can do rotations in podology and see everything from routine shoeing to therapeutics (with glue-ons or nails depending on the horse). Podology is also rightly incorporated into the sports medicine rotation. That being said, I think one of the most important things I've learned is that I could not presume to do what a great farrier can do and having a great relationship with a talented farrier is an immeasurable asset. So...make friends

hmmmm I guess it depends on what school you go to and what there concentration is in. It is good to know when looking for programs!

[sherimayor]

Hey everyone,

I am new to this forum and I am not a horse expert by any means. I have never owned a horse but I am looking into going into equine veterinary medicine.

My question has to do with horseshoes that are held on with glue. Is this better for the hoof for horses with lameness issues? I just read an article about how this new glue on horseshoes was the best thing thats ever happened to hoof care. I was wondering what everyones opinion on this was.

My horse has been wearing glue on shoes for over a year now and he has never been so sound. It is important that you have a farrier that knows what they are doing and they cost more but they last longer especially when you factor in vet bills for lameness. There are not many farriers that know how to do this and it is so important to get someone who has experience in shoeing with these shoes specifically.

[sherimayor]

Here is a link to the shoes my horse wears.
http://www.noanvil.com/trainers/bpf/

[Tom Bloomer]

That's fantastic! Which schools? I can only speak for my own experience at my school in addition to my friends at Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Ohio, Kansas and Colorado. CSU does have the EORC but according to my fourth year friend there it sounds like they get as little in the farrier department as we do. I'm in the process of booking some externships and I know some school's offer them for students at different vet schools...definitely the type of experience I'm looking for.

You might look here for an externship.

http://www.roodandriddle.com/

Kentucky Horseshoeing School trains a lot of veterinarians. Their director Mitch Taylor is one of the top anatomists in the hoof care industry.

And it wouldn't hurt to spend some time at New Bolton with Pat Reilly learning about some of the more high tech stuff done in his clinic.

If you aren't too busy this week, head to Cincinnati and check out the International Hoof Care Summit - where you will get to meet all of the folks listed above . . .

[Lauren12]

I'm in vet school (equine concentration), and there are 2 or 3 total non-horse people interested in doing equine medicine in my class. They teach you all the medicine/surgery stuff you need to know in school, but not a lot of basic, common-sense horsemanship you learn from years and years of being around and having horses.

I would suggest hanging out at a higher-end facility (or several) with a GOOD, knowledgeable barn manager, and asking if you can shadow them over a summer or winter break. Watch what they do for minor injuries, preventative meds, supplements, feeding strategies, handling etc.

Do this in addition to shadowing an equine vet. Although shadowing a vet is great, you still won't get that day-to-day stuff that is SO important. They will "teach" you in vet school how to wrap a leg, but let me tell you - the "passably" wrapped legs from other students I would NEVER consider acceptable on my own horses, so learn little things like that - wrapping feet, legs, putting in eye meds, administering oral meds, basic restraint - twitching with twitch and without.

Supplements and feeding is a HUGE issue - you do not get a ton of nutrition education in school (at least where I am), and no material on supplements, and those two things are one of the biggest things clients will ask you about. Try to educate yourself about the most common feeds and supplements, what conditions would require a different feeding strategy, what to feed foals vs. broodmares vs. pleasure horses vs. show horses etc. I would also learn about the most common supplements (I'm sure the super helpful SmartPak representatives could probably tell you the top 20 or so to do some research on).

Shoeing/foot/farrier issues is another big one. "The hoof makes the horse," as we all know, and you get VERY VERY little basic hoof care/farrier info in school. My favorite book is:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Equ...4&cm_mmca2=pla

It's an invaluable resource for all veterinary hoof-related issues and has some great info on basic trimming/shoeing information. I did not get this book through my curriculum - just picked it up to read on my own because it looked super interesting.

I would also get an idea of what a good barn manager keeps stocked in her medicine cabinet. Learn the reasons an owner/manager would use the most common drugs - off the top of my head probably bute, banamine, penicillin/gentamicin combo, metronidazole, ace, dormosedan, xylazine, basic GI drugs (ranitidine, cimetidine, omeprazole, sucralfate etc). Horse people are notorious "druggies" (in the BEST possible way, of course), and a lot of the time you really have to ASK clients what their horse is on/has had/what they gave them before you came etc. to avoid potentially health/life-threatening overdoses. Some people will be reluctant to tell you, although I'm not sure why!

Any questions, feel free to PM me. You will NOT get a lot of horse contact in vet school until you get to clinics, so definitely get as much experience BEFORE clinics as possible.

[candyappy]

I do not have much horse experience! Thanks

This is scary to me because I have experienced equine vets who are not horseman themselves. There is just so much about horses that you can only get from personal experience and handling and not from books, labs or classroom.

Get yourself to a place where you can get some horse handling experience and knowledge. It will make you a much better equine vet. The best vets and farriers I have ever had were horse owners themselves.

ETA:
Just My Experience. Your Personal Opinions Will Vary