In light of the recent lying/advice threads....
I'm kind of surprised, with the recent threads about people posing as DVM's, et,c that this post from Fugly wasn't brought up.
I've been casually browsing on here to see if it was this BB she's talking about, but you sleuth's would know better than I.
I've been casually browsing on here to see if it was this BB she's talking about, but you sleuth's would know better than I.
Guest post: Online horse forums are the new coach/trainer and even worse… equine vet?
by Snarky Rider
Online forums can be a great resource for adding to your base of knowledge regarding your horse. They are not, and should NEVER be, a substitute for a certified professional both in the riding ring and in the health care department.
I say, “can be a great resource” because it is a little like Russian roulette whether or not the information supplied comes from a reliable source, or a backyard, self-taught yahoo. Questions like, “my horse is having trouble picking up his left lead, and my coach has suggested…blah, blah… but I’m interested in outside opinions” can lead to good information changing hands.
Questions like, “my horse has had an oozing eye for a week, and now he can’t seem to open it, do you think I have to call in a vet, or should I just keep rinsing it with peppermint tea”, are absolutely terrifying. And what’s worse is that more than one reply will be in support of self-diagnosis and –treatment when it is clear the person asking the question is not capable of dealing with the situation.
It is also only a good resource if the people asking for, and receiving the advice, realise that it is just information supplied by laypeople (some as green, new or inexperienced as the ones asking the questions) and not an “ask an expert” column with the answers provided by a certified veterinarian or riding instructor.
A recent conversation on a horse forum was a lady asking for advice on a horse with stocked up legs. She mentioned that she had a vet coming to see the horse, but until the vet arrived, did anyone have suggestions on what could be causing the issue. A few people responded that stocked up legs this time of year were fairly common, due to weather changes, less turnout and less work as it gets colder and wetter. All in all, it seemed a fairly harmless exchange of information… until a week and a half later the woman updated the conversation with accusations that because everyone had told her it was harmless stocking up, she had cancelled the vet, and then her horse had become very ill because the original cause of stocked up legs had been a lymphatic infection. *face-palm* – is, I believe, the expression?
So, please continue to use forums as a useful place to discuss and exchange information, but do not use it as a veterinary diagnostic tool, or as your only training tool.
Use it with an open mind, and a pinch of salt, to supplement to your ever-increasing knowledge base and quest to become a better horse owner
by Snarky Rider
Online forums can be a great resource for adding to your base of knowledge regarding your horse. They are not, and should NEVER be, a substitute for a certified professional both in the riding ring and in the health care department.
I say, “can be a great resource” because it is a little like Russian roulette whether or not the information supplied comes from a reliable source, or a backyard, self-taught yahoo. Questions like, “my horse is having trouble picking up his left lead, and my coach has suggested…blah, blah… but I’m interested in outside opinions” can lead to good information changing hands.
Questions like, “my horse has had an oozing eye for a week, and now he can’t seem to open it, do you think I have to call in a vet, or should I just keep rinsing it with peppermint tea”, are absolutely terrifying. And what’s worse is that more than one reply will be in support of self-diagnosis and –treatment when it is clear the person asking the question is not capable of dealing with the situation.
It is also only a good resource if the people asking for, and receiving the advice, realise that it is just information supplied by laypeople (some as green, new or inexperienced as the ones asking the questions) and not an “ask an expert” column with the answers provided by a certified veterinarian or riding instructor.
A recent conversation on a horse forum was a lady asking for advice on a horse with stocked up legs. She mentioned that she had a vet coming to see the horse, but until the vet arrived, did anyone have suggestions on what could be causing the issue. A few people responded that stocked up legs this time of year were fairly common, due to weather changes, less turnout and less work as it gets colder and wetter. All in all, it seemed a fairly harmless exchange of information… until a week and a half later the woman updated the conversation with accusations that because everyone had told her it was harmless stocking up, she had cancelled the vet, and then her horse had become very ill because the original cause of stocked up legs had been a lymphatic infection. *face-palm* – is, I believe, the expression?
So, please continue to use forums as a useful place to discuss and exchange information, but do not use it as a veterinary diagnostic tool, or as your only training tool.
Use it with an open mind, and a pinch of salt, to supplement to your ever-increasing knowledge base and quest to become a better horse owner
sometimes horse's tails are one long bone...and shampoo is POISON.
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