And another....

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Tia

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...little "what would you do..." following on from the "know-it-all" theme.

If you had a vet who was the best equine vet in the area, regarding knowledge and capabilities.......but he was a horrid nasty person that you just did not get on with. He never would do anything mean to your horse, purely treat it professionally, but he is mean to you.

What would you do? Keep him or find another a lovely vet with less knowledge?

I'm off out for supper now but will be interested in any replies on my return.

PS. I have been in this situation exactly.
 
I would keep the vet. My animals healthcare is all I am paying him for - I don't pay £££ for a cup of tea and a chat and I honestly would not care about his attitude towards me so long as my horse has first rate care.x
 
depends on the problem.......if he was at the top of his game with say lameness issues i would most likely have him out, BUT he wouldn't get away with treating me like crap.......
 
[ QUOTE ]
Good equine vets are a rare commodity; they can be as unpleasant as they like but if they are good, you have to roll with the punches. Luckily, ours are lovely!

[/ QUOTE ]

Baaaaaaaaaaaaa!
 
Mmm, I have to trust my vet and know they won't treat me like a numpty! I would go for anoher vet and I have the confidence to ask for a referral if I felt that the condition was above and beyond the capability of my vet.

Thankfully, in real life, I have the direct phone line to one of the best equine vets in the country as I used to work for him!
 
I would say keep him and put up with his approach.
At the end of the day vets are not doctors.
Vets treat animals and doctors treat people.
Therefore the vet would be treating my horse and not me.
If he was as knowledgeable and experienced as you make out then I would not swap him for some newly qualified vet that has to learn the ropes so to speak.
Not being harsh on vets btw as I have a great deal of respect for them and in fact more than doctors because they have to be skilled in more areas and with different species. Not to mention the fact that some patients both bite and kick back, which you don't often see with the 'human' variety unless I am wearing my rose tinted spectacles again lol
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Mmmmmmmm, I've been in this situation LOL

I wanted his knowledge but not his attitude !
I attempted bribing him with tea and biscuits at first , that didn't work so I asked him outright if he had a problem with MY attitude
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That worked
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Happy to say we had a good client/vet relationship from then on , turned out there was quite a nice guy under it all
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Yes I would always keep and cherish a vet who knew his stuff but was not a nice person to humans, over a useless vet who happened to be nice.

I moved to a new area; had an emergency where one of my ponies needed to be put to sleep. I phoned the vet that I had been advised to phone, because he was apparently the very best. He swore at me over the phone, shouted that he wouldn't be there for at least half an hour as he'd have to go home and get his gun!!

Anyway when he finally turned up, he was still a miserable sod....but when I brought the children out to say their goodbyes to the pony, he started to mellow slightly. He told me that I should take the children down to the house and he would wait till we were inside before shooting the pony.

I started to make my way down the driveway and I quickly looked back at him - he was lying down beside the pony and cuddling him in his arms - I KNEW he was the right man for the job.

After it was all over and done with, he came down to the house and turned into the loveliest person; very kind and caring. I found out the following day that my pony was only the third horse he had ever shot, even though he had been an equine vet for many many years. I kept this vet for 15 years, and I worked for him later on for a number of years, and he was amazing! Such vast knowledge - I very much enjoyed knowing and was in awe of this man.
 
I would use both vets. Inexperienced but nice vet for vaccinations and routiene stuff. Nasty vet for anything complicated. Hopefully (touch wood) nothing too serious will happen so you'll get off with useing nice vet 99% of the time. If you do ever have to use Mr Nasty it may give him food for thought when he realises he is loseing fees due to his attitude. Maybe I'm getting old but I have no tolerance for rude, unpleasant people.
 
I wouldnt keep him really just because I have had the same experiences. The rude vets I worked for and used ended up with me not asking too many questions as I felt like I was being a pain and a wally.

It is your horse and you want the best for it so having someone you can talk to about things and the horses best interest is a must.
I changed my vets who were the best in the area because they were rude and expensive. I went for a vet who had branched away from them who is much better. Although not as experienced he was much easier to talk to and explained things in such a way I knew exactly what he is talking about.

He also does not always give me medication and sometimes suggests things which can be used which are much cheaper and work.
Unfortunately vets can become a little big for their boots. That does not give them the right to speak to you like an idiot, after all they are only human too...!!!
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Umm hard one this. Had a vet years ago just the same - brilliant with horses, rubbish with clients. However, I did feel in the long run that he wasn't prepared to listen to any of my concerns or got very abrupt answers when asking relevant questions. I have one pony who hates injections and when I explained this to him and asked him to take a gentle approach his answer was ok walk her into the stable; as I did so him rammed the needle into her butt when she was half way through the door; me and her nearly ended up going out the back of the stable!! That was it for me never had him back. Luckily now have excellent vets, highly experienced and not too expensive who recognise that I know my animals best and am not the font of all knowledge so answer my concerns in laymans terms. My advise, although they are hard to come by there are very good experienced vets out there who are also pleasant and patient - I'd find one of those.
 
I would say keep him ......but approach him about his attitude. If you are paying good money to have him treat your horse then you shouldn't have to put up with rudeness!! If then he still won't change look for another vet.
Something similar is happening with my local equine vet. They are not nasty just seem to always employ the most inexpereinced vets. I use them only for vaccines and routine visits and real immediate emergencies and then travel my horses an hour away for more specialist treatment. I have told my local ones why I do this and although not happy theres not much they can do!!
 
I'd keep him on, so long as I felt he was doing right by the horse. Afterall, the welfare of the horse is more important than my feelings and I am a big girl now.
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If I was certain he cared about the horse I'd keep him and put up with the attitude. If I wasn't certain he actually cared about the horse I wouldn't mind how good a vet he was, I'd find someone else.
 
Keep. I had brilliant farriers (they were a pair!) at Chloe's last yard, but were a bit ummm...strange. Just got on with it, and Chloe improved no end. They never pussyfooted around Chloe, and she has become mroe confident around farriers because of it, and is fab now - She'll even chew on their trousers/protruding boxers
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I would keep him for his ability as a vet but let him know in no uncertain terms that his attitude is not acceptable. However well qualified or experienced he is he has no right at all to be rude and it's totally unprofessional.
 
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