do you feel " unworthy " when the vet comes ?

About my rather 'no frills' property, no.

I actually don't care what the Vet thinks, and I don't suppose for one moment he cares. My horses are looked after well, and I pay my bills by return, it is a shallow person that judges anything, or anyone, by their appearance. He is an excellent Vet and I am so fortunate to have his services, he is picky about who he takes on.

My ex- small animal Vets on the other hand were arrogant and patronising with no people skills what so ever, it must have been something in the air at that practice because all three Vets were like it, I am not the only person to have moved because of their attitude, the day they told me I was not fit to have animals was the day they lost my business. My current small animal practitioners are fabulous.
 
Nah my money's as good as anyone else's. Even if they do have to contend with our muddy field. If I felt looked down on I'd find a new vet pdq
 
I respect and admire my veterinary practice. I've been with them for some 17+ years. I was a complete novice when I got my first horse, and never felt as if they were looking down their noses at me. I remember one Saturday evening years ago. One of my donkeys was unwell and one of the partners was on call that night. When he arrived at our farm I apologised for having him come out to a donkey when so many of his clients are eventers and race horses. He was quite taken aback and said I should never feel that way, that a donkey has as much right to quality care as any other of his patients.

I wonder if the OP's friend is suffering from a case of reverse snobbery? Perhaps she's more concerned with what everyone else has and than what she has not?
 
First of all if you are paying the bill they are no more posh than your dentist,plumber, electrician but I have great respect for anyone who is good at thier job.
Unfortuately my horse was ill at the weekend and had to be PTS, fortuately for me the local university equine department is my vet. In semi darkness by touchlight, and car headlights one of the tutors examined,treated and then euthanised my horse in the snow.
These vets are highly experienced, always happy to impart knowledge, and as my daughter said although we are very untidy as we have no smart yard, never made to feel un worthy.
Remember when a vet has a smart car its usually owned by the practice and they get tax relief on it
 
Nope, I try to have the same vet as he knows my horse and he doesn't mind if you call him on his mobile with questions etc. If he's busy he always returns call later. I do ring the surgery first to see if he's working that day and if not when is convenient etc. Or I txt him and he rings me when he can. Obviously if it was an emergency I would just ring practice. I note things down I want to ask and he explains things very well so no I don't feel unworthy at all. If he is not available I like 2 of the other vets at the practice
 
TheoryX1 said:
No why should I? I pay my vet to perform a service, ie look after my horse's health when I am unable to. Why on earth should they look down on me because of that - I am paying their wages. If I had a vet who made me feel like that I would move practices or not have that particular vet out.

For the record my vet is great and I cant recommend them highly enough.

I am sure they have seen worse premises than yours!
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Agree with this. Wonder if we have the same vets Theoryx1 (easy on the eye also;)??
 
no.........not at all



i just cannot stand vets in general at the moment - the best question of "are you insured" im sick of hearing.................



i did feel unworthy of taking my arthritic dog to the vets though yesterday..........wont be going back again seemed pointless. :/
 
I sometimes feel unworthy when dashing in to see the doctor still smelling of horse manure but Ive known my vets for over 20 years and worked for them at one time plus baby sat their kids. I think they would be offended if I didn't have a coffee ready for them but thats all.
 
Noooo deffo not but then I think it's more to do with the person and how they view themselves rathern than a certain person sees them?

Even if I had the shabbiest stable/horse in the world - I'd be mega proud and would never feel 'unworthy' of the anyone :)

Confidence is the key ;)
 
I am lucky in that I have little to do with vets (there is only one individual I would have to see a horse with a problem).

Two years ago I had the vet to sedate and do teeth for nervous 14hh pony - she gave him so much he was nearly lying down then couldn't work the gag then looked in his mouth - in a confused way - and said they look fine !!

next time I got vet to sedate (dentist to do teeth - lesson learned there) poor vet was clearly very scared of said pony, couldn't find vein in neck despite 5/6 attempts (pony now looking cross and like a pin cusion), swapped to other side and after further 4 attempts found vein - then didn't give enough so pony still very much on toes (or could just have been adrenaline from all the stabbing!) but dentist agreed to carry on as neither of us could face the vet having another go!

Most recently dentist suggested domestin gel and teeth were done perfectly and stress free.

Oh and last time vet came to vaccinate he was so busy flurting with female student he wasn't looking were he was going and fell right over my brick built mounting block - blood through his trousers and a less than impressive splat on the floor

None of these people have ever made me feel unworthy!!!!
 
I am very lucky with my equine vets. They know me and they know my horses and they know if I say its an emergency - its an emergency.

They knew me well enough that when I found Skippy down in the field and I phoned them to say come out and bring the injection as he wouldnt be coming out the field, that they did - and got there in no time. It was too late as by then he had died in my arms but that vet stayed with me in a field knee deep in mud with rivers of rain pouring down until I was ready to leave Skippy, then took me into the house and dug through my cupboards till he found the makings of a cup of tea for me with a large brandy in it. He stayed with me till my husband got home even though he was soaked to the skin and covered in mud.

I never have to worry about the bill - as long as I pay something every month they are quite happy.

I'm not quite so keen on the small animal vets at the same practice mind you. They are okay but not in the league of the horse vets.
 
No, mine is brilliant and a real laugh. His first words, when he arrives, are usually " why is that fat hairy horse wearing a rug?" meaning my cob, Blaze. Answer? Cos her mum is a wuss! :D
He is very approachable, flexible and my girls like him. Plus he always has loads of dogs in his car and is sometimes fostering tiny puppies, bringing them everywhere with him, and I get to cuddle :D
I can ask him anything. If he doesn't know, he'll find out and send me the info. And he is happy for his clients to have his personal mobile number, so we can always get in touch if necessary.
 
My daughter is a vet , she lives in New Zealand far from posh, went to a state school, calls a spade a spade. The farmers love her as she worked as a milker for four years whilst doing her degree, so she can really talk farmer talk and emphasise with them.
 
I don't feel unworthy at all. I know where my vets live though so know my place is nicer than theirs, he he! I usually end up arguing with my vet about horsey matters! Sometimes I dont think they know more than me so I dont value their opinion, which is annoying when I pay a fortune for it! I sound like a right know-it-all but I definately dont believe I am, its just my vets aren't specialist horse vets as such (they probably treat more farm animals and pets than horses).
 
Just depends which vet turns up.

We are lucky to have a great equine practice not far from where we live. One of the vet's is a proper "old" horse woman, one of the others only appears for "competition" animals. Old horse woman is great, the other always feels like she's looking down her nose as we have to trot up on the road rather than on an expensive surface.

To be fair though, all our horses have received excellent care from them, whether I feel like they aren't impressed with the facilities or not. And thats the most important thing.
 
I know of a few local vets. One is superb when it comes to treating lameness but has no 'bedside' manner what so ever and can be quite arrogant.

One of the other partners is a very pleasant ( and quite handsome) Irish man. We were with a friend very late one evening whose horse had been colicing and were keeping her company whilst waiting for the vet. Mid examination/treatment when he was up to his armpit in horse my friend said to him ' thats the good about m***** - she has never ever kicked. To which he replied in his lovely lilting Irish accent -' Hmmm to be sure but you've never stood behind her with your arm up her a*se have ye!' We just fell about laughing.

Our vet is a lovely man -very quiet around horses- and has a very wicked dry sense of humour.

I don't think you should ever feel inferior -after all you are paying their wages!
 
Sarah_K said:
Just depends which vet turns up.

We are lucky to have a great equine practice not far from where we live. One of the vet's is a proper "old" horse woman, one of the others only appears for "competition" animals. Old horse woman is great, the other always feels like she's looking down her nose as we have to trot up on the road rather than on an expensive surface.

To be fair though, all our horses have received excellent care from them, whether I feel like they aren't impressed with the facilities or not. And thats the most important thing.
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Yes agree - often we call the vets to get the medication that we know our horses need - and the vets who know us, know that we are pragmatic (our horses are not insured, so expensive interventions are not going to wash, if a jab of antibiotic, a course of bute, or a poultice will probably do the job.....) Vets who paint the worse case scenario are not in my fan club either.....just treat what you see, and if treatment does not work after a few days, then talk about Xrays, et al.....not paint the whole ghastly (what if) picture at the first consult......
 
My vet is a local horse vet who treats a lot of expensive horses at a lot of posh yards. My horses have always been treated like million dollar racehorses whatever their age or breeding. They are a fantastic vet practice. I never feel inferior or unworthy and the vet is always friendly and completely dedicated to keeping all horses (and their owners) happy. The owner is very down to earth and talks a lot of sense. I always feel I can ask him any question about my horse and not feel stupid. I rang to pay a bill today and he had looked at my horses teeth a couple of weeks ago while on the yard and not charged me as nothing needed doing.
 
ellie11987 said:
This is what I go by a lot of the time. We pay them so are doing them a favor, not the other way round. Never had this problem before, I love my vets but if I was made to feel inferior (deliberately) then I'd have no problems changing practices.
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Yes I agree (ish) but building relationships based on trust and knowledge is important for vets and farriers alike - as it is for instructors/ saddlers et al. However, in building that respect - it has to be on both sides - and the worse case scenario is when a 'professional' is taking advantage of possible lack of knowledge / gullability......sadly in some respects Vets fall into the category of taking advantage - but very few, though like all things they are trying to get more competitive, we are moving away from the well established practices which our Grand parents used - to the 'Vets R us' model - which is scarey......
 
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