ok why are small animal vets so much more expensive than horse?

Jeez I wish that was the case! My equine vets charge £52 for a basic callout, before any examination - my canine vets charge approx £30 for examination & consultation....

Over the years I have paid far more to my canine vets, but that is because I have 4 dogs and only one horse :D
 
I used to have a very good horse vet who stopped doing visits as he could make so much more money with small animals.....he at least was honest about how much he could fleece owners for !
 
It might be down to overheads - cost of running a practice is high. Some equine vets have just their vehicle ....makes sense to me!
 
I've put it down to most equine vets treating animals used in business as well as private owners, either farm animals like cows or studs, polo yards etc who's owners quite simply won't pay "pet" prices.
 
I've found the horses to be more expensive! For 3 horses vaccinations it's over £200, for 4 dogs vaccinations it's under £140.
 
The thing is, a vet that does call outs will lose out on client time while on the road, which is one of the main factors as to why vets often shift from large to small animals. Spending half the day driving then traipsing around muddy fields, getting crushed by cattle and having to handle unruly horses isn't nearly as appealing as staying inside in a warm clinic with a steady stream of business :P

I don't think people quite appreciate that the majority of vets work bleddy hard and definitely don't get paid as much as the general public think! Yes, some vets, particularly those who own practices or are a long time in the business, make a tidy sum but for the majority, that's not the case. When you pay a vets bill, you have to cover the cost of drugs used, the materials used (bedding, bandaging, drips). On top of this, your fees are what pays the staff - vets, vet nurses etc. Though it may seem hard to believe, practices don't like charging astronomic fees just for fun. Yes, some are sneaky and will wrack up prices or charge for extras, but at the end of they day, the price of a consult isn't pulled out of the sky. By paying these fees it insures that where your dog/cat/rabbit/whatever to come unto real danger, the vet and practice have the facilities and staff to provide adequate care without cutting corners or scrimping due to lack of finances. If vets charged £20 a consult of whatever,then, god forbid, where your pet in need of surgery or scans, the practice wouldn't be able to offer this and it wouldn't be able to afford the required resources.

At the end of the day, a vets IS a business but there is also a duty of care that the veterinary professionals are required to provide. It comes down to getting what you pay for, if you pay less, you will more than likely get less in terms of facilities and resources within the practice, likewise, if you pay top dollar, you're likely to have more options but at the end if they day, whatever you pay for a vets visit still needs to cover costs and pay the wages of everyone in the practice.
 
PucciNPoni said:
It might be down to overheads - cost of running a practice is high. Some equine vets have just their vehicle ....makes sense to me!
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Property (mortgage, insurance, maintenance, running costs) surgery, staff, student debt, fancy cars, nice homes, vacations ... yep. I understand why they cost more but it is still irksome that it practically costs $50 PER DOG to walk in the door. Rabies vaccinations would cost me upwards of $250 a year for 3 dogs. My horse vet gave them the same needles (same stuff) in the barn for $15 each.

I loathed my previous small animal vets, I don't think customer relations is covered by their costs (arrogant, patronising, downright rude and I told them that was why I was moving my custom elsewhere) - I had one that demanded I have my very expensive, very well bred GSD dog that I had bought specifically for breeding castrated, then this handsome Bernese Mountain walked in and she said, "Oh yes, that's my stud dog" I thought "You ****** hypocrite" My dog was NOT castrated, and I found myself another practitioner.
 
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different models, different drugs etc. - and it varies- round here equine vets are far more expensive than small animal vets !
 
Same as others have said - probably due to overheads, staff to pay etc. For the amount of work we do, vets and nurses don't really get paid very much unless you are able to work your up to be a specialist or practice partner. Also depends on the area as stated above. Rent is massive unless the vet owns the buildings, monthly payments on the blood machines, xray, ultrasound machines etc is huge, not to mention all the extras we have to pay for such as health and safety supervisors, radiation advisors. All the consumables used in practice etc. It all adds up and must be factored into the cost of animals consults/treatments. A lot of farm animal/equine drugs are generally cheaper than small animal drugs, and an equine vet may be able to make savings on bulk buying of drugs used for horses, where a small animal vet will generally have a small amount of various drugs stocked for various different species including reptiles, birds, fish, small furries etc and may be unable to make a lot of savings as not able to bulk buy in quite the same quantities.

I am sure there probably are some vets out there who over charge for some things. But just giving you some reasons why it may seem more expensive! My practice sometimes drastically under charge for some treatments as we do not want to see an animal suffer due to owner finances.
 
I'd suggest that vets also encounter entirely different attitudes from horse owners compared to traditional "pet" owners. For a wide range of reasons, if a horse has an issue, the first option is often to shoot it... If a dog has an equivalent problem, it gets treatment. I.e. the client base itself is effectively separate and prices reflect what people are willing to pay.
 
I've just googled my local small animal vets, and find that to support the 3 resident vets, there are an additional staff of 11. The 11 are made up of nurses, qualified and otherwise, 'behaviourists' (what ever they may be) and receptionists. My local large animal vets, on the other hand, have a support staff of 3 and to support 3 working vets, and the support staff are all in the place of admin, with one girl who's brilliant when assisting in surgery.

The answer to your question, holly123, is that it's the hidden costs of additional staff, I'd suggest.

Alec.
 
Where I am in my corner of the SE, my small animal vet is pro-rata much more expensive than equine vet.
eg: For me to take cat into surgery for annual flu vac, it cost this year 17 squids more than vet to do flu vac to Fuzzy, inc callout & health check.

Their charges (small animal vets) are pretty steep compared with most equine practices round here :(
 
but its not the same vaccination - equine flu and cat flud are different. You don't expect apples and oranges to be the same price?
 
SusieT said:
but its not the same vaccination - equine flu and cat flud are different. You don't expect apples and oranges to be the same price?
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No, i dont.
But my equine vet has to travel to me, whereas i have to travel to feline vet.
Comparing the actual medicines, the equine ones on the whole are cheaper than canine or feline, despite the equines requiring higher dosage.
 
got a really good one opened in derby easipetcare , friends just had there Rottweiler spayed £80.00 all in ! including pain meds , collar and follow up check up . all staff are really nice and caring , they have other branches about worth having a look !
 
The Fuzzy Furry said:
No, i dont.
But my equine vet has to travel to me, whereas i have to travel to feline vet.
Comparing the actual medicines, the equine ones on the whole are cheaper than canine or feline, despite the equines requiring higher dosage.
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yes the equine vet has to factor in travel costs but running a car cost far less than running a practice.
the small animal vets I work at has a main branch and a secondary branch, the secondary branch has 2 receptionists that cover the opening hours and a vet visits to cover the consulting hours-no operating theatre or nurses (that is about to change).
The main branch has;
3 consulting rooms
a cat ward/kennels
a dog ward/kennels
an isolation ward
a nurse office
a portacabin office
a library
a laundry
a laboratory
a library
a staff room
a dental surgery area
an xray room
a very up to date xray machine
day patient room/kennels
a nurse treatment room
a pre-op/assessment room
2 operating theatres
a secure yard for exercising dogs
safe car parking
reception room
a cat/small furries waiting area
dog waiting area
5 vets
5 receptionists
a practice manager
a finance lady
kennel staff
9 nurses

the equine vets at the same site (we used to be a joint practice till a partner retired) has;
2 vets
2 office staff
employs stable staff from adjoining livery yard (vets wife) as needed
1 office
1 operating theatre
1 knock down and recovery box
they rent stales as needed from livery yard
they also sub let their operating theatre to at least 4 other equine vets in the area

they are both great providers with great vets, both practices support each other when needed but the outgoings are miles apart.
 
1rocky1 said:
got a really good one opened in derby easipetcare , friends just had there Rottweiler spayed £80.00 all in ! including pain meds , collar and follow up check up . all staff are really nice and caring , they have other branches about worth having a look !
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many vets offer low prices on routine work in order to try and gain client loyalty (we get trained on it) then sting you when your animal is sick and you don't have the time or the emotional stability to shop around.
 
'sting you when your animal is sick and you don't have the time or the emotional stability to shop around.'

or the other way of lookinga t it is thats when you need to use the expensive machines and equipment so thats when it starts to cost.. it's not a public health or charity system!
 
Because the owners of small animals fail to shop around?

There is a common myth that you have to have "a vet" and be registered as a client. I use several vets and am not above phoning around the list of vets in Yellow Pages to get the cheapest quote.

I also spent a year at vet college which made me a cynic and dispelled any illusion that the majority of vets are anything other than businessmen with the same morals and scruples as many others in business!
 
Dry Rot said:
……..

I also spent a year at vet college which made me a cynic and dispelled any illusion that the majority of vets are anything other than businessmen with the same morals and scruples as many others in business!
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There's a certain truth in that. I'm equally open with my local Vet's Practices, but their ethics are such that it would be seen as unacceptable that one practice wouldn't 'poach' the clients of another. Just as well that our local plumbers aren't so imbued with morals, isn't it? :)

Alec.
 
Morals?? Pah!! it is all about emotional blackmail and the bottom line!!

SHOP ARROUND....... you pays your money and you takes your chance.
 
Spook said:
Morals?? Pah!! it is all about emotional blackmail and the bottom line!!

SHOP ARROUND....... you pays your money and you takes your chance.
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I will shop around when doing my weekly shop, prepared to sacrifice quality a bit for cost. However when it comes down to veterinary care for my animals i use the best I can. I am lucky that my vets are quite reasonable, but would happily pay more than use some of the other local practices.
 
twiggy2 said:
many vets offer low prices on routine work in order to try and gain client loyalty (we get trained on it) then sting you when your animal is sick and you don't have the time or the emotional stability to shop around.
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And this action is the one that ensures many people do not replace their pets.
Just about everyone I know has been stung this way, only one has replaced their dog, those that still have small pets are saying 'no more' or have already given up after keeping dogs all their life.
Hardly a good strategy to reduce one's customer base.
 
cost of dog ownership has rocketed imo. OH and I have had the talk about what happens when present dog goes (he's 11) and atm, I don't think we'll be replacing him and I've always had dogs. As I've come to the conclusion now that no animal should be kept in isolation, two dogs cost wise is out of the question (although if I had less horses etc it would be doable). Current dogs insurance hit nearly £1200 a year three years ago, I then switched to a cheaper one that of course excluded his skin allergies (but was still cost effective) but its since crept back up to £750pa. Can't imagine having two 8yo dogs with that sort of insurance costs. I don't begrudge people earning a living but I can't afford what I can't afford (and we earn pretty well really).

I have recently changed SA vets to a less flash practice but due to attitude of a vet I saw over a kitten I took in at short (i.e. no notice)-new vets do seem better value and also didn't judge me on walking through the door.
 
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