The best way to become an equine vet?

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PingPongPony

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I want to be an equine vet, i'm going into my final year of GCSE's so i now have to decide what i'm doing after Y11. I was thinking of going to Equine College but i'm not sure if thats better than staying in my current school and do A levels here in stead of doing them at the college. I really like the sound of this college: http://www.hartpury.ac.uk/Home/
but what do you think would be better? Going to college and doing my A levels there or going to college and doing the veterinary nursing course or staying at my current school and doing A levels here? I absolutely love the sound of college i just don't know what will look better on uni aplication as i know that after any of them i'd like to go to uni. Please help?
 
If you want to be a vet then you will absolutely have to do your A levels.. I would think. You would need chemistry and biology at A level, and like medicine, the courses are very demanding and as such there is a lot of competition for places.
 
To be an Equine Vet, the first thing you have to do is get GOOD A level results - and notch up some suitable mixed experience (see practice with a vet, help out at lambing, a dairy farm, dog kennels, whatever, to help you get INTO vet training.

Then you have to get through Vet School - and get a couple of years general experience. THEN you need to get a job with an equine vet/equine vet hospital to build the right experience before doing some MORE study and getting an equine qualification.

If you REALLY want to be a vet - equine or otherwise - don't waste time with equine colleges, degrees etc. And forget about wanting to be an equine vet until you ARE a vet. Get the A levels you need, and get some broad experience that will make you look like a good candidate (more people apply than there are places for - and saying you want to be an EQUINE vet will almost certainly NOT be a positive point!)
 
JanetGeorge said:
and saying you want to be an EQUINE vet will almost certainly NOT be a positive point!)
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Absolutely. It's easy to get written off as someone who just wants to be there so that they can play with ponies all day long. It's also very easy to get focused on one area and either not care or not be interested in the rest. Believe me, that's not brilliant for passing exams!

So as JanetGeorge says, get good 3 A levels. Biology and chemistry are essential, physics and/or maths are less so, but probably preferred, and certainly do at least one of them for AS level. If you do something different for a 3rd subject then make sure that you have a good reason for it.

Work experience is really important. Different vet schools want different amounts of work experience, Liverpool wants the most, and naturally even if you don't want to go to Liverpool you'll be competing against people who do. Check the guidelines, but in general it's about 10 weeks or so for the minimum amount. Some of that at vets practices, but just as important is getting your hands dirty on farms (lambing and dairy are the most important), and on yards etc.

The work experience shows that you can hack vet school- you're expected to do 12 weeks of animal husbandry work experience in the 1st 2 years during your holidays, and 26 weeks at veterinary practices from 3rd year onwards (again in the spare time that you're given). It also gives you something to talk about in your interview- managing mastitis in cows on a dairy farm, ethical concerns like breeding dogs that can't give birth naturally etc.

Sorry this is a bit of an essay, but I think it's important to know what you're in for if you set your heart on veterinary medicine!
 
alesea said:
Absolutely. It's easy to get written off as someone who just wants to be there so that they can play with ponies all day long. It's also very easy to get focused on one area and either not care or not be interested in the rest. Believe me, that's not brilliant for passing exams!

So as JanetGeorge says, get good 3 A levels. Biology and chemistry are essential, physics and/or maths are less so, but probably preferred, and certainly do at least one of them for AS level. If you do something different for a 3rd subject then make sure that you have a good reason for it.

Work experience is really important. Different vet schools want different amounts of work experience, Liverpool wants the most, and naturally even if you don't want to go to Liverpool you'll be competing against people who do. Check the guidelines, but in general it's about 10 weeks or so for the minimum amount. Some of that at vets practices, but just as important is getting your hands dirty on farms (lambing and dairy are the most important), and on yards etc.

The work experience shows that you can hack vet school- you're expected to do 12 weeks of animal husbandry work experience in the 1st 2 years during your holidays, and 26 weeks at veterinary practices from 3rd year onwards (again in the spare time that you're given). It also gives you something to talk about in your interview- managing mastitis in cows on a dairy farm, ethical concerns like breeding dogs that can't give birth naturally etc.

Sorry this is a bit of an essay, but I think it's important to know what you're in for if you set your heart on veterinary medicine!
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Gosh didn't realise theres soooo much work! Thw work experience won't be a problem as i've already done 9 months at a sheep and pig farm helping with lambing and helping pigs give birth too, and all the usual daily stuff. i've also done 1 month at kennels and cattery so i have 10months already. I'd just like to do something with animals, i'm not a lazy person when it comes to learning, i'm extremely determined so if i want to achieve something i'll try my hardest to do that. what other jobs are there in the horsey world that i could possibly do? any ideas?
 
There is loads of work involved. You will need the best a level results possible, and then fingers crosed you will get taken on at a good vet uni ( i was accepted, but got meningitis, so that put pay to that :( )

You will then need to qualify as a vet, and then and only then will you be able to specialise.

A friend is currently working over this summer at a zoo in norfolk, just to gain experience of handling all types of animals, unis look very favourably on this, I did my experience skiffying on farms.

If you want it bad enough, then all of it is worth it.

Good luck :)
 
alesea said:
So as JanetGeorge says, get good 3 A levels. Biology and chemistry are essential, physics and/or maths are less so...
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3 is generally insufficient - aim for 4 or 5. Most of the decent vet schools require As in Chemistry and Biology and at least a B in physics or maths. I think some of the less established schools are less demanding. If you have decent grades, done some work exp (at least the minimum plus interesting things like research / slaughter house work) and can avoid sounding like a complete twit in an interview, it's actually not that hard to get in.
 
Some people At my school are aiming to do veterinary medicine at uni

You need biology, chemistry, half of the uni's that do it require maths
It is so competitive normally anything less than 3 A's at A level won't get in
I think there are only 6 uni's that do it
 
JFTD said:
3 is generally insufficient - aim for 4 or 5.
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Sorry, I probably phrased that wrongly. I did Biology, Chemistry, History and General Studies for A level, with Physics for AS (I just don't tend to count the general studies...). That's normally sufficient- my school wouldn't allow people to take more than 3 subjects (excluding general studies) at A level, although I know other schools do.
 
To become a vet, stay on at your school and get A Levels. Usually it has to be in Chemistry and another science. Most people usually do all three, as they do for medicine, but some often do just Chemistry and Biology. Most universities also require you to do one or two other A Levels along with the 2 sciences you choose. Then, you have to get a veterinary degree from a university. Usually it's also a good idea to get work experience with a vet as well, to stand out from the crowd. To become an equine vet, you have to get your general veterinary degree first and THEN specialise. It's quite a long process, as with medicine and similar subjects, and it's very demanding and competitive. xx
 
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Ditto all the above. My daughter has just graduated from Liverpool, she wants to specialise in equine eventually but is aware that she has very little chance for a year or two. She is currently volunteering at a charity small animal hospital in Fiji, and is then going to a big equine hospital in australia, all without pay, so you have to be prepared to put the work in even after graduating.
 
The others have covered the info for getting into vet college. I became an equine vet straight from college and hopeto specialise further over the next few years. The key to getting a good equine job once you finish uni is having equine experience that sets you apart from the average graduate. To that end - get experience in racing and breeding. Work for big international operations during your summers (very easy to pick up EMS through these sort of jobs so you can do 2-in-1). A reference from those sort of places is worth far more to potential employers than one from Joe Bloggs who runs the livery yard/riding school down the road. Spend some time with small professional studs/racing/breeding operations is also far better than working on a livery/riding school as far as experiences and refs go.

The main thing my first employer said that my experience showed was that a) i was familiar with how pro yards/clients work and b) that I could clearly handle any horse i would come across (not just ponies and pleasure horses but fit racing/comp horses.

So i would follow the advice on here to get into vet college and THEN build up your equine experience.
 
alesea said:
Sorry, I probably phrased that wrongly. I did Biology, Chemistry, History and General Studies for A level, with Physics for AS (I just don't tend to count the general studies...). That's normally sufficient- my school wouldn't allow people to take more than 3 subjects (excluding general studies) at A level, although I know other schools do.
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I wasn't including GS either, it's not really a subject. A number of the vet schools demand Bio, Chem and Physics or Maths to A2, and appreciate the demonstration of breadth in the 4th subject (I did history too, much more fun than sciences :p). The fourth subject is rarely included in the offer, so you don't need the A, though it helps to be predicted one to get that offer in the first place...
 
one thing which hasnt been mentioned is you need to get A/A* at GCSE in all sciences (make sure you are doing triple and not double award) and Maths. These will then allow you to get into the better colleges where you will need Biology and Chemistry at A at A level, I would also suggest Physics and Maths.

Be warned whilst these subjects may seem fairly straight forward at GCSE, The jump required at A level is difficult and the majority of students struggle with content required. Also it depends on which exam board you are studying - OCR have recently altered their content for Biology most notably and this upset a lot of students this year.

If you wish to succeed,then you must ensure that your coursework marks are to notch and if you are struggling with the slightest little thing in your sciences you MUST approach your tutors, failing that PM me and i will help you. xx
 
I got a B in GCSE chemistry (and 2X Bs in english) and am about to start my 2nd year at vet school. I did get it up to an A at Alevel/As, though I still lost places due to the poor GCSE results.
 
so in conclusion it'd be better to stay at my current school to do A levels rather than go to college to do A levels? i was looking forward to moving away from home but i suppose i'll have to stay here a bit longer :D

PS. thats the one i'm unfortunately not that into : chemistry. i absolutely love biology and physics and getting straight A's in those two but chemistry is more B's and a few C's in class :/ i have to focus more on that then.
 
D1 is at the start of her path towards becoming a vet (that's her goal).

She's starting sixth form next week to do A Levels in: Chemistry, Maths, Physics, and Biology. She's also doing an extra maths bit, volunteering, and guitar (don't ask, I don't get that bit!). She does a lot of needlework and fine art work, which is good for the detail (surgery skills). She also likes ancient type languags, so will be following her interest in Latin, probably to do an IGCSE.

Apparently it's getting harder to get work experience at vets surgeries. Luckily our vet does do it and she's done a fair bit with her now :D. D1 also has various work experience sessions set up here, there and everywhere.

As a family, we've pretty much accepted that between studying and aiming for the As, and work experience, and riding the horses, she'll have little time for a 'normal' life, such as jobs around the house, etc., which is probably good training for being a vet anyway!

Good luck on whatever you choose to do OP :)
 
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