I'll start with my adventures with the vets yesterday then move onto today. 

As some of you may know(those who don't pay atttention!) next year I'll graduate highschool and my search for a college(it's between Findlay or MSU) to study veterinary medicine for large animals, mainly horses and cattle. Knowing this it was very important I find a veterinarian who does what I want to do to shadow. So I did. I found Dr. Esterline who works at a clinic near where I live. We set a date and time to go out together. April 17th I went to the clinic where I was greeted by friendly technicians and doctors. After I toured the clinic I was introduced to Dr. Esterline and informed that we'd be treating twenty horses in need of vaccines, do some dental work, clean sheath(s) and ultrasound a leg. Unfortunately a half an hour into the day Dr. Esterline called me over to inform me that all twenty horses had cancelled along with almost all of his appointments which he had to re-schedule. He left after telling me to shadow the small animal vets until he came to pick me up. 

Dr. Beach was a vet I shadowed while he was gone. She was doing a spay so I got to watch a surgery get done. I've never been so enthralled than as I was as I watched her remove the uterous and stitched the young puppy up. It was cool to say the least. I had to wear a mask and hairnet for sanitary reasons so the technician,Michelle(who I really liked) said I looked like a doctor already... it's meant to be... When she finished the almost hour long process(while listening to Blank Space by Taylor Swift) the technicians cleaned up urine from when Dr. Beach emptied Elsa's full bladder(which she brought out and showed me!) and we left the room. I wandered around for a while as the vets didn't really do much with the dogs that I haven't seen with our dogs. One dog came in that was having digestive issues. I watched the technicians Michelle and another, do an Xray then Dr. Hermann showed the pictures to me and explained what I was looking at(some which I knew!). I ate a sandwich and read a horse book they had while I waited for Dr. Esterline to return. Technicians and vets flowed back and forth their voices a steady hum.

Finally, after what felt like eternity,Dr. Esterline returned and inquired as to whether or not I was ready to rock and roll... Rock on guys.

We loaded equipment onto his truck(a veterinarian's truck is awesome and a beautiful sight) and headed off to his first appointment in Pinkney Michigan. He was to float a horse's teeth and give vaccinations to another at a decent sized boarding farm. The owner, a woman named Pat, was supposed to be there with her mare, but wasn't. We had to leave to go to another farm to float teeth and give vaccines. The horse he worked on first was big boned Percheron Arab cross named Harvey. He was so sweet. His owner was a very friendly woman who I chatted with while watching. Dr. Esterline brought out a large metal speculum to open his mouth, sedated him and began to work. His filer was large and electronic and able to reach far back into the horse's mouth to get all his teeth. When he was half done(it took 15 minutes) Dr. Esterline called Harvey's owner and myself over and allowed us to stick our hands into his mouth to feel. I've actually never felt inside a horse's mouth before due to being bitten before, but this, this was fun and cool. Dr. Esterline explained to me about a horse's teeth and why we float them. He then explained to me why we use to power tools and not the old-fashioned hand tools, which makes sense. After that he had to clean Harvey's sheath. He explained to me and the owner what to look and feel for and how far up one goes. When we finished up with Harvey Dr. Esterline vaccinated an Appendix mare who was rather spooky and hostile. She tried kicking multiple times and kept trying to knock into the vet.  We finished up and returned to the farm we were at previously to vaccinate the mare we were supposed to start with and the go to float more teeth and do an ultrasound on a mares leg. 

The gelding who's teeth we floated was a jumpy gelding who kept jumping everytime Dr. Esterline moved too much. His teeth hadn't been floated for two years and were bothering his mouth when he had a bit. Although they were high they didn't affect his normal eating habits as he was slightly overweight and quite friendly. Harvey had a worn down tooth, two high teeth and two that were beginning to rot. Both horses needed their teeth done but both had different issues. Dr. Esterline explained to me that he would let stand closer and hold the horses but the insurance doesn't cover me and he didn't want me to get hurt should the horse spook or something. He allowed me to get close and touch when the horse was secured and sedated. When we finished Ringo(a handsome Thoroughbred Arab cross used for saddleseat) we moved on to Mata Hari, another Arabian Percheron cross, but this time a black mare. She had a strained super flexor tendon that needed to be ultrasounded so we could see where it was swollen. The one leg was fine and looked normal, no bowing out or swelling. The next leg however was bowed out and swollen,sl Dr. Esterline did laser therapy on her leg. It was cool to watch and see. When we finished her we dropped off meds and returned to the clinic where I talked with the receptionist, Jennifer, and left. It was a fun day and I saw and learned a lot. I definitely want to become a DVM for horses and cows and Dr. Esterline was so fun to talk to. He's a sarcastic vet who enjoys jokes, kids, his work and just generally talking. I like him. 

Now, today. I finally was able to get out to ride Cody. We trotted smoothly(I think it was smooth anyway) and we actually cantered on a circle, with bit and he didn't try to take off like he usually does when I use the bit. Not only did I accomplish cantering and trotting smoothly(mostly smooth) I also accomplished spending 90.9% of my time scooping manure and I got the first sunburn of the season in 70° semi-sunny weather. Cody did good even though we didn't ride as long as I wanted or work on what I wanted to, but he did good and I was back in the saddle. I'll ride again in May(maybe sooner...i hope) and it'll be for longer but I'll be alone :-/. It's occured to me riding with others is a lot more pleasant and a lot safer as Cody won't necessarily try as much if someone else is with me. But we'll be fine, we've been fine for this long and we'll continue to be fine. I just hope I can catch him since his pasture is bigger so he can run and he tried to run away from me today(carrots and turned back were too tempting to resist hehehe).

That's my two days. Didn't work out as planned but they were both worthwhile and so much fun. I'd like to shadow a vet again soon. 

Have a happy ride!