A Veterinarian’s Christmas Story ( Moved to community.thehorsesadvocate.com )
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“You’ve changed a Trake Tube before, haven’t you?” he asked. Blinking my eyes, I said that I had not.
“It’s simple.” Murphy’s Law: Whenever someone says it’s easy or simple, it NEVER is (at least for me). Glad you kept focus and that your horse and you made it through ok!
It helped that I believed in the person saying it. Dr Ducharme is still a clinician at Cornell’s vet school, a good friend and a wonderful teacher. My thanks to him for believing in me that day. The lesson has stayed with me.
Doc T., where I live, there are a lot of young vets eagerly trying to apply all they’ve learned in school and many horse owners who only want their horses seen by a doc with a stellar track record in the treatment of their horse’s problem. I fully understand both perspectives! However, emergency situations frequently thrust these two together. I recently watched a young vet struggle to pass a gastro nasal tube while one of the nervous owners held the nose twitch. The horse’s nose and lips were bleeding and the vet was sweating. When I noticed the growing level of frustration, I asked what the problem was, and the vet said, ” She won’t swallow the tube.” I looked the horse in the eye and asked her to swallow the tube, which she did immediately, to everyone’s amazement. To the doc’s credit, she wrote on the horse’s orders for everyone at the clinic to verbally tell the horse what was wanted. The horse was treated successfully, the vet got to experience a differing patient management scenario and the owners got to take home a healthy horse. A win/win/win situation! Point being that no vet gets to develop a stellar reputation in any area without experiencing trial and error along the way. Cheer leading, calm persistence, and willingness to view a problem from a different perspective can help all of us achieve the goals we want with our horses. Thanks for continuing to remind us!
I ALWAYS ask my horse for help, though when they are imports and don’t know English it becomes difficult. This is when the energy of cheerleading comes in. And I have learned to say “good” and “Thank you” is several languages.
Decades ago a very good trainer was lounging a horse for me in a pre-purchase exam. I was done and said to her to stop the horse. She said, “Whoa” but the horse kept going. For a minute or so she said a bunch of different words with several varieties of energy. None worked and the horse kept circling around her. Finally I said to the trainer, “You know she just came in from England.” With this the trainer said “Whoa” with a British accent. Kind of like, “wooohoOO” with the accent on the end. The horse immediately stopped with dirt flying forward from the hooves digging into the dirt. We laughed so hard I fell to the ground with tears in my eyes as I choked for air.
The lesson I learned that day mirrors your story and I have carried with me since. Just because a non-human animal can’t speak doesn’t mean they can’t understand. Ask a dog to sit, stay, roll over or play dead as proof. Or an infant who listens to instructions before they can speak.
For this reason I recommend to only say positive things to our horses. Derogatory name calling is out of the question. Only honest communication using clear words, organized leadership and good energy works. If in doubt as to what to say, always say, “Thank you.”
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !
Same to you Barbara!
Doc T, thanks for the happy ending. The tears were welling up as the suspense built. Nice story to end my night on.
This is a true story too, so in full disclosure I cried too. Happy 2020!
Holy cow, I am to choked up to write, tears are flowing, so grateful you both pulled through. Merry Christmas to you Doc!
I cried too…. Merry Christmas to you too.
What an amazing story. We often don’t hear of vet’s who are like the rest of us, paralyzed with fear. You and your horse show a true partnership. Happy holidays.
Thanks Chris – The best of 2020 to you!
Doc, you rock!
Thanks!
Perhaps God was testing you. Merry Christmas ‼️
Ya think??? LOL
Great story! (I got a little nervous in the middle…) Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Thanks Mary, Merry Christmas to you too!
One more thing on cheer leading ……………… thank God for the FAVOR of giving your horse COURAGE and knowing he will be safe in the hands of a professional .
I guess I was cheerleading then. Thanks for pointing this out. (For those not quite sure about this comment, see my last blog on cheerleading v coaching).