12/09/08 So you want to be a horse vet?

The ranching industry is facing a critical shortage in large animal veterinarians for livestock because the trend in veterinary schools is towards small animal and horses. I'm Jeff Keane and while we do need cattle veterinarians I will be back with why the timing couldn't be better if you want to practice equine veterinary medicine. The horse population in the United States is now over nine million and that means that the need for horse vets will remain strong into the next decade. So Susan, How would you council a teenager intent on being an equine veterinarian? Well you had better be strong in math and science even in Jr. high and be able to test well, so you can pass tough admissions tests. Then, your resume should include experience handling a variety of horses preferably on a ranch or stables. And Jeff you have better odds getting in vet school when you apply in your home state then out of state. Finally, you need to be able to live within a strict budget because the average vet school grad is one hundred and six thousand dollars in dept with student loans and with the typical starting salary forty thousand dollars a year, do the math. Susan, on the positive note there are more career directions then every before, you can specialize in breeding, dentistry, surgery even internal medicine in small private practices or hospitals serving breeding farms, the racing industry even government agencies. Really the sky's the limit if you have the passion to be an equine vet. I'm Jeff Keane