High on Health: How to Cure a Ham

This May, I will have been a veterinarian for 14 years, and over that time, I have learned far more about horses than I ever learned in veterinary school. That may sound pretty negative, but I actually consider it a positive because I know I am (and the horses I treat) far better off than when I started out. Fortunately, I have quite a few clients that have forgotten more about horses than I currently know, and these are the ones who have been invaluable in my “continuing education.” I remember when I was still in school I went to a meeting and heard the famous veterinarian/Western humorist Dr. Baxter Black talking about how he quit being a vet because he, “...couldn’t cure a ham.” I sure have days that I feel like that, too, but thankfully, they are far and few between.

Since I have never really had a job other than a horse vet, I often wonder if other professions have the same challenges. I’m sure anyone that works with horses probably does, and regardless of their location within the horse industry, we all get a dose of the same medicine. It sure seems like there are times when you cycle from everything going perfect to the wheels completely falling off. I have learned to enjoy the good times of horses going sound quickly, of test results coming back with good news and mares getting pregnant on the first cycle you breed them. All too soon the tide turns and Dr. Black’s quote becomes very real, and I begin to think about going to law school. Believe it or not, it works the same way with horse owners, too.

Not too many trainers, veterinarians or farriers will admit it, but it’s true. There are some people’s horses that live under a black cloud. If anything bad is going to happen, it will happen to them. I’m sure you know a few like that. I just hope you’re not one of them! Most of all, it is the curse of any animal to be owned by a veterinarian. I have my own stories to attest to this fact, but if you don’t believe me, just ask your vet and prepare to be stunned at the range of diseases and accidents that are not even listed in the textbooks. Either way, just remember who controls it all, then be glad He tries to teach us patience through what we love doing.

Matthew 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.