The switch

When I first got Jezebel I used the vet at the barn i boarded her at. 3 days after bringing her home.. abscess. I liked the vet well enough and the BM really encouraged us to use the vet she wanted us to use. I had pretty much no resources so i used that vet. I liked him and his Jr. associate who’s husband i later took lessons with. They eventually moved out of state and my vet brought in a new associate who I liked very much. A seasoned horse person as well as being a vet. She was young, enthusiastic and had a very keen eye for lameness which i found very helpful being as my horse was injured with a long rehab. When i moved barns last summer i kept my vet. I wasn’t really comfortable switching vets in the middle of Jezebel’s rehab. I did however spend a lot of time watching and talking to the vet my farm owner and a lot of the boarders use. I liked her. I liked her attention to detail, i liked her thoughtfulness and i liked her demeanor. I also liked that she was herself a seasoned horse person. However I was still with my vet from the other barn. Being one of only two people who used them at my current barn, barn calls were getting expensive. The health program alone was around 800 bucks a year for both horses (without the barn call, yeah a barn call fee on a health program.. oy)

After new years i received a letter from my vet that prices were increasing. They had already increased once since i’ve been with them and i had come to find out that they were one of the higher priced vets in the area. This was pretty much what solidified my decision to switch vets. In the letter they couldn’t even list what procedures were going to be increased because there were too many to list. If you had a question were to call. Umm yeah whatever… I’m lucky i live in an area where there are lots of options for horse support services. I liked them well enough but with two horses i need to get them good care AND be as cost effective as i can. This vet was pricing themselves out. The level of service hadn’t increased, the services offered hadn’t increased, just the prices.

I called and got copies of my records. They were so nice about it that i thought to myself, many people must be calling to get copies of their records to switch vets. They all took it in stride. So i was stressed out about calling them to switch for no reason. I still really like them for lameness and would consider using them for that again but for regular horse health care i’m moving on. I also saw in those records that It was recommended that Circe be put on a joint supplement when they did her first once over after i got her. I don’t remember being told this but its written down in her records so i called good old Smartpak and did a little noodling with both her and Jez’s supplements. So that little phone call doubled my monthly supplement bill. It is what it is, but i cant help but marvel at my inability to cut costs. Find a vet i like thats a little more cost effective and immediately double my supplement bill. Story of my life.