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The Reply about the Vet's Costs. Have a look at the car your vet is driving and his home? He has a 7 year degree which cost his parents a lot of money or is still paying off the loan.
Then look at the cars and houses of our politicians who would not be available weekdays and weekends for clients, or get covered in blood and muck, put out their backs, get kicked and bitten or have to have annual rabies vaccinations and keep smiling.
Other than liking to work with animals which is a GREAT benefit for us vets- which career pays better and which of the two actually does more for people AND animals. Remember - you can eat safe food and not get infected with animal diseases mainly due to vets.
Cheryl
I agree! My horse had small puncture wound on her hock, no stitches, just jabs, bute, disinfectant etc – during office hours, 2 visits by vet to strap – R3500 – nearly 2 years ago! Dam crazy!
Karen
Dear Alan and Hony
I have a chestnut mare and she developed a problem at the end of the Trapezuis (underneath the seat) but mainly involving the Longissimus Dorsi muscle. What was happening with my weight on the saddle the longissimus Dorsi muscle was popping out underneath the panel towards the cantle. I found someone how does Natural horsemanship – Patsy Divine. Patsy and her sister worked on Abigail and the muscle healed and I found a bates saddle to fit her. Now what she does is she gets colic but I manage to catch early and watch how it goes from just a stomach ache to chronic and then acute. Through Patsy’s help I now treat her colic symptoms with homeopathy treatment. This homeopath treatment works very quickly and this occurred just after her friend Joey had to cases of biliary and the last one she had dehydration, well with that huge account I was not in the mood to call the vet and that is how I got to know of the homeopath treatment through Patsy. This homeopath treatment works very quickly i.e. colic symptoms caught at 7.30am treatment administered every 15min till 12pm and the colic is completed. Relief signs start showing at about say 9am. But every horse is different, so Hony maybe the next time you get colic and Alan sees it early suggest trying or asking for the remedy.
I do quite agree with the fees that the vets are charging and that also includes travelling fees.
Happy riding.
Happy Horses, Happy Owners
Jenny
yes! vet bills. My small animals account (5 cats 5 dogs) is now often higher than my equestrian bill (12 horses). Your dental account is low?? at R800 in comparison with my invoice: I have just received a bill for R1800 for "dental ultrasonic descale" more than we pay to have an annual dental checkup for a horse and human!
Unfortunately this situation will have a negative effect on medical care for our animals. I for one cannot take all my small animals (mostly rescue cases) for annual procedures where the above rates are charged.
Sadly, annual vaccinations/lameness issues/teeth/medication, and as you mentioned, unaffordable colic related cases will probably be the next items for horses and small animals which will be neglected for economic reasons.
I guess we should cut down on numbers, but that too, is difficult and not an issue that can be adjusted over a short period of time.
Dear Alan
I know vets are expensive, however when you see how long they study and how hard some of them work, it justifies what they charge. However there are vets out there that overcharge and are not prepared to listen to the client. I am one of the fortunate ones, I have a fantastic vet who listens when I need advise, and we are able to discuss things before he just treats my horses. We also discuss charges and options that are cheaper as well as the pro's and con's of the various treatments.
Regards
Sandy
Hi Alan
Yes I agree with the Vet thing…….that is why I am encouraging both my children to be Vets!!!!!
Thanks
Yvonne
ooo touchy topic - I work for a vet so while I do agree they are overpriced - you are still paying a professional qualified person to do a job (same studies as a medical dr and blah blah...) and you should see the cr*p that they have to put up with... it's also the handling of schedule drugs, licenses, equipment lalala... I do however think that vet fees for newly qualified grads should be quartered & halved for those with a year or two under their belt, until they know what they are doing... so a person can choose if you want to pay top price for experience, or a nominal fee for a newbie's continuing education...
What are all these vet bills causing, you have to ask..... because I think it could cause people
not to want pets any longer, shame what would happen to all those poor animals????!!!!
Maybe a "pet clinic" of some sort should be thought of? where everything is half price!!, just a thought?
We do need our vets BUT we certainly also need our PETS!!
BELINDA
That's my view on how the vets work. I live in Howick and have seen such changes in the last six years, on the large and small animal charges etc. Its cheaper for me to go to the private hospital in town than for my dog to see a vet, before meds, RIP OFF. Sad thing is I shudder to think of how many animals are suffering out there because basic health care has become impossible to afford. And how about the 'FLEA CARTEL!' You go and try to buy Bac dip or Acarins from a wholesaler, to dip your dogs. I think it is easier to draw blood out of a stone. And why? So u will go and pay the astronomical prices for branded little vials of stuff that does not work from... U guessed it, THE VETS. Animal lovers are doomed, or shall I rather say, the poor animals are doomed!
Dear Alan and Hony,
Hey, I know how you feel. A small black cat moved in on me last week, very sad and hungry, and obviously has been someone's pet, so needless to say he has joined my other three cats. and of course, a Vet's bill for neutering, deworming and injections!!! All the same, we have to appreciate the great work the Vets do, ours is a real gem, unfortunately he does small animals only. You are so lucky to have a Horse Vet within reach, I have to call one from very far from my corner of the East Rand, and the travelling fees are horrific, so count your blessings as well as the pennies.
Regards, Liz
My opinion is that if you cant stand the heat , best you get out of the kitchen.
Russell
You just have to do it yourself but to get hold of the med is
another story.
Dave Keeping horses is such a fantastic privilege. You forget about all your worries when working/playing/riding them...but at the back of your mind there is always the little voice that keeps repeating.." pleas don't get sick, please don't get hurt, please don't even get an unknown rash!!! It sets you back so far you never recover properly! Doing all the inoculations, parasite management, teeth, hooves, etc. etc. is all getting too much!!!! Peanuts compared to the VET bill! I bought a certain type of gel from the VET and paid R 125 for 125 ml. When I went to the Homeopath for Colloidial silver (which is an anti -viral and which helps to combat AHS) the same gel was available in 250 ml for R 50!!!! Amazing. Just one example. I rather go the Homeopath for small ailments!!
But, I guess they have lots and lots and lots of expenses...
Hi!
How much does it cost for YOU to spend a night in hospital and have YOUR back injected? Or how much does YOUR dentist charge to put YOU under general anaesthetic and remove some teeth? And have you ever bitten your dentist or kicked your doctor? Does your doctor have to drive to you in the middle of the night, past a squatter camp, get out and open the gate when that can obviously be dangerous in this country, and then work by the light of a torch because there are no lights at the stables? Can you phone your doctor at 2am and tell him that your tummy hurts and get him to come and do something about that?
And then horse owners have the audacity to not pay their vet bill but they can drive a Landrover Discovery, go on holiday twice a year and wear the latest fashion breeches.
But Heaven forbid the vet does not want to see a horse because the owner does not pay! Suddenly he is in it for the money; he doesn’t care about the animal’s wellbeing! If you are not on a medical aid and you arrive at a hospital with your leg broken and the bones sticking out of the skin you get turned away unless you put down a substantial deposit!
I think you should rephrase the question: Are the vets at the mercy of the horse owners??
Karen
Hi Alan
Having worked in the pharmaceutical industry in a previous life, while I agree that medicines are hugely expensive, I also have a pretty good understanding of the costs involved in developing a medication for the market. The costs can run into billions in research and development, before you even get to the stage where you have a product which is
market ready. Many products which have have this kind of investment, don't even make it to the market place as they get shelved for various reasons at some stage of the development. Despite this companies are still highly profitable. While I would like to think of them as not for profit organisations, I am sure the shareholders would not be happy with this, and in order to ensure ongoing drug development for the benefit of all, it's probably best to keep shareholders reasonably happy by ensuring that its a good investment for them.
As far as generics go, they are usually somewhat cheaper, as they are off patent so any one can now use the research material and develop the product (at a significantly reduced cost) and have usually recovered the research expenditure. However, like any old technology, there are often newer, better products available, at a price! The choice is then the consumers and when you are using a simple penicillin based products for example, generics can be as effective as patented medicines, but it really comes down to what you need to treat - in the case of humans or
animals.
So yes, we all feel the pain of the medication prices (as much as the illness sometimes) but my advice is go for generic where you can, bite the price bullet when you can't and remember the cost of producing medicines, which thank goodness is a highly regulated process, is much like the price of petrol, necessary and much beyond our control.
Regards
CK
Hi Alan, Honey and the team,
I am a homoeopath by qualification and rarely use the services of a vet. The times that I am forced to call on one is often cases where my sewing skills are just not up to scratch...I will often not even take the prescribed meds for my horses as my homoeopathic treat just as well.. if not even better. It is a sore point in my life that horses are required to have Vacs administered by a vet...as many of us horsey people are quite adept at handling a needle.
As for the pharmaceuticals....lets just say more money is made from sick people/animals than from healthy ones...whose interests are best served??????
All things said tho... Dr Carla Langley and her team from Equis Veterinary Clinic are amazing people and I take my hat off to them for working under trying conditions....they are always willing to come to my rescue!
Dr Monique Olivier
EMC Stables and Livery
52 Artesia Avenue
D657
Leckhampton Valley
cell: 082 7821324
I think in areas where one vet cot the monopoly the vet cost is very expensive but in the city and dense area in the horse word vet cost are very expensive. I just feel riders must be more involved with the horses well being and not leave it up to the grooms and stable managers. You get show time riders and you get riders that do it for the love of the animal. Prevention is better than cure. You must not keep a horse for the sake I got a horse. If you cant look after a horse or afford one with all the add on get rid of it. Please don’t keep a horse if you cant look after it and pay for it
Thanks Kelly
I believe Vets definitely play a large role in the health of pets i.e. horses, dogs, cats. etc. I do appreciate them, but not all vets are as diligent as Karen stated on her note i.e. “will your doctor come out at 2am if you have a tummy ache?” Well, just this past week, one of the horses at our yard went down with sweats/constipation at 14h00. Our regular vet came out and did a drench as well as intravenous for loss of fluid, HOWEVER, after leaving at 17h00 the vet could not be raised on the phone when the horses’ condition deteriorated throughout the night and eventually at 5h30 the next morning, we were told to come and collect two buscopan shots to inject, which we did. At 06h00 the shots were administered and the vet was again called with no response, an sms was then sent to him to say the horse was worsening. He could not get there because he had an errand to run and the horse experienced the most agonising death by 08h00 (some type of toxic poisoning is suspected) . The vet only arrived at 08h10. This horse could have been euthanized the night before, but had to endure unspeakable trauma and pain before dying not to speak of the owner’s anguish and all his stable mates seeing his death.
I feel I am at the mercy of vets not only because of high bills, but in the above case, a vet not being there for his patient and regular laymen “woman” like me having to try and help a horse as much as you can, when he is already dying. It was terrible.
Penny
Wow so many comments and so many truths. Fact of the matter is this, it is a privilege to own a horse, and a responsibility to look after it accordingly.
If you feel you are, or have been overcharged for a treatment or procedure, take it up with your vet. Communication is the key to any relationship, and I know with our competitive horse, our vet is like a member of the family.
We are fortunate enough to have all 6 horses at home, I do my own stable management entirely, and possibly get to understand a bit more of what goes on in looking after horses, but give the guys some slack, long years studying, hours of travelling in todays gridlocked traffic, the physical side of handling large animals, to the fine reconstructive surgery for someones pet dog or cat.
To run a veterinary hospital these days costs a fortune, with equipment, staff, licences, stocks of drugs, premises, etc. People then want to pay 30, then 60 then 90 days for services rendered. Drugs may if you are lucky be 30 days on account, some are COD, so the practice must then carry the expenses of patients for months, having already paid for items used to treat said patients.
We are so lucky to have a one in a million vet Dr Cliff Meyer. He comes all the way from Honeydew to Kyalami for us, yes we pay for his travelling but his services are worth every cent. We would not be where we are with our competitive horses if it wasn’t for him.
If you aren’t happy with the services being rendered, speak to your vet. Ask for an after hours number if you haven’t got one, tell him if you are going away, speak to him about invoices, build up a relationshiop within which you feel comfortable with treatments and costs.
Di Slade
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