The health of your horse is highly important. Remember that if your horse gets sick and proper interventions weren't adequately rendered, it may cost you a large investment. This is why choosing a good horse doctor is crucial.
If you haven’t picked a good horse vet yet, pick someone whom you are comfortable with. Find someone who can satisfactorily answer your questions and someone who understands your concerns. A good vet will give you his honest assessment of your horse’s condition and will tell you what management he will employ to address the needs of your horse.
When choosing a horse doctor, you want someone who can easily be contacted and someone who can attend to your horse on very short notice. Doctors either work alone or with other specialized vets in a fix schedule, so ask the doctor if he can provide emergency services or if he can recommend someone who can respond to an emergency situation.
When taking the doctor’s availability in consideration, ask your doctor if he can do home visits. Although most vets are happy to do this, it is still important to ensure that he can attend to your sick horse at its stable since horses are difficult to transport. But if your community has no willing doctor to do this, find the nearest vet from your stables.
When a choosing a vet, choose someone who specializes in horses. Then if your horse is of a certain breed, it is better to find someone who is competent in handling that specific breed. It is pointless to find an excellent vet for dogs who know little about horses.
One way of finding a competent horse doctor is by asking around for recommendations from other horse owners. Since the health of your horse is of paramount importance, you need to choose a doctor who can give your horse the best care possible. Until you find one who can satisfy you and your horse, don’t commit to anyone yet.
Check also your vets qualifications. Ask their payment plans, fees and where he intends to get the laboratory tests for your horse. Maintaining a horse is expensive and it becomes more expensive when it gets sick. Unless you have insurance for your horse, it is wise to choose a doctor who can give you a good payment scheme.
Before committing to any veterinarian, ask for an initial appointment and ask him to checkup your horse. Observe closely how he does his assessment. Watch his interaction with the horse. Look if he is giving your horse a thorough general checkup. Ask him some questions while he is doing the examination to know if he knows what he is doing.
Part of the basic needs of a horse is medical care. It isn't enough that you provide it with shelter, food and other comforts of daily living. Proper medical care is a vital element to ensure that your horse’s health and longevity. And choosing the good horse doctor is one way of ensuring your horse’s good health.