It would be next to impossible to find a Northern Kentucky veterinarian who did not have a number of horses under his or her care.
While many pet doctors rely on small animals to make up the majority of their clientele, this is not the case in this great state.
It has been reported that a Union veterinarian specializes entirely in horse care due to the great demand in that area.
While the skill sets are the same for any pet doctor, it does take some special handling for the much larger animals and a great deal of confidence to approach these magnificent creatures with assurance.
There are a few additional things that an equine specialist must take into consideration before choosing to focus on these large animals: Equine specialists must be physically able to maneuver around these huge specimens while providing treatment to them.
It can be a dangerous undertaking to be around an animal in pain which is capable of striking out and inflicting injury without intending to harm anyone.
When called upon to set a broken bone, for instance, the horse can react to the touch in a menacing way simply in self protection and in so doing put a person in harm's way.
A good pet doctor can anticipate this reaction and be prepared for it.
Equine specialists must be able to interpret sounds and signs of pain that the horse is unable to express through words.
They simply cannot tell you what is wrong with them.
It goes without saying that many diseases can come on silently and must be discovered on thorough examination by a skilled specialist.
Basic preventive care can pick up many problems before they can escalate into something bigger and harmful to the horse.
Therefore, it is desirable that routine exams be scheduled and carried out just as with any other animal; the only difference is the doctor must come to the animal not the other way around.
Equine specialists must be willing to make "house calls" since it is very difficult to bring a large animal such as a horse to them.
In practical terms, this means that this type of pet doctor will spend travel time going back and forth visiting his patients and will have to be on the road quite a bit.
Even a small task such as a vaccination will require a home visit due to the hard task of transporting the animal.
A large task such as the birth of a colt also takes place on the farm in a barn or a stable.
Equine specialists must be willing to be available on an as needed basis for animal emergencies.
This is where a larger practice has an advantage as there are more pet doctors to share the on call hours.
One of the sad facts about horses is that when they have broken a leg they rarely recover from it and must very often be euthanized.
Even the famous race horse, Barbaro, who underwent six separate surgeries in all for a broken rear leg, finally succumbed to his injuries and had to be euthanized in January of 2007.
He lived a painful nine months with the very best of care but to no avail.
Such is the nature of horses and leg fractures.