Spring Rush

We have made it to April. March is always one of the busiest months of the year in large animal medicine. As the temperatures warm up, our horse clients get prepared for the riding season. Horses receive annual vaccines to protect against diseases spread by mosquitoes and usually have a physical exam and dental exam at the same visit. March is also when sheep, goats, some mares, and cows give birth. We also start tracking mares reproductive cycles to get them bred. The grass also starts to grow, so we battle issues like laminitis or “founder” in some horses who struggle with starch. The temperatures fluctuate from hot to cold and often leads to mild dehydration and upset stomachs for some horses. Allergy season begins. All of that to say, on top of very full schedules handling “wellness” preventative appointments, there is an onslaught of obstetrical emergencies, sick appointments, and weak newborns. We have to modify scheduling to restrict wellness visits to leave room for the work-ins to prevent complete exhaustion for our team. Late night emergencies are more common in spring, so sleep deprivation sometimes adds another layer of stress to our doctors. We are lucky to have 3 veterinarians to rotate on-call duty, but there are still some times you end up on a 5 night stretch of on-call through a weekend.

The typical day looks something like this. I get up, drink coffee, feed the dog, feed the cats, run up to the barn to bring in the horses and drop feed and pick their feet. Megan and I alternate barn days, so some mornings I can take a few more minutes to sleep. Then it’s back inside to eat some breakfast, pack a lunch and top off my water bottle. I login at the computer to handle any accounting and email tasks, then out to the clinic barn to check my hospitalized patients and do morning treatments. If I’m lucky, there’s no one in the barn! These should wrap up by 8am to leave for my first farm call. Then it’s farm to farm, trying to stay on schedule, managing the “while you’re here, doc” add-on requests. Our receptionist will check in by text or call to add an appointment that needs to be seen same day and she’ll call the scheduled folks to let them know I’m running late. Occasionally a client text request or an emailed question gets thrown at me as I drive between calls. I may have to call to chat with someone about their particular question, while praying that we keep cell phone service long enough to finish the conversation so I can be done with the task and not have to call again later to repeat it all. We try hard to be done by 5pm, but with all the spring add-on needs, we’re often in the 7pm range.

I do enjoy the annual visits. I get a chance to catch up with clients and address weight and nutrition issues coming out of winter, address parasite management, dental care, and discuss any new behaviors, lamenesses, and lumps and bumps. It is a chance to see these animals at their best, get to know them, catch early signs of disease, and enjoy them in health – as opposed to an acute care situation with a wound, injury, or a painful abdomen and an emotional moment for the owner. This is a chance for calm and to prevent badness. I like both of those things.

Confession. I love efficiency and being direct on the phone. I just want get to the important details. Sometimes I wish we could speak and write in bullet points. It might prevent me from having to listen to the life history and entire bloodline lineage of a horse, how much he cost, which ranch he came from “out west”, and every other detail just to get to the point that he is suddenly limping this morning and probably needs to be added to the schedule. Yes, Lord, I need to be more patient. My time in the truck is my chance to catch my breath and clear my head between calls. Also, carrying a cell phone call for any length of time while driving through the mountains is not easy without losing service is a challenge. Dropping the call and having to repeat it all in another conversation is frustrating. Yes, more patience.

We are grateful for a healthy business, but we are also all humans here and need to take good care of our minds and bodies. That includes taking breaks, planned time off, and getting plenty of rest. It can be a challenge because this is not a 9-to-5 standard career, but we can definitely set some boundaries, choose to see some appointments at a later date, and sometimes we can say no. I wrote this as a personal reminder, because some days I struggle to believe these words.

There is so much beautiful about Spring, despite the increased pressure it brings with work. Here is to creating more opportunities to appreciate that beauty, pause, and be grateful.