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What I have done and learned in 4th year so far:

#1 I have an entire year of Equine Medicine and Surgery and I have learned Horses were designed poorly (sorry Mom) They really were. They cannot vomit so if they have the slightest stomach ache, it is a huge deal. They seem to want to keel over for everything, they collic all the time, they can break a leg just by running because of all their weight. If they are having birthing complications, forget it I quote a professor "they are all going to die" I heard the joke "Horse medicine always brings you back to the two R's Referral or Rifle" Ha ha But I have gotten to do preg checks via ultrasound. I wont describe where the probe actually goes, but it is very cool to actually see what you have been palpating

Other equine happenings, Dental is tough to do on a horse and their teeth always need work. But it is heaps of fun putting on goggles picking up a massive electrical power floater and going for it. There are many nerve blocks to perform on a horse and for all different reasons. I need to straighten this out before exam time. A stallion mating is a scary very dangerous ordeal.



#2 No matter where you are or who your professor is if they teach repro, they will have the best crude sense of humour ever. Our professor introduces herself as the " Jack Off All Trades" Ha ha Male cows feel very different internally than female cows and you can actually manually stimulate them to give a sperm sample by rubbing a certain spot through the rectum (bet you wanted to know that) Electro ejaculation does not look fun at all in a bull or Ram. Soon we will be pulling calves

#3 Avian exotic and wildlife medicine still fascinates me and I am still such a huge fan of reptiles. The reptile industry and even exotic pet industry is not as big here yet but it is really growing.

#4 Radiology is all about using your "imaginoscope" It truly is. There are countless times when the professor points out a bone lesion on a slide and no matter how hard we look we cant see it at all. And we really cannot see the sunburst spicule pattern of the periosteal new bone. Maybe if I turn my head 90 degrees, squint one eye, pat my head and rub my tummy while hopping on one foot I might see it. Lung patterns are like those dot posters. Has anyone seen those? You stare long enough at a bunch of dots and you see "oh wow, a dolphin" Same with radiology, you can stare and stare and stare at an interstitial lung pattern and I swear I see a dolphin before the pathology I am supposed to be looking for HA HA

#5 Surgery is the most awesome thing in the world. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. Gastrotomy, enterectomy, enterotomy all done while the whole time being called Dr. Webb by the professors. We are in teams of three, anaesthetist, assistant and surgeon. I was the surgeon first for my group and it was amazing.



As you can see the first semester of fourth year is almost done and it is all fusing together kind of like the title to this blog. All I can say is I am plowing through this information the best I can. I have a paper due on a case study of a bearded dragon with Metabolic Bone Disease which I remember seeing plenty of them at Wikiup long ago and far away. Thank you Dr. Williams for the great introduction to exotics.

Speaking of exotics, I have applied for a clinical placement at the Melbourne Zoo for a month during the June July break which I really hope I might be able to get. It is very competitive with only 4 people selected out of all of Australia. I will be doing two weeks in Thailand over the Christmas break helping with the spay and neuter of the animals on the island of Koh Phangan. Check them out at PAC

Between those placements I hope to have quite a few weeks of my mandatory 12 weeks in extramural clinics done.

1 week so far at Jandakot Veterinary Hospital
1 week at Success Veterinary Hospital
Only 2 of 4 weeks count at the Melbourne Zoo
2 weeks at PAC in Thailand

Only 6 more to go!!! I am thinking 2 weeks in Esperance again with the large animal vet 1 week with a mixed practice vet that sees many alpaca cases, 2 weeks with a mobile vet that sees many alpaca cases, and 1 week with an ultrasound specialist.

I have to get through 4th year finals first though and they are going to be very tough. Especially the radiology part. I heard that one is absolutely horrible.

On the home front, the little cat Sebastian the Crab man has beaten all odds and he is a big beautiful pure white male cat. Even took a chance and had him castrated and vaccinated and everything went fine. I think his body has fought off the Coronavirus for now and his titers would be very very low. No FIP will get this little guy.

Steve has gone back out the oil rigs for the whole 3 weeks on 3 weeks off shifts. I miss him of course but it is great money and I am so busy studying and pracs and rotations that there is no better time to do that job than now. I joined a gym and go three times a week and it is a great feeling. It gives me heaps of energy and I wont complain about the hour long Latin Fever class at all. You work your abs, butt, and thighs to Latin music. Could there be any more perfect gym class for me ha ha!

I have finally quit the hospitality industry after 8 long years. No more passing beer over the counter to really drunk idiots and staying very late at night cleaning up huge messes. No more "would you like cracked pepper with that?" I try to work twice a week at the veterinary hospital and will pick up more shifts when it is possible. Everyone cut back their hours or even quit work altogether this year if possible.

So back to studying and finishing this paper I go. Sorry blogs are so infrequent now, I will try to be more frequent but it just seems like there is always something school related that has to get done.

Love everyone and hope to hear from you