Mini Foal

The past few weeks have been filled with a variety of appointments that run the gamut of what we do at MPES, from performing a number of technically challenging MRIs, to administering routine spring vaccinations. Without a doubt the highlight of the week was checking on a 12 hour old miniature horse foal. I had the pleasure of assisting Dr Melanie Barham while she performed a full physical exam on her (and Mom too). When I was a student, I always felt more comfortable working with large equipment suited for horses because of my experience in equine practice. As a result, when we were first taught techniques for dealing with small animals like cats and dogs, I found the equipment – e.g. needles and blood collection tubes – to be small and finicky, and for this reason more challenging to work with. On the flip side, restraining small animals, though no walk in the park, was on the whole less difficult given their relative size and strength. What was interesting about working with this miniature foal this week was that\her diminutive size forced me to rely on my small animal restraint techniques in the course of assisting Dr. Barham. The experience reminded me of just how important every item in the technician’s toolbox is to providing appropriate care, regardless of how unconventional any one of those items may seem in certain situations.