Vet and Prices

[buddyzcowgurl]

I've been using my current vet since January of this year - since I bought the baby. Many horsie friends I know use them as well, and I've gotten to know them quite a bit over the past 8+ months. I know it hasn't been that long, but I've always been on time to meet them at appointments, had my horse ready, and paid promptly in full for services

Comments

[loser_n_proud7]

No, that isn't wrong at all to ask. They should be able to tell you easily how much a standard wolf tooth/teeth removal would cost. They may not be able to tell you an exact total figure because the vets time will probably have a fee along with it, or a farm call fee, and they don't know how much sedation/anesthetic will be needed. This is also not a guarantee that it will be the final cost, if complications arose or it wasn't a simple extraction... but you have a horse so I'm sure you know all about how things never go as planned =P

[buddyzcowgurl]

Thank you.
Yeah, I totally understand that the cost can vary by all things you mentioned, but all I'm asking for is a ball park base figure :(

[loser_n_proud7]

Feel no qualms about asking. I'm sure this is nowhere near the most unusual question they've been asked.

[belle7067]

Adding my sympathy - I'm submitting my vet school applications as we speak, and jesus christ on crackers. GRE score reports are $23 a PIECE. Last year I went off the free ones. Stupid applications.

As for wolf teeth, they SHOULD be removed - they can rot and cause problems if left alone. However, they should absolutely not have a problem giving you an estimate. I work at a vet clinic (SA) and we offer estimates for everything. EVERYTHING. We tailor each one to the pet in question based on weight, age, health status, and procedure, go over it step by step to answer questions, etc etc etc. to make sure the client understands that we try to estimate the range the procedure will fall within, but that it will depend on what happens during the procedure. This is especially true for oral surgeries.
You have every right to ask for, and expect, a price estimate on a large procedure.

[buddyzcowgurl]

Thank you, that makes me feel so much better!
Good luck with the vet school app stuff! Yeah, tell me about it, they have run me dry. Naturally, teeth and applications fall at the same time. How lovely.

Where are you applying?

[belle7067]

No problem!

My horse always needs something important and expensive when I've spent money on other things. My list this year: Ohio, Purdue, Illinois, Washington, UPenn, Tufts, and MAYBE UC Davis and Oregon. Pending being able to take a physio course. How about you?

[buddyzcowgurl]

Haha None of the above, bummer! UTenn, Edinburgh [if I'm brave enough to go there!] VATech,NCState and Colorado. First choice is NCState... but like most people, I'll take anything :) GOOD LUCK! Keep me posted? Add me?

[candysgirl]

My colt needed cryptorchid surgery. You better believe I called around on that one. A couple of clinics were annoyed at my calling for a quote. I crossed them off the list just based on attitude. Ironically Purdue was going to charge me the most - $2k as a base price. I wound up finding a more local vet that did it for $700 that has a completely fantastic reputation.

[buddyzcowgurl]

ya know.. i said to myself "maybe I should find a new vet if they are going to have that attitude and not be willing to work with me"... and maybe I will. Thanks :)

[candysgirl]

If you like the *vet*, I would first call and ask to speak to him. Tell him what you experienced with his office staff. I worked for a vet for a number of years and he was HORRIFIED when we learned one of the receptionists was being nasty to clients.

As for my horse's vet, I'll make appointments through the office people, but for anything else I just ask my vet himself to call me back. I'm not a huge fan of his office staff, but I really like the vet himself. I simply request to deal only with him for anything important. It works out just fine.

[buddyzcowgurl]

I guess I always feel guilty bothering the vet directly... I figure they are busy and I'm not important enough to be calling them directly. I do like the vet, but they probably don't know me well enough yet.

Sounds like you've built a good relationship with yours. I wish I had a long term relationship with a vet so I could feel more comfortable calling them directly.

[serennig]

Nothing wrong with wanting a price estimate. It should be a fairly routine thing, so they should be able to give you a rough estimate just based on what previous ones have cost.

[morgieporgie]

Oh let me tell you, I called literally EVERY equine vet in the Northern VA area to get a price idea on Lyme treatment when my gelding was diagnosed. Luckily, my vet turned out to have the absolute lowest prices, by a long shot. And she's fantastic. All the vets I called gave me at least a general idea of how much it would cost, but she actually ended up giving me a breakdown of each thing she would be giving him, each visit, and let me know what I could get on my own for him. Nobody made me feel guilty, and my vet even encouraged me to see if I could get it cheaper somewhere else.

Good luck on your applications!

[jezzikah]

Your vet sounds great, do you mind sharing who you use? There are just *so many* options here in NoVA that word of mouth is a good way to learn about vets.

Thanks!

[morgieporgie]

Sure! I use Dr. Waldron at Rectortown Equine (she's the only one there, it's her practice). My guys are out in Aldie/Middleburg right now (soon to be Great Falls, I'm so excited!), and she's out past Middleburg. She's pretty willing to travel wherever though. She told me she likes fixing the "problem" horses, the ones that other vets have written off. I love her big time! She's very honest and straightforward with treatment options, which I admire. So yeah, I'd be happy to give you her phone number, or you can google it!

[buddyzcowgurl]

Um, sounds like a dream vet!