In which Steele meets his vet

I have to say that I have a wonderful vet. I am fortunate to live in an area that has an excellent vet clinic that does large and small animals. I've had this same vet for my horses since I've owned horses. He's has a ton of knowledge and he listens to the owners. His daughter has just joined the practice as well. Both of them truly love horses which is helpful when you are a horse owner.

Irish needs to have his teeth done about every 6 months as he forms hooks at the back. There is no equine dentist in the area but my vet has educated himself well and he does a good job with Irish. I noticed recently that Irish was displaying signs of problems- fussy in the contact and knew it was close to the  6 month mark but I then noticed that he was spitting out his grain. I called the vet right away and made an appointment. In the meantime I soaked his feed so it was soft which fixed the issue.

Irish had his teeth done in the stall. Steele watched from the outside dutch door completely riveted. And a bit jealous that he wasn't getting any attention. I have to brag about how good Irish is with the vet- no tranquilizers needed even with the gag (device to hold his mouth open so the vet can get at the back teeth). 

I know that my vet is a busy man but he took the time to discuss the Triple E vaccine with me. About 3 years ago it hit our province and a few horse died of it in my area. I've been vaccinating ever since but he was recommending a fall booster as this is typically the time it appears. So Irish had that done as well.

I then put the halter on Steele and brought him out. My vet gave him a quick once over, said some nice things, moved his legs around, etc. Steele stood as good as gold. My vet then grabbed one of his teeth implements and said that he just wanted Steele to feel it in his mouth, but he wasn't going to do anything. So while I held the lead line, the vet put on of his files in Steeles mouth and moved around a bit. All he did was open his mouth but Steele kept his eye on me the whole time- it was like he was saying- is this ok? When the vet took it out and put it in his bucket Steele wanted to go and check it out. As a first time he was excellent. Some horses freak out over it. Steele then had his needle. All he did was drop his bum and make a face. Then a quick apple and the horses were let back out.

All in all a successful first meeting.