Posted by Jennifer West on June 05, 2002 at 17:32:07:
In Reply to: Re: What Can We Do? posted by jennifer West on June 05, 2002 at 16:07:20:
: :I was in a similiar situation a couple years ago and yet when I insisted the owner call the vet for radiographs when laminitis was suspected, the vet insisted she just get a new farrier. The vet never returned my phone calls. I lost the client. The horse was destroyed six weeks later. I don't know why. In defense of the farrier, I see a lot of articles in farrier association magazines promoting farriers in area they have no education or experience in. In my years of practice, I have seen farriers providing unlawful vet services regularly. I have struggled to build a scientific and ethically based practice, but it has been difficult and I suffer economically for it. My colleagues offer no support and undermine these standards we pay lip service to everytime they play the barnyard veterinarian, and I have had veterinarians betray my respect for their profession by the above described incident which has occurred more than once. In light of the true reality of the economic pressures that farriers, especially ethical ones, encounter it may be safe to say that the mentioned farrier was just trying to do the best he could. It's not always a black& white world when you're trying to make ends meet.