'Let's Talk' Explores the Obstacles Facing Vets

   The TDN's 'Let's Talk'–a podcast series featuring TDN's Christina Bossinakis and TVG's on-air analyst Gabby Gaudet, offers candid discussion on personal and professional issues often faced within the racing community.

   The latest edition presents a trio of successful veterinarians–The Stronach Group's Chief Veterinary Officer Dr. Dionne Benson, equine surgeon Dr. Patty Hogan (Hogan Equine Clinic in Cream Ridge, NJ) and longtime racetrack practitioner Dr. Bill Hawk, who counts Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen among his vast clientele.

Over the course of the last decade, racing has faced significant growing pains, transitioning from the norms of yesterday into the necessities of today. And veterinary medicine is no different, having seen its equine professionals put under increasing scrutiny and pressure. Also, long work hours and weekends and keeping pace with the enormous volume of work among a dwindling community of peers are just a few of the factors making it increasingly harder to entice graduating vets and to keep existing ones in the equine branch.

“It's an incredible career but it does have some real highs but some real lows,” admitted Dr. Hogan.

One of the highs in the industry, according to Dr. Hawk, is a communal approach among vets, including both track practitioners and regulatory veterinarians, who help propel the industry in the right direction.

“This is where practicing and regulatory veterinarians in my view work very well together,” he said. “Every time that I had an incidence where I thought there was not proper care being delivered or stalls bedded properly or certainly an injury not properly taken care of, I spoke to our regulatory veterinarians anywhere I've ever been and I always found that was attended to almost immediately.”

While equine health and safety is generally among the key talking points in the industry, the health–both physical and psychological–of the equine veterinary community is one that is often overlooked. However, the emotional investment by the equine vet underscores the unwavering commitment to made to the animal and their clients.

“I'm like a high-end auto repair shop for sports cars, but these sports cars are animals that have personalities and they react to you,” said Dr. Hogan. “When I have a particularly hard case, and I lose that case, it's very tough. I still think of horses that I had to euthanize 20 years ago. They are all individuals. That's the hard part for me. They're real-life animals and you get to know them.. So it's still very personal for me because I have very individual relationships with these horses.”

And like other professions in racing, veterinarians have come under fire of late for the behavior and actions of a few bad apples, however, the vast majority of vets remain staunchly motivated to do right, and passionately work to help protect the animals they oversee on a day-to-day basis.

“I get really offended when somebody mistreats one of these horses,” admitted Dr. Hawk. “Let's be honest, this is an entertainment industry and they are giving there all for our entertainment..and we're not doing our part if someone does not take care of that animal and then we don't say anything about it. It's just wrong on every level.”

Despite all the hard work and oftentimes thankless press, the men and women that are charged with caring for the sport's equine athletes are often driven by the most basic of forces–the sheer love of the horse and the commitment to its health and welfare.

“I can't look at the day-to-day, because I'm going to have really bad days and, hopefully, a lot of really great days,” Dr. Benson added. “I look at where we're headed. Are we improving the industry? Are we making things better? Are we seeing fatalities drop? Are we seeing horses racing healthy longer. If I feel like we're still moving, that's what keeps me going personally is that I feel like there are still things we can do to help.”

To watch the 'Let's Talk' podcast, click here and to listen to the audio only version, click here.