The importance of therapeutic farriery in equine practice.

For an equine practice to offer therapeutic farriery as a professional service, that service must be founded in individual competence and cooperation between veterinarian and farrier. Inadequate farriery education and experience may result in substandard or even contraindicated therapeutic farriery prescriptions and farrier care. Within continuing education for equine practitioners, excellent opportunities to advance one's understanding of and clinical competence in therapeutic farriery are increasingly available. It is the obligation of the veterinarian to acquire and maintain a working understanding of both basic and therapeutic farriery to work effectively with the farrier and offer a valid service to the client.

Prepurchase examination in ambulatory equine practice.

Prepurchase examination provides a significant opportunity for veterinarians to offer an important professional service to the equine industry. When the service is performed competently and ethically, prospective buyers and sellers will recommend the examining veterinarian to fellow horse owners and professionals. To become comfortable with and skilled at performing prepurchase examinations, a veterinarian must understand the operational challenges associated with this service-and master them. Veterinarians performing prepurchase examinations should address the needs and manage the expectations of the prospective buyer, treat the seller and all parties with professional courtesy, be familiar with the intended use of the horse, competently perform a thorough physical examination, and pay close attention to the medical record and report. Communicate clearly with all parties before, during, and after the examination. Feedback from staff and colleagues is critical to improving and refining the services offered. The veterinarian should work with staff to evaluate the processes used to deliver the prepurchase examination experience to clients and consult with mentors who are skilled in performing these services. Sharing your ideas for improving prepurchase examination with equine colleagues is a service to the veterinary profession and to the horse. Performing a prepurchase examination in the way described may sound like a "tall order," but once patient care and service goals have been established, staff has been trained, and the process has been defined-the challenges become opportunities. The rewards include satisfied clients, reduced liability risk, increased profitability, and the satisfaction of having performed an interesting, valuable task to the best of one's abilities.

The equine practitioner-farrier relationship: building a partnership.

The importance of hoof care in maintaining the health and soundness of a horse cannot be overstated. The aphorism, "No foot, no horse" still holds true. For equine ambulatory practitioners, the time devoted to a thorough understanding of the equine digit and it's care is well worth the investment. The effort devoted to developing good relationships with individuals who will likely be responsible for implementing the changes suggested as a result of that understanding will be rewarded many times over in the course of the equine ambulatory practitioner's career.