Writing Letters

Even in my short career, there have been many times people have asked me to write a letter: to describe a prepurchase exam, to describe something to a farrier, to state the condition of humane cases, etc. So when a client called our practice wanting us to write a letter, it didn't throw up any red flags. However when I arrived on the farm, it was clear to me that this was something different...

As the first order of business, the owner wanted me to palpate a mare that was VERY pregnant. They decided that she was not in fact pregnant because she "shoulda had it by now". Ok. Not the soundest logic, but whatever. I stuck my arm in about wrist deep and confirmed that she was indeed very pregnant. (The fetus was large to say the least.) What was the most striking about the mare is that she was extremely thin. (2-3/9 BCS). This is what they wanted me to write a letter about. Apparently someone had called the Humane Society about this mare due to her condition. They wanted me to write a letter stating she was healthy. I told them I'd write them a letter, but it would not say what they probably wanted it to say.

After talking with them, I found out that this mare (a small Quarter Horse type mare) was bred to a Percheron "by accident". They apparently rescued (I use this term loosely) this stallion as a weanling; it is now 7 years old. They were unaware that it was a stallion and put the mare in the same pasture with it. Apparently they thought the testicles of stallions just fell off at some point during their young life; thus, magically rendering them sterile.

So writing this all down is filling me with rage all over again. At any rate, we had a long discussion about proper feeding, how much hay is adequate, improper breeding, and the birds and the bees of the horse world. These people were just plain ignorant, and unfortunately not interested in learning anymore.

Needless to say, I didn't write any letter. It's better that way.