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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 490
 
| My mare decided to slice her cornea 2 weeks ago. I had no choice but to call a vet. It was 5pm on a Friday night... The total bill for that visit was just under $600. He was going to the neighbors so stopped to treat her. It was a lot higher than I thought it would be BUT we saved her eye. He came out for a recheck (he's a mobile vet so no clinic) last week and it was another $170. That was recheck, sedation, farm call and for him to put meds in her eye. When he comes out this evening I'm going to tell him let me put the ointment in there and save myself $45!!!! | |
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  Neat Freak
Posts: 11216
 
Location: Wonderful Wyoming | I hauled mine 2 1/2 hrs away to a surgical vet. He gave him pain killer, tubed him and ultrasounded. Wanted to keep him for observation. I told him I could administer pain meds and give oil as easy as he could and he agreed. I had a local vet that could tube if needed. He was impacted. $650 was the cost and I thought that was about normal. Passed it 3 days later. Vitals were always good or I would have left him with the vet. I bet I saved $1500. | |
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 A Barrel Of Monkeys
Posts: 12972
 
Location: Texas | My colt cut his foot while at the trainer's. Vet lived 2 houses down the road. After hours call (12:30pm Saturday), $85. Exam price $35. Wrap foot, give tetanus shot etc. and the bill was $200. I thought that was pretty high. | |
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| OhMax - 2018-04-05 6:41 AM
Nope, no issue with that. Remember they may have had other clients to see that afternoon at the office that they had to reschedule at the last minute as well.
I agree with this. Most vets aren't just sitting around waiting for emergency calls to come in. They have clinics to run, appointments to get to, and equipment to pay for (even if they are mobile), or they are trying to enjoy a spare moment of free time with their families. Overhead costs can be pretty expensive for vets, but that's not something most clients are privy to, especially with many new vets and their student loan debt, ultrasounds and xray machines, vet truck payments, etc. Some of those vet boxes in the beds can be at least $20k. Drug costs are rapidly increasing, and one of my husband's distributors just tacked on an $8 handling fee for any order less than $100, plus taxes and shipping, so he now has to deal with one more added cost.
Horses are a luxury, not a necessity (whaaat? did I really say that?!). We have had clients that had to choose between making their truck payment that month, or paying for their emergency, and that is not something ANY vet wants to see happen. However, if you feel your vet did a competent job and treated your horse to the best of their ability, no matter the outcome, then I would say the price was fair. There are some things that just can't be fixed no matter the monetary amount, and I am glad your horse was one of the ones that could.
ETA: yes, there are some vets that will try and swindle every last penny out of you, but that's when an itemized invoice comes in handy. Like I stated before though, if your vet was able to provide quick, expert and compassionate care for your horse, sometimes it's best to not question the 25+ year relationship you have with them and be thankful they're around when you need them. Many vet practices are getting away from handling after hours emergency calls (mostly small animal, but some large animal), and leave owners scrambling.
Edited by madredepeanut 2018-04-06 1:24 AM
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