Kady Meyers: Why did you become a veterinarian?

The million-dollar question “why did you become a veterinarian” and specifically “why equine?”

For me, it’s just always been a part of me. My mom tells this story to anyone who will listen from when I was 5 years old and was given the assignment to write my ultimate dream on my dream pillow. I wrote, “I want to be a vet, I want to save the animals and help the people.”

This dream stuck with me and became part of my identity.

I knew I specifically wanted to do equine medicine when I was in middle school. I was horse crazed and pretty much only wanted to talk about horses. My family had 0 interest in them but finally, let me start riding when I was 12. To say I was hooked was an understatement. I was determined to make them my whole life and dedicated my high school and undergrad years to competing in eventing as well as managing a 20 horse lesson barn.

It wasn’t really until I got into vet school that I knew what I wanted to do with my future career. I kept hearing horrible things about the burn-out in equine medicine but I had no interest in any other parts of veterinary medicine.

I love that in equine medicine you not only had to work with sick horses but got to work with them as athletes. I was in awe of the sports medicine aspect and how you get to be a part of a team. I loved that you could help a horse move better and become a better athlete by the medicine you practiced.

Starting my internship at ECO opened a whole new insight into the equine world. I have a whole team of dedicated, hard-working, knowledgeable, and caring vets behind me that never let me feel alone. They are a perfect example of not only practicing high-quality medicine but how an equine practice should run. They have given me the ability to learn without feeling overwhelmed and giving me the insight to become a better vet. I’m thankful for this team that made me feel like I have made the right decision to become an equine vet and giving me the tools to continue to learn.

To future vets just remember it’s a lot of hard work but dedication is key to success.

You will always have your downfalls but if you get back up and keep trying you will succeed!