Learn what it takes to have a career as a horse veterinarian from two young vets.
Not everyone who goes to vet school has the same background. Erin Homerosky, DVM, who works at Orrville Veterinary Clinic, a large animal practice in Orrville, Ohio, grew up on a hay and cattle farm in southern Ohio. The youngest of three girls, Erin was the only one bitten by the horse bug.
She didn’t decide she wanted to go to vet school until the summer after her sophomore year in college.
“I’d signed up to be a biology major [at the Ohio State University], but quickly swapped to animal science,” Erin says. “I liked anatomy and genetics and reproduction, and I liked being physical. So that was when I decided I was going to try to be a vet.”
Kristen Stowell, DVM, works at Elkhorn Veterinary Clinic in Elkhorn, Wisc. Her story was quite the opposite: She knew she wanted to be a vet since she was a little kid.
“I still have a picture I drew when I was 5 years old of me becoming a vet,” she says.
Trying Out the Veterinary World
It’s not uncommon to hear all the things you should do to determine if veterinary medicine is really your thing, like ride-alongs, job shadowing or volunteering. But do you really have to do them all? Both Erin and Kristen say: YES!
Erin spent a lot of time working in a research lab on a dairy farm when she was an undergraduate, and that was what made her realize that vet med really was what she wanted to do.
“It was an epiphany,” Erin says of learning she wanted to be a vet. She had never truly considered the career.
Later that year she worked in a small animal clinic; she was a janitor there every other night and then would spend a half-day shadowing vets on the weekends. This is when Erin learned she most wanted to focus on large animals once she graduated.
Kristen rode along with her horse’s vet before she went to college. In school, she worked at the University of Wisconsin-Madison vet school during undergrad to gain exposure to that environment. She also worked in the vet school pharmacy and groomed for a polo team, volunteered at a small animal shelter, externed at the Peterson & Smith Equine Reproduction Center, and completed a semester working at Kentucky Equine Sports Medicine and Rehab Center (KESMARC) in Lexington, Ky. All of these experiences solidified that she wanted to be a large animal veterinarian.
How Important Are Grades?
Do you really have to be super good at math and science to get into vet school? Not necessarily.
“I went to a small high school,” Erin says. “I excelled in math and science, but my entire class was only 61 kids.” When she got to college, however, things got harder. “I cried and struggled with math—I was studying and just not getting it. I was in classes of 400 for organic chemistry and biochemistry, and [the other students] all looked calm and collected. I really felt like I was the only one without a clue of what the professor was saying—and I studied all the time.
“But I learned that we’re all ducks on a pond,” she continues. “We’re all calm and collected on the surface, but underneath, we’re all panicking and struggling. Once I understood that I wasn’t the only one, I just kept trucking along.”
Kristen was very good at math and science.
“Biochemistry was my favorite,” she recalls. Kristen’s minor was Zoology, so taking the courses required to get into vet school, like organic chemistry and physics, were already part of her major. To make sure she wasn’t too overwhelmed, Kristen took fun classes, too, like Hinduism and Greek Mythology.
Getting Into Vet School
Though Erin and Kristen both got into vet school on their first try, it’s not unusual to receive a rejection letter the first time you apply.
“I had many classmates who didn’t get in their first time applying,” Erin says. “Everyone was deserving of that position the first time around.”
Admissions teams at each vet school look at applications differently; what is a firm “yes” for acceptance into one is not at another.
Both Erin and Kristen say one of the biggest challenges was getting all of the information compiled for the Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS). This is much more time-consuming than hard, however.
“You have to list every class you’ve ever taken and the grade you got, all your work experience, write essays, and get letters of recommendation,” Erin explains. “You’re constantly asking, ‘Is this enough?’ But really, if you do it step-by-step, it’s the easiest part of vet school.”
Student Loans
Erin was able to secure funding for all of her undergraduate studies; this allowed her to put the money her parents had set aside for college toward vet school at the Ohio State University. She says the ability to not graduate under the weight of substantial student debt has had a huge, positive impact on her mental health.
Kristen took out her vet-school loans for the Royal Veterinary College from Sallie Mae, a private company.
“I would caution new [student loan] applicants to be aware of interest rates,” Kristen says. “Some of them for Sallie Mae are 12 percent.” These rates, on top of the price to go to vet school, can make paying back student loans seem nearly impossible.
Although vet school can be a challenge, both Erin and Kristen say they love their jobs and the animals they get to help every day.
Looking Ahead to a Career as a Veterinarian
A career as a veterinarian, particularly in equine medicine, can be incredibly challenging but equally as rewarding. If this career path interests you, hopefully these insights from Erin and Kristen will provide you some guidance on chasing your dreams—from now, through vet school, and all the way to practicing as a full-fledged veterinarian.
This article about a career as a horse veterinarian appeared in the September/October 2023 issue of Young Rider magazine. Click here to subscribe!
