The Ocala class started in the barn today....

Actually, they're probably still in the barn! Hey, my class was anyway. Jeez. I can't believe this time 3 months ago, my class was in the Equine Rescue Leagues barn doing a ton of incisor work and generally, just learning the ropes. So WEIRD! lol!
And speaking of school, specifically instructors, I talked to one of them last week. I got an offer to possibly do teeth in Georgia this Spring. Funny thing about dentistry....umm.....its not exactly legal in all states....yeeaaahhhh, wasn't sure about Georgia. So, talking with Hubert it was. He was my groups instructor the first couple days at the second rescue. Lets see. How to explain Hubert. Well, he's French, red headed, left handed and a Scorpio. His words, not mine ;) And what an interesting character he is. I don't think the man knows how to hold a conversation without a slew of curse words. Makes for a highly entertaining time to say the least. Remember I said about the van rides??? Anyone else ever had a conversation about the weirdest thing you ever ate? Sometimes it was hard being one of 2 girls in the van, hahaha. We won't go into the weirdest foods. Let's just say, he won....eww. And why wouldn't I mind being put into a headlock?? :-P Oh, and he likes to sing rap songs. Picture "Gettin Hot in Here" via French accent. Told you it was entertaining ;D
Anyway, back to the Georgia thing. Hubert works up and down the southern East Coast in the winter months. After the last few weeks, I completely understand. So, as I figured, it is "illegal" for anyone but a vet to work in the state. But, as he put it so eloquently, "Fuck that shit". Alrighty then! As I already, kind of, knew, there are a lot of EqDT's that work in "illegal" states. Quite frankly, there are only so many trained dentists (vet and non vet) and tons of horses. And owners realize that there are well trained dentists and completely untrained dentists (some vets included unfortunately).
What does this mean for me? Good question. I essentially need to be on my A-game. Nothing unusual, I tend to be a perfectionist (it does pay off sometimes ;). And I need to inform the owners and if need be, the vet or vets. Some vets are cool with, some are not. Whats the old saying "you never know until you try". I'm not trying to undercut anyone and really, I'm not trying to break the law (stay with me). I'm trying to help the horse. Some people understand that, some don't.
Not gonna lie....being the "rebel" sounds kinda fun too ;)

I'm Back!!!

Oh boy, where to start. First, I have had no motivation nor TIME to sit and write anything. To say I've been busy is, well, an understatement to say the least. Oy. Haha. Not that I haven't wanted to share my thoughts. Really, who doesn't??? But today is an impromptu day off (so far) and its driving me nuts. The girl that could sit around for hours with nothing to do seems to have disappeared in the last month. On to that subject...

I will say it now and I will say it in 10 years: Dental school was the best decision I have ever made. Period. Was it chaotic? Yes. Was it a hell of a lot of fun? YES. I'll give you basic run down. The first week and a half, you spend in a classroom going over anatomy and physiology of the horse, specifically the head and teeth (duh). Along with the different weird stuff that can happen when teeth are not cared for properly, HOW to care for them properly, the differences in the breeds in relation to the teeth, sedation, tools, etc... Then, you go to the barn. Dun, dun, duunnnn. We started out at rescues where basically nothing has anything really normal going on in their mouths. Power tools (think human dental drills times 10), pulling teeth, sedation, and more sedation. Truly, no better learning environment. And your instructors/drill sergeants make the the experience even more fun ;)

So you spend two full weeks in barns doing everything from regular floats (once in a blue moon in school), pulling teeth, removing caps, incisor work, molar cutting, I could go on. And by the end of two weeks, you are sore, running on fumes.....and floating teeth all by yourself and looking for more :)

And I could go on about the van rides to and from appointments. The inside jokes. The lunch and dinner outings. It was just too much fun. You get used to being busy and working and tired and whatever. But you never hear complaining. Because we were all there with the same goal in mind. And we are all having the time of our lives, for that short period of time.
So now, I get to call myself.....an equine dentist. And that just hasn't sunk in yet. Nor the fact that I CAN put EqDT after my name. Holy cow! I have a purpose in life!