In the word of veterinary school, November is one of the busiest times of year. To add to our already-full schedules, a lot of student organizations are hosting wet labs in November. A wet lab is an educational opportunity outside of the classroom for students to gain experience in different areas of veterinary medicine. Often, it will involve a hands-on component, where students are actually able to practice skills, such as ultrasound, suturing, palpation, joint injections. It’s a chance for students to jump in and get their feet wet—perhaps this is the origin of the name.
This last weekend, the student chapter of the American Association of Equine Practitioners hosted their annual “Handing the Problem Horse” wet lab. I am an officer of the club and the event was being organized by my best friend, so I cleared my weekend to make sure the event went smoothly. For this event, we flew in Dr. Mark Fitch of Boulder, Colorado. Dr. Fitch is a well-respected veterinarian and horseman with 50+ years of experience using natural horsemanship skills to work with his equine patients. Dr. Fitch led a very educational and enjoyable presentation. Many students were able to actually get into the arena with Dr. Fitch and work with horses one-on-one. I learned a tremendous amount from the event, even though this was my second time attending. It was a long and tiring day, but very fun and extremely rewarding. Some days in veterinary school are better than others, and this was certainly a good day!
