Thought I’d go over the vet charges I’ve incurred so far, so others who may find themselves in a similar situation, with a Laminitic horse, might be able to get an idea of what they can expect, as far as a vet bill.

The vet I use, and have been very happy with, is

Haymarket Veterinary Service
Haymarket, VA 20168
(703) 754-3309

They specialize in equine services and cover a fairly large area. They have several full-time equine vets working for them. At least four have helped me with Penny and I have nothing but praise for all of them.

A farm visit from HVS runs $58. Since I called after-hours on a Thursday evening the first time, and since it was an emergency, I had a $100 “After-hours Fee” tacked on. Since they traveled about 45 miles to get out to me on a Thursday evening, I have no problem with that at all. They also came out that Saturday to check on her and give her another dose of DMSO, but did not charge me the After-hours Fee. I ended up with five farm visits, for a total of $390, including the After-Hour Fees (there is another After-hours Fee on the invoice that is in error).

The vets provided me with a tub of Phenylbutazone at a cost of $50 and 50 mls of Acepromazine at $34, along with several syringes for oral application for a couple bucks, so I could administer the Bute and Ace myself.

They administered three litres of DMSO fluid (don’t ask what it is, because I don’t know) by IV on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, for a total of nine litres. It is some sort of fluid that is supposed to help flush the toxins from the body and promote quicker healing. At $165 per treatment, that totaled $495 (they mistakenly charged me for a fourth treatment).

I was charged $82 for a “Lameness Examination” and $55 thereafter for “Repeat Exams”, for a total of $357

I was charged $410 for the x-rays.

While they were at it, I had them get Penny current on her Coggins test and vaccinations.

Those are the major expenses. All told, with all the smaller incidentals, the grand total came to $2727.00…and we may not be done yet.

I have several charges to dispute, but I’m sure they will not be a problem. Always make sure you go over your bills. People make mistakes, but you will pay for them if you don’t pay attention. Additionally, you might ask for a bill for each visit, so you know how much you are spending as the charges accumulate. I didn’t and was quite surprised at the total when I received the bill at the end of the month. I also think you might be able to get your vet to tell you what each item of treatment will cost before hand. While that is not usual, and they might get testy about it, you may not be in a financial position to handle the cost of treatments that may be good, but not essential.

Some charges from vet services seem to me to be simply frivolous. They are simply a means of getting a little more for their service, while seeming to charge less for other services (sort of like “shipping and Handling” for online services). I tend to look at the “Setup” charge for the X-rays in that way. They pulled a box about the size of a boot box out of their truck, plugged the cord into the wall, and plugged the actual X-ray camera and a laptop computer into that. That cost me $50. Then they charged me $360 for actually taking the pictures. The pictures uploaded real-time to a computer, so there was no development expense for them. They simply emailed me the pictures. Then there is the $58 for the farm visit on top of the $82 for the “Lameness Exam”, in which she walked around the horse and lifted each hoof. These kind of charges only occur in the health services businesses. Vets are learning well from their human health counterparts. You may be able to negotiate reductions in some of those charges if you are aware.

So that’s what I spent for vet care for Laminitis treatment on my $300 mare.

And that doesn’t include the $160 for the hoof boots and pad inserts, the new feed buckets, extra feed, and the extra time I’ve spent trying to get her through this illness. Take it from me, it’s better not to have to go through this. Pay attention and watch your horse’s feed. Penny’s Laminitis was caused by an overload of sweet feed, which occurred by sheer accident. Somebody (maybe even me) left a gate open. It could happen to anyone, but could have been avoided altogether.

If you keep horses long enough, eventually you will run into something that requires extensive vet care. Be prepared for the expenses. Keep an emergency fund for your horse, or be prepared to make tough decisions as to how far you can go to help your horse recover.

I have included scanned copies of my invoices for your perusal. Again, I have no complaints against Haymarket Veterinary Service. They did good work for me. I would recommend them.  I’m simply posting this so other people in my position may benefit by having some idea of what they may expect.