Local large-animal vet weighs in on vet shortage

ANDERSON — Various Indiana communities, including Madison County, are facing another shortage, this time, of large-animal veterinarians.

Current conditions have given Middletown veterinarian Dr. Natalie Skillman of Skillman Veterinary Services clients in areas including Boone, Hamilton and Shelby counties.

“A lot of my clients ask me, ‘Why can’t you just find another vet?’ I don’t think they realize what it costs to hire another vet,” Skillman said.

“Also, there aren’t many veterinarians out there who want to go into large-animal or equine practice.”

Student loan debt is another barrier. On average, a vet student graduated with about $157,147 in debt in 2020, according to an article from the American Veterinary Medicine Association.

Serving clients with large animals like llamas, horses and alpacas, as Skillman does, isn’t as lucrative or convenient as working with small animals.

To put it into perspective, Skillman said she could make twice as much money at half the hours by switching to small animals.

Skillman said as a result, graduates often do not consider large-animal practice feasible or desirable.

Burnout could be another major issue. Vets experienced double the burnout rate of physicians, according to data cited by the AVMA.

“You want to be available 100% of the time for the animal and its owner, but we are not superheroes,” Skillman said in an email.

She recommended upcoming and current vets establish boundaries when it comes to time, which can be easier said than done.

About two years ago, her maternity leave had to be cut short as she couldn’t find a substitute.

“(When I worked for myself), I came back after my third child after a month because there just wasn’t anyone I could find to replace me.”

Skillman considers her practice a labor of love.

The pangs of such labor began, she said, on a snowy Christmas Eve night.

Skillman remembered assisting her parents and others to save a downed horse.

Being stuck in the cold, the horse’s body temperature began to drop, forcing them to act quickly.

“We got a lot of hay from the hayloft and put it on top of her body to help stabilize her body temperature. We removed her shoes because there was a lot of ice standing on the concrete floor,” she said.

Using a tractor and strap, they were able to hoist the horse to its feet. The horse went on to live a healthy life for the next 10 years.

Efforts are being made to combat the shortage.

The state has created a Center for Animal Policy to combat the shortage.

Institutions like Hanover College and Ivy Tech Madison Campus are working to develop a veterinary medicine program, according to an article from CNHI Indiana.