Why Rural Veterinary Care is So EXPENSIVE - Farmer Mary Field Notes (Week 3, 2026)
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Originally Written November 10, 2025
If your social media algorithm is anything like mine, it serves up videos of animals doing ridiculous things–horses sliding uncontrollably down hills, geese with buckets stuck on their heads, goats fainting when the UPS truck drives by–and the most perfect audio track is an exasperated owner yelling “you don’t pay your own vet bills!!!” And it’s true.
We spend so much time trying to keep our animals safe and healthy, and somehow they manage to astonish us regularly with their not-so-brilliant antics. We try to stay a few steps ahead of them and think of all of the possible ways they could damage themselves, and still find ourselves scratching our heads at some of the scrapes they get into. And it doesn’t even have to be stupidity; sometimes things just go wrong, and you need an expert’s help. I happen to have seen a lot of our local vets in the last couple weeks, so vet care is definitely on my mind, and I wanted to share a bit of what it looks like to safeguard so many critters on our farm.
We are fortunate; our management style with rotational grazing keeps our animals moving onto fresh grass all the time, which minimizes their exposure to parasites and allows us to do minimal intervention for our cows and sheep. The cows get vaccines for the big threats (tetanus, black leg, etc.), and the sheep need absolutely nothing. The birds need even less–they are free-ranging, and we have them during nice weather and for so short a duration that there is minimal chance of them needing vet care. We have had laying hens sustain injuries (tangling with a turkey, for example) and they are incredibly resilient. A topical treatment called blu-kote is an antimicrobial with a blue dye that prevents the other birds from continuing to peck at the wound (apparently the color is a major factor–they will peck at a red wound, but not a blue one).
The guard dogs fall somewhere in between livestock and companion animal. We took them to the vet in town once, and they had no idea how to function on a leash, and had zero clue what a tile floor was. John had to carry the (then 85 pound) puppies back out to the truck, and so they get treated by our large animal vets at the farm now as part of the livestock.
The other critters get more management. The cats and inside dogs are pretty typical–I take them into town to the local vet for shots and routine care. I was actually supposed to take the two barn cats in this week–I suckered them into the tack room and popped them into their carriers, and I was very proud of myself. Too good to be true. Got down the driveway and almost turned onto the main road when John called and told me Dobby (the Scotch collie) was unattended in the house for five whole minutes and ate a CD. Yep. So I call the vet, they suggest I leave the cats and bring the dog instead. He got an exam, x-rays, the whole deal, and made friends with every single person he encountered on the way. A few cans of special wet dog food and a loaf of bread later, I was on my way back. Apparently it’s the same treatment as if they get into cooked chicken bones; the bread cushions any sharp edges of bone (or CD). He appears no worse for wear. I joked with the tech that maybe this was a sign to throw out the CD collection and she looked horrified. “No way! If the world goes to pieces, at least you can listen to those!” Fair point, friend. Fair point.
Meanwhile, our large animal vet came to visit us this week. (I told you I had vet care on my mind!) The horse got his vaccines so I can continue to haul him off-site for lessons and other fun adventures. Many venues require proof of vaccination to prevent the spread of contagious diseases. He was a very good boy: stood on the cross-ties in our barn like a gentleman, and just gave me a look of disbelief–”Lady, they stabbed me! Did you know they were going to do that??” He’s a good egg. I like him a lot, and thankfully he’s a pretty hardy guy. He was the easy part of the vet visit that day.
Our vet swears if you want it to rain, just plan to work cattle. The big reason for her visit was to check if four of our cows were pregnant! I’d already moved the cows into our round pen made of sturdy metal panels, and which has a system of gates attached that allow us to separate the animals out individually and move them into a head gate that will keep them stationary so we can work with them. Not as good as a squeeze that keeps them completely immobile, but it’s a good start and this equipment is not cheap. We’ll trade that out eventually, but that is a story for another day. On this particular occasion we were lucky that the vet brought her new tech along, and she got to help me essentially chase cows strategically inside a 50 foot pen to single out 4 mamas from among five other cows and about 30 sheep. In the rain. Large animal vets are the real deal. Once caught, they each got an ultrasound–the vet had a heads up display that gave her an instant view, and then we let them out of the chute.
We are so, so excited, because all four mamas are pregnant again! We weren’t sure that #21 would be, since she just had a (sort-of-surprise) calf out of sync with the rest of the bunch, but she’s only about 30 days behind the other three. I’m even more excited because the four new babies will be a cross between our Galloway mamas and our South Poll bull. We are hoping to get babies that inherit the docility of both breeds, and that will finish even better on grass and put on muscle like our bull. So far, the one calf we have from this cross is turning out exactly as we hoped. Little dude is built really nicely and is the sweetest thing ever. Fingers crossed for healthy mamas and calves come springtime!
I grew up in the suburbs, so this style of vet care is still really novel to me. We are so fortunate to be able to call or text with questions or an emergency and get a speedy response. We’ve had vets come out early, late, even on Christmas Day once for a colicking horse. They’ve treated wounds and illness, and helped us relieve suffering when there was no good outcome to be had. These vets often see us at our worst—frazzled, worried, or downright panicked. And sometimes, we call with stupid questions, because we’re still learning and we just don’t know everything. I am so grateful for their experience and patience and grace as we try to do the best for all of these creatures in our care. Thank your vet. They deserve it.
And thank YOU for coming along on my adventures! I hope you enjoyed this peek into what we do on the farm! See you next time!