Equine Clinical Skills List for PAVE Students

The hospital at New Bolton Center offers a world-class caseload, primarily treating horses followed by sheep and goats. Our equine patients range from active, young thoroughbred racehorses to quiet family pets.

To ensure a safe and successful learning experience, we strongly recommend that PAVE students gain horse handling experience and complete 30 hours of equine veterinary shadowing before their clinical year at PennVet.  

Please note: if you do not have access to an equine veterinarian, it is critical that you spend 30 hours working one-on-one with horses in any capacity ensuring that you are comfortable with all aspects of handling and examination.

All students should be comfortable with the following skills prior to starting clinical rotations at PennVet:

1. Interacting with a horse in its stall; reading body language to keep oneself and the horse safe

2. Placing a halter and a lead shank – we use a chain over the nose for all patients

3. Walking a horse outdoors in different areas and situations – horses may need to be taken for imaging or surgical procedures

4. Being comfortable holding a horse (sedated and awake) for a procedure

5. Grooming

6. Lifting legs and cleaning/examining hooves

7. Performing a full physical exam including:

    a. Taking rectal temperature

    b. Auscultation of heart, trachea, lungs, GI

    c. Palpation of head, neck, body and limbs, including palpation of digital pulses

    d. Assessing if the animal is in pain

    e. Assessing comfort at the walk in the stall and at the trot if someone else jogs the horse for you to observe

8. Drawing blood from the jugular vein and giving intravenous injections

9. The correct locations to give intramuscular injections (we prefer cervical musculature, but extreme care must be taken not to approach the cervical spine)

10. The correct locations to give subcutaneous injections in a horse and small ruminant

11. Dosing with oral medications in an effective and non-threatening manner