Edinburgh Vet School Q&A

There is both the horse society, which runs English riding lessons (have talked about starting Western but I don't think they have yet) for beginners (wt learning to canter I think), intermediates (wtc jump 2ft I think) and advanced. I think the beginner lessons might be Wed afternoons, I don't remember when the intermediate lessons are, I think Wed or Thurs aft/evening and the advanced lessons are Thurs. evenings (leave the vet school around 5pm). The lessons are arranged by carpooling, where one person volunteers to drive and gets paid carpool/gas money from anyone also traveling in the car. If someone does not volunteer to drive, then generally the lesson does not run as both Dryden (intermediate lessons) and Kingsbarn (advanced lessons) are not very public transit accessible/are a fair distance away. I have done one advanced lesson (have tried to go back but a mixture of lack of time and lack of availability) at Kingsbarn, and I think we left Bush around 5pm and I got back to city center around 9pm, to give you an idea of the time commitment.

If you just want to hack/trail ride, there is also the pony trekking society. The R(D)SVS maintains a herd of Exmoor ponies, and run treks through the Pentlands on weekends for the public (including students). It is I think 20 pounds to do a ride, or if you purchase a membership then 18 pounds. Or, you can do the trek leader's course, which runs every Wed. afternoon for I think 3-4 hours, plus a 1 week commitment in the summer if I remember correctly. And 2 weeks summer training. Once you complete the leader's course you're then a 'trek guide' and you lead the public treks, per an organised rota shared amongst all trek leaders.

There are also other private barns not specifically associated with the RDSVS in the area.

Hope that helps,
Tarnia.

okay thanks also since I'm a december baby I will only be 17.. I know this is underage but hopefully I can still be part of freshers week...? and be allowed into the pubs

Also, Im a little confused on how our vet work should be recorded. Most people talk about in weeks, but I have always calculated my amount of time with vets in hours. How many hours is one week of Vet work? Is it 168 hours? Or do they mean that they worked maybe 3-5 hours a day.

Do you think it will be okay if on my application I just put the total number of hours I gained and how it was spread out?

Sorry for the all the questions :P

okay thanks also since I'm a december baby I will only be 17.. I know this is underage but hopefully I can still be part of freshers week...? and be allowed into the pubs

Also, Im a little confused on how our vet work should be recorded. Most people talk about in weeks, but I have always calculated my amount of time with vets in hours. How many hours is one week of Vet work? Is it 168 hours? Or do they mean that they worked maybe 3-5 hours a day.

Do you think it will be okay if on my application I just put the total number of hours I gained and how it was spread out?

Sorry for the all the questions :P

Tarnia has pretty much covered it, although during my Freshers' Week in 2012 there were quite a few people with wristbands at certain things. You won't be excluded at all from freshers' week, there are so many things to do where alcohol isn't involved! Plus the university is of course used to having 17 year olds starting in first year.

For your application it will be fine to just tell them the number of hours. A day is usually 8 hours and a week is usually 5 working days = 40 hours.

It works a bit differently when it comes to pre-clinical EMS (i.e. we're told that a week should be at least 35 hours and is the normal working week of the placement). To be honest it's a bit of a grey area even for vet students!

Is it all pre clinical EMS in the first 2 years? And are there particular catorgories you need to fulfil and do certain amount of weeks at?

Yes, the first two years are pre-clinical. The requirements at Edinburgh are:

2 weeks cattle (1 week of which must be UK dairy farm)
2 weeks sheep (1 week of which must be UK lambing)
2 weeks horses
1 week pigs
1 week poultry
1 week kennels and cattery
1 week small mammals
2 weeks free choice

= 12 weeks

N.B. if you go to either a kennels or a cattery, you have to work with the other species as 1 week of your free choice. Hence most students try and find a '2-in-1' place.

Yes, the first two years are pre-clinical. The requirements at Edinburgh are:

2 weeks cattle (1 week of which must be UK dairy farm)
2 weeks sheep (1 week of which must be UK lambing)
2 weeks horses
1 week pigs
1 week poultry
1 week kennels and cattery
1 week small mammals
2 weeks free choice

= 12 weeks

N.B. if you go to either a kennels or a cattery, you have to work with the other species as 1 week of your free choice. Hence most students try and find a '2-in-1' place.

Emma, I'm from Canada so it is a bit different, but I have done:
1 week at a beef farm (preclinical)
2 weeks at a horse farm (preclinical)
1 week at a rabbit facility (preclinical)
1 week wildlife rehab (preclinical)
1 week cat/dog kennels (preclinical)

2 weeks South Africa (wildlife, clinical)
2 weeks South Carolina (spay and neuter, clinical)
2 weeks Toronto, Canada (equine racetrack, clinical)
4 weeks Toronto, Canada in exotics (clinical)
3 weeks Toronto, Canada in small animal (clinical)
1 week Port Perry, Ontario in farm (clinical)
1 week Toronto, Ontario in wildlife (clinical)

Sorry what I meant by 'being a bit different' is I'm not so much going abroad as returning to my country of origin. Though the ones in South Africa and the States were abroad.