Apr 22, 2009
What did you do in class today? Was it as cool as what I did? Probably not.
I apologize in advance if you're tired of hearing from me, but Erin's been swamped with finishing her thesis for College Scholars and I think you all deserve an update!
I've been thinking a lot about our little sister recently. She's a senior in high school and yesterday she sent me a picture of the prom dress she bought. After trying to comprehend that she was actually old enough to go to her senior prom, it hit me that that's not the only significant thing happening for her in these next few weeks. It hit me that she has EIGHT days left to decide where she's going to COLLEGE. (Gah, how is she this old?) But she's not the only one. So do you! This is such an exciting time for you! Good luck on the decision and shoot some questions our way if you need some last minute advice, thoughts, wisdom... That's what we're here for.
Speaking of ends and new beginnings, today was my last day of undergraduate classes. My one class tomorrow was canceled and I'll be in Lexington for a field trip on Friday when classes officially end for the university. It's surreal. These past four years seem to have flown by...but even still...when I think back to freshman year, it seems like ages ago. We'll both write more about graduating after graduation.
On a happy and probably more interesting note, I thought I'd share a few things I've done in my horse production class these last few weeks! I absolutely love my major and never miss out on an opportunity to brag about all the cool things I get to see and do. My horse production class encompasses everything horses. Everything from conformation to genetic diseases to saddle fitting to first aid to parasitology to nutrition to...reproduction.
Last week, our reproduction lab entailed teasing mares with a stallion to determine which mares were in heat and which ones were not. After selecting which mares exhibited signs of heat, we collected semen from Chief, filtered the semen, and then artificially
inseminated the mares. It sounds easy, right? Well, you're not wrong. It wasn't difficult. BUT, you have to remember that these are 1100 lb. animals who can become dangerous when excited. That's me in the picture collecting Chief. I know, I know...all my friends giggled when I showed them the picture, too, but it was actually pretty incredible. Chief knew exactly what his job was. He casually mounted the phantom and then I collected. He's done this for years and the handlers know his behavior pretty well, but taking those extra precautionary steps to wear a football helmet and vest were necessary if he slipped or became too excited. It took about 30 seconds to collect it all and then he stepped down.
We filtered the sample and observed its motility under the microscope. It was interesting to learn how sensitive the semen's fertility was to external factors. It was pretty chilly that day, so Chief's normally motile sperm were a bit slow. Two students artificially inseminated two mares while the rest of us rectally palpated the other mares to feel their uterine horns and ovaries. We also performed an ultrasound while palpating to better distinguish what we were feeling. Erin doesn't understand why I get excited about this stuff, but I'm sure my fellow blogger and animal science major, Elizabeth, does. These may seem like trivial I-can't-believe-you-stuck-your-arm-up-a-horse's-butt things, but these just barely scratch the surface of what we'll be able to do with our degree. The field of veterinary medicine is so beautiful in that our patients cannot tell us what hurts or where it hurts or why they think it hurts. They don't understand us when we tell them that we're here to help. We have to be so in tune to the animal's behavior that we can tell when something is wrong. We have to be able to communicate with both the animal and the owner to ensure safety and understanding. We have to create an entirely stress-free environment without saying a word to our patients. That's why I love this stuff. Learning to rectally palpate a mare means that I could one day save a foal. That's why I get excited.
Yesterday was a lot less "gross" for all you readers with weak stomachs.
I drove two 2,000 lb. Belgian draft horses! I've been riding competitively for years, but I have never...never...been in control of 4,000 lbs. of muscle. Never. These gentle giants were fascinating to be around. They were so aware of their huge size, but never took advantage of us measly humans. Their hooves were the size of dinner plates and their heads the size of toddlers. Each of us had the opportunity to drive the horses around a big field. Amazing.
I had mentioned that I'll be in Lexington on Friday for a class trip. It's for this class, too. We're camping on the grounds of the Keeneland racetrack and in addition to watching a race, roasting marshmallows, and having a bonfire, we'll be visiting Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital and the Kentucky Equine Sports Medicine and Reproduction Center. I can't think of a more perfect way to finish this semester.
Alrighty. Now I've got to stop procrastinating and write my 10 page paper...my last assignment of my undergraduate career.
--Lauren
I've been thinking a lot about our little sister recently. She's a senior in high school and yesterday she sent me a picture of the prom dress she bought. After trying to comprehend that she was actually old enough to go to her senior prom, it hit me that that's not the only significant thing happening for her in these next few weeks. It hit me that she has EIGHT days left to decide where she's going to COLLEGE. (Gah, how is she this old?) But she's not the only one. So do you! This is such an exciting time for you! Good luck on the decision and shoot some questions our way if you need some last minute advice, thoughts, wisdom... That's what we're here for.
Speaking of ends and new beginnings, today was my last day of undergraduate classes. My one class tomorrow was canceled and I'll be in Lexington for a field trip on Friday when classes officially end for the university. It's surreal. These past four years seem to have flown by...but even still...when I think back to freshman year, it seems like ages ago. We'll both write more about graduating after graduation.
On a happy and probably more interesting note, I thought I'd share a few things I've done in my horse production class these last few weeks! I absolutely love my major and never miss out on an opportunity to brag about all the cool things I get to see and do. My horse production class encompasses everything horses. Everything from conformation to genetic diseases to saddle fitting to first aid to parasitology to nutrition to...reproduction.
Last week, our reproduction lab entailed teasing mares with a stallion to determine which mares were in heat and which ones were not. After selecting which mares exhibited signs of heat, we collected semen from Chief, filtered the semen, and then artificially
inseminated the mares. It sounds easy, right? Well, you're not wrong. It wasn't difficult. BUT, you have to remember that these are 1100 lb. animals who can become dangerous when excited. That's me in the picture collecting Chief. I know, I know...all my friends giggled when I showed them the picture, too, but it was actually pretty incredible. Chief knew exactly what his job was. He casually mounted the phantom and then I collected. He's done this for years and the handlers know his behavior pretty well, but taking those extra precautionary steps to wear a football helmet and vest were necessary if he slipped or became too excited. It took about 30 seconds to collect it all and then he stepped down.
We filtered the sample and observed its motility under the microscope. It was interesting to learn how sensitive the semen's fertility was to external factors. It was pretty chilly that day, so Chief's normally motile sperm were a bit slow. Two students artificially inseminated two mares while the rest of us rectally palpated the other mares to feel their uterine horns and ovaries. We also performed an ultrasound while palpating to better distinguish what we were feeling. Erin doesn't understand why I get excited about this stuff, but I'm sure my fellow blogger and animal science major, Elizabeth, does. These may seem like trivial I-can't-believe-you-stuck-your-arm-up-a-horse's-butt things, but these just barely scratch the surface of what we'll be able to do with our degree. The field of veterinary medicine is so beautiful in that our patients cannot tell us what hurts or where it hurts or why they think it hurts. They don't understand us when we tell them that we're here to help. We have to be so in tune to the animal's behavior that we can tell when something is wrong. We have to be able to communicate with both the animal and the owner to ensure safety and understanding. We have to create an entirely stress-free environment without saying a word to our patients. That's why I love this stuff. Learning to rectally palpate a mare means that I could one day save a foal. That's why I get excited.Yesterday was a lot less "gross" for all you readers with weak stomachs.
I drove two 2,000 lb. Belgian draft horses! I've been riding competitively for years, but I have never...never...been in control of 4,000 lbs. of muscle. Never. These gentle giants were fascinating to be around. They were so aware of their huge size, but never took advantage of us measly humans. Their hooves were the size of dinner plates and their heads the size of toddlers. Each of us had the opportunity to drive the horses around a big field. Amazing.I had mentioned that I'll be in Lexington on Friday for a class trip. It's for this class, too. We're camping on the grounds of the Keeneland racetrack and in addition to watching a race, roasting marshmallows, and having a bonfire, we'll be visiting Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital and the Kentucky Equine Sports Medicine and Reproduction Center. I can't think of a more perfect way to finish this semester.
Alrighty. Now I've got to stop procrastinating and write my 10 page paper...my last assignment of my undergraduate career.
--Lauren
• • •
1 Comments:
Hey! I DO get excited when you talk about that stuff. If it interests YOU, it interests ME!!! You fascinate me, Laur.
READERS: Once I finish my thesis, I'll be writing my update.
Props to my sister for all her hard work :)
Erin
Post a Comment
« Home