Javier Donatelli, D.V.M.
Equine Veterinarian
Monocacy Equine Veterinary Associates
Poolesville, Maryland

How long have you been working in your current career? What did you do before?
I have been working for Monocacy Equine since 1998, but I have been working with horses for as long as I can remember. As a young boy, I often camped out among herds of horses in Argentina. Prior to working as a vet, I trained young horses and played polo as a professional in California. I’ve always admired horses and their spirit, and knew early on that I wanted to spend my life working with them.

Why did you decide to pursue this career?
Growing up in Argentina, I saw many horses that were worked very hard and little attention was paid to their physical health and well-being. Some owners simply didn’t care and others couldn’t afford to care for their horses appropriately, but I knew that it would give me a great sense of personal satisfaction to be able to help them.  I also enjoy trying to solve the mystery of what’s causing the horse’s problem – whether it is lameness, disease, or injury – and finding the appropriate therapy.

What traits would you say make your job “humane”? 
My job as a veterinarian is to ease the suffering of the horse and to make the animal as comfortable as possible.  Their welfare is my primary concern.

What kind of education and training did you get before you started your first professional job?
I had two types of education to prepare me for my first job: academic coursework to teach me the science of equine medicine, and the other was hands–on:  learning horse training techniques from the Argentine gauchos and learning horse behavior from the horses themselves. Perhaps the most important lesson I’ve learned is how to get a horse to trust you. Usually, once a horse trusts you, he will do anything in his power to please you.

How did you find your first job in your profession?
Because I was always involved with horses, I knew most of the horse vets in my area before I went to vet school. I was able to get a job at a race track, but I was quickly disillusioned by the way the horses were treated. At this particular track (and unfortunately at many others), horses were considered “machines” and the vet’s job was to make the horse physically able to run – whether it was in the animal’s best interest or not. That was not why I chose this profession, so I decided to look into ambulatory practice – which is what I do now.

What are your duties in your current position?
My job involves driving to client farms and providing routine health care as well as treating horses with injuries and illnesses. I also do emergency calls which could involve a horse colicking, a horse caught in fencing, or a horse in some other type of distress. Another important part of my job is to educate the client on their horse’s care and treatment of the horse’s conditions.

What do you like most about your job?
It is hard to say – there are so many things I like about my job. But perhaps it’s moments like watching a newborn foal nurse from his mother after a very difficult birth – knowing that without my help, he might not be there.

What do you like least about your job?
It’s difficult to perform euthanasia (even when it’s warranted).  Another difficult thing to accept is that some times you cannot get through to the horse’s owner that the horse is suffering or that the horse needs better care, and there’s nothing you can do.

What’s a typical workday like for you?
It depends upon the time of year – we are much busier in the spring (foaling season) and summer (more activity) than in the winter, but generally, I’m up very early in the morning and I spend my day driving from client to client treating horses. I would say on average I go to 10-15 client sites a day and I do a variety of things from vaccinating to de-worming to treating abscesses, etc. I am on call one weekend each month, one day each week, and my colleagues and I rotate being on call on holidays.

What types of training or experiences do you need to keep up-to-date in your field?
I’m constantly reading horse magazines, medical journals and going to conferences and seminars because in this field there is a lot of research going on and new advances and medicines coming out regularly.

What keeps you motivated to keep doing your work? 
The love of horses and the constant challenge they provide. No case is ever the same and it’s a great feeling to see a horse who might have been completely lame when you started treatment, and now that same horse is galloping around the field. You really can make a difference.

What personal traits do you think someone needs to be successful in your field?
I think it’s very helpful to have an innate love of horses, but you also need to have patience, curiosity, a scientific mind, and you need to be able to be honest with clients in telling them when it is time to stop or continue treatment in a horse.

What advice would you give to a college student or other young person considering entering your field?  What advice would you give to someone who’s changing fields and is interested in a career in your profession?
I would encourage them to sharpen their horse handling skills and to understand equine behavior as well as equine medicine. I’d also want to tell them to be responsible and methodic – when you have a clinical case, go step by step until the end – don’t assume anything. Be ready to work long hours, and if you chose ambulatory practice, be able to drive upwards of 200 miles in a day some days. This profession is hard - you probably won’t make as much as a small animal vet and the hours will be difficult at times -  but for those of us who love horses like I do, nothing else compares.

July 2005