Spicy Cats and House Calls

Vets, Mead, and Bees; Crafting New Paths

From Equine Vet to Meadery and Bees: Dr. Ayla Guild’s Pivot and Boundaries Hosts Dr. Chelsea and vet tech Trish welcome equine veterinarian Dr. Ayla Guild, a longtime friend, who describes pivoting from a psychology major into vet school after a riding-related head injury and completing her training at the University of Pennsylvania/New Bolton. Isla discusses challenges in equine clinical training and practice, including sleep deprivation, perfectionism, anxiety, postpartum depression, and the inefficiency of extensive driving in ambulatory work. She explains how gluten sensitivity led her family to discover mead, begin fermenting raw honey-based mead without heating above hive temperature, and ultimately open The Hive Taproom with distribution, supported by their own honey production and expanding beekeeping efforts. The conversation also covers bee health pressures (nutrition and mites), practical beekeeping realities, work-life balance, boundaries in veterinary medicine, and Ayla's plan to return via equine emergency relief work. 00:00 Show Intro 00:30 Meet Dr Dr. Ayla Guild 02:03 From Psych To Vet 04:55 Vet School Reality Check 07:52 Practice Life And Caseloads 10:56 Burnout And Big Pivot 12:59 Discovering Mead Making 16:07 Beekeeping From Scratch 18:41 Hive Growth And Challenges 20:40 Bee Health And Forage 25:35 How Mead Is Made 26:27 Eco Friendly Mead 27:20 Raw Honey Fermentation 28:10 Flavoring And Style 29:12 Scaling Up Production 30:27 Shipping And Regulations 31:20 Allergies And Ingredients 33:07 Vet Career Boundaries 36:20 Horses And Riding Time 38:29 Work Life Balance Shift 41:22 Mental Health And Guilt 45:32 Social Media And Wrap Up 46:41 Podcast Outro And Call for Guests

Would You Rather - Veterinary Edition

Would You Rather? Vet Med Edition with Dr. Chelsea and Trish Dr. Chelsea (veterinarian) and Trish (registered vet tech) host a chaotic, kid-inspired “Would You Rather?” game mixing veterinary and everyday dilemmas, and suggest adding the segment to future guest interviews while inviting listeners to share their own questions. They debate choices such as anal glands on the face vs being peed on, being trapped with a nervous Great Dane vs a furious chihuahua, cleaning kennels vs answering phones, surgery prep vs front desk work on no sleep, switching jobs vs switching phones, losing a phone vs losing caffeine, search history vs Amazon orders being leaked, cleaning puke vs attending a social school function, stepping on Legos vs sitting in mystery wet spots, losing sight vs losing memories, Hallmark Christmas movies vs horror movies, and never doing laundry vs never grocery shopping. They also discuss boundaries with phones, kids and social media, and close with guest and rating/subscription calls to action. 00:00 Show Intro 00:24 Game Setup 01:39 Gross Vet Dilemma 02:44 Big Dog Or Chihuahua 03:15 Kennels Vs Phones 04:30 No Sleep Choices 05:39 Switch Jobs Or Phones 06:49 Phone Detox Parenting 10:58 Search Vs Amazon Leak 13:01 School Function Survival 13:50 Barn Clothes Social Life 15:08 Trailer Tack Room Repairs 15:58 Legos vs Mystery Wet 16:46 Sight or Memories Debate 17:38 London and Badminton Trip 19:32 Hallmark or Horror Forever 20:24 Laundry vs Grocery Shopping 21:58 Kids Chores and Folding Hacks 24:19 Wrap Up and Guest Call

Vitamin E in Horses with Dr. Chelsea Luedke

Vitamin E in Horses: Deficiency Signs, Testing Targets, and Why Liquid Supplementation Matters Dr. Chelsea and vet tech Trish deliver an educational PSA on equine vitamin E, emphasizing that many horses—especially in dry regions like Colorado without lush pasture—are at risk because vitamin E is unstable and largely lost from sun-cured hay. They discuss testing differences (Cornell HPLC targets 300–600 µg/dL; higher targets like 600–800 for symptomatic horses) and suggest annual spring screening with rechecks in 1–2 months. Key conditions linked to deficiency include equine motor neuron disease (often irreversible; only 45% recovery after induced cases), vitamin E–responsive myopathy, and the ENAD/EDM spectrum in young horses with progressive, symmetric ataxia and frequent behavior changes; deficiency may also contribute to penile ataxia/paraphimosis and head shaking. They warn high doses may affect coagulation, advise avoiding injectables, and stress natural d-alpha tocopherol—using liquid (e.g., 5,000 IU/day for 60 days) because powders/pellets can take 8–10 weeks and may not raise levels or CSF vitamin E. 00:00 Podcast Welcome 00:29 Why Vitamin E Matters 03:19 Pasture Limits and Deficiency Risk 04:46 Testing Targets and Ranges 06:30 Hand Grazing Reality Check 08:41 Sponsor Break 09:15 Deficiency Signs and Safe Dosing 10:28 Equine Motor Neuron Disease 13:48 VEM and Screening Strategy 17:28 Case Study Paraphimosis Link 19:26 Liquid vs Powder Absorption 22:23 Practical Dosing Workarounds 23:07 Liquid vs Powder Dosing 23:42 Testing Surprises and CSF 24:47 Avoid Injectable Vitamin E 25:17 EDM and Vitamin E Link 27:08 EDM Signs and Differentials 28:42 Young Horses and eNAD 30:30 Lab Ranges and Natural Forms 32:30 New Omega Oil Pump 34:27 Barn Practicalities and Storage 36:20 Common Myths and Hay 38:10 Senior Horses and Headshaking 40:10 Wrap Up and Listener Call

$50 and a Loaded Syringe

From Journalism to Racetracks: Dr. Ashley Hamilton’s Unfiltered Equine Vet Stories Hosts Dr. Chelsea and vet tech Trish welcome equine racetrack veterinarian Dr. Ashley Hamilton, an old internship friend, who now works with a large practice across Florida, New York (Saratoga), and Kentucky. Ashley explains she didn’t initially plan on veterinary medicine, starting college in journalism, majoring in Spanish, and nearly deferring vet school to consider law/politics before committing to horses. She describes training at Rood & Riddle and in Northern Virginia, then the major shift to rural South Carolina practice with limited budgets, frequent down-horse calls, and safety concerns during late-night farm visits. Stories include owners pouring Gatorade into a dead horse’s mouth, improvised treatments, a difficult rectal abscess diagnosis, challenging euthanasias (including sheep and cats), and encountering intoxicated clients with an injured yearling. The conversation highlights rural veterinary shortages, economic realities, and emotional toll. 00:00 Show Cold Open 0:24 Meet Dr Ashley Hamilton 01:25 From Journalism to Vet School 04:25 Internships and Early Career Turns 04:59 Rural Practice Reality Check 05:55 Racetrack Medicine Life 06:28 Weird Eye Cases and Consults 08:39 Favorite Cases Lameness and Airway 09:43 South Carolina Farm Call Stories 11:20 Down Horse and Gatorade Shock 14:42 DIY Treatments Gone Wrong 16:28 Rectal Fluids Colic Debate 17:52 Sponsor Break VetCS 18:26 The Rectal Abscess Nightmare 21:07 On Call Safety and Dorm Syringe 23:56 Sketchy Farm Call 24:16 Horse Sling Nightmare 25:29 When Clients Won’t Pay 26:51 Low Fees Rural Reality 28:09 Horses Tied to Trees 28:49 Rural Vet Shortage 29:39 Snakebite No Resources 31:02 Euthanasia Toll 33:11 Fancy Sheep Euthanasia 35:34 Cat Veins and Workarounds 37:41 Mud Hill Midnight Call 41:46 Better Place Now 42:38 Closing Thanks

Spicy Cats and House Calls

Spicy Cats, House Calls, and a Flying Feral: Vet Tech Liz Brockhouse on Unpredictable Feline Chaos Dr. Chelsea and vet tech Trish welcome guest Liz Brockhouse, an Illinois vet tech who moved from equine interests into small animal practice, advanced from receptionist to practice manager, and now works remotely as a special projects manager for a corporation supporting 300+ practices; she encourages vet med professionals to explore varied career paths. Liz shares house-call stories highlighting unpredictable “spicy” cats, including chaotic attempts to restrain two Bengal cats in a massive bathroom, a client asking the clinic to sedate a Bengal stuck atop kitchen cabinets, and a recurring feral cat that repeatedly launches at people and escapes. The conversation also covers the unpredictability of in-home visits, firing a house-call client due to unsafe conditions, a cat with repeated bottle-cap foreign bodies, a St. Bernard with pica vomiting up a large toy, and Liz’s strong aversion to vomit. The episode includes a VetCS sponsor message and a call for guests, reviews, and YouTube subscriptions.   00:00 Show Kickoff 00:29 Meet Liz Brockhouse 01:43 From Horses to Small Animal 03:29 Corporate Projects Career 04:39 Riding Comeback Story 05:58 Florida Adventures Kayaking 06:47 Unicorn Clinic Growth 09:12 Spicy Bengals House Call 13:11 Sedate the Cat Request 15:05 House Calls Gone Wrong 18:37 Curtain Climbing Cat Chaos 24:42 Flying Cat Escape 25:57 Sponsor Vetcs Break 26:55 Cat Bites Nail Trims 27:44 Bottle Cap Foreign Bodies 30:40 Mobile Vet Repeat Visits 32:31 Clinic Chaos Loose Cats 34:12 Vomit Nemesis Stories 35:55 French Toast Toy Pica 42:10 Wrap Up And Farewell 43:02 Podcast Guest Callout