Stories

Dream

Mar 11, 2016 7:03PM

My name is Elizabeth Hambly and I'm an eventer from Canada.

I've wanted to be a vet since I was very young, but my goal had really been sent in October 2015, when my grandpa passed away. He was a small and animal vet, and had his veterinary licsense until he was 75. Animals were his life. He grew up on a ranch in a small town in Alberta, and met my grandma, a Californian cowgirl, in university. When he passed away, I felt like I needed to do something to keep his memory with me, that's why I decided that I wanted to be a vet.

I've had lot's of veterinary experiences, as my family owns a large horse farm. I've looked at x-rays of a horse's shattered knee, which was really cool, I've helped neuter a cat (is it weird that I know the surgery by heart?), and I have lots of experience with giving medical attention to horses.

My little Appaloosa, Benny, has equine arthritis, so I'm also very familiar with taking care of things associated with that.

I myself have juvenile arthritis. In April 2015, my ankles began to swell up, to a point where I had trouble walking. We had no idea what was wrong with me. By May, I wasn't able to walk without crutches. This meant that I wouldn't be able to ride. I had been training for months to ride in an event, but all of that went away.

Not being able to ride was torture. Luckily, I discovered that I could ride bareback with minimal pain. I spent over 3 months riding bareback, and I even rode a dressage test like this.

In September 2015, my Doctor set up an appointment for me with a rheumatologist, and I am now on proper medication, and my life has gone back to normal. Riding bareback for all that time had made me a much better rider, and I am very happy that I got that experience, no matter how bad it was.

My goal is to go to Guelph University, as it is where my grandpa studied, and it is close to home

elizabeth_hambly
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