meierlde
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Unless one gets one of the jobs with the big companies it appears that country vets do not make enough to justify even the domestic student loan amount (in state about 150k). Recall that in the large animal area its a business and when a cow might bring in at most $3 per pound, and you have a 1k pound cow you got 3000 to raise it and pay overhead, its not clear how much you could afford to spend on vet bills, in any case the more elaborate proceedures that have been transplanted from humans to animals (companion animals in particular) would be out of the price range. The same applies to pigs btw that the price gotten does not justify much vet care.While there is intense completion among domestic animal veterinarians because of the oversupply of graduates, there is a real shortage of large animal vets in rural areas. First, most vet students do not go into the large animal field, and second, the ones that do are often hired by the big agriculture companies. This also appears tied to fewer people growing up on farms and even knowing what a large animal vet does. Some states are offering to help pay for the educations of large animal vets if they promise to practice in a rural area. Here are two links Shortage of Large Animal Veterinarians - Hot Topics/Problems in the Equine Industry Farm Animal Vets in High Demand | News, Sports, Weather for Great Falls, Helena, and all of Montana | Local Top Stories
Thus a report from the AVMA says that due to the business issue large animal vets in private practice can't make a go of it.