Hands-In in Hannover

26/05/2010
We arrive in Hannover by train and meet our host students. I am very excited to start seeing German veterinary facilities. Simon, my host student, seems very nice and we retire to his place for night.
After a tour of the new small animal hospital which was very nice, we took a tour of the cattle clinic, where many dairy cows were being treated. Lunch at a student café was great, the food was delicious and the cost was very low. We then visited a teaching and research farm. There was a very nice automatic milker as well as pigs, cage-free chickens, and large scale chicken and turkey facilities. The poultry facilities were very nice and clean. The day ended with a barbeque at the veterinary fraternity house.
The next day we visited the new equine hospital. The clinicians reviewed their cases in English so that we could follow along, which was very exciting. The facilities were beautiful! We then met with the veterinarian in charge of cattle reproduction where our “hands-on” experience was actually a “hands-in” experience. We first administered lumbosacral epidurals to two cows, which we then rectally palpated. We were allowed as much time as needed and then used some amazing equipment to extract eggs from the ovaries. Lunch was a bit rushed, but at the student cafeteria the food was good and the prices were low. That afternoon we visited one of the largest stud collection facilities for horses. The whole process of collecting and shipping semen was explained to us in great detail. It was helpful to observe the preparation of the semen for shipping. In the evening, I played two soccer games with the members of the veterinary fraternity at Sports Fest. I really enjoyed the opportunity to play soccer in Europe!

-Knut
(a blog by Greg Hoyt)