HOSA members took their second field trip of the year, this one to East Lake Veterinary Hospital at Center Ranch. The clinic had an action-packed day planned out for the students to learn and enjoy. 

     Upon arrival, members were asked to sign in and were divided into four separate groups. After an introduction, groups were taken to their first stations of the day.

     “My favorite part was definitely the first activity that my group did,” senior Sharlene Lee said. “We got to chain the hooves of a calf. It mimicked what it would be like to aid in the birthing of a calf and we had a lot of great hands-on learning.”

     Another station allowed members to watch the main vet perform an ovariohysterectomy on a puppy and got to see the inner workings of animal surgery. 

     “My favorite part was definitely watching the surgery,” senior Guadalupe Gonzalez said. “I really enjoyed observing the whole process and learning how everything works.” 

     Acupuncture was demonstrated on one of the clinic’s mares to help bring movement back after she had an accident and paralyzed half of her face.

     “My favorite station was probably acupuncture,” sophomore Kennadi Neal said. “It was very interactive and we had a lot of fun learning about the different acupuncture points.”

     A horse with a blocked stomach was brought into the clinic and students were given the opportunity to see the vets perform a nasogastric intubation. 

     “It was really neat that we got to see the veterinarians work on the horse,” senior Laylannie Montano said. “We got to learn about different areas of veterinary medicine, and I would definitely revisit again.”