Revenue Raising

My Experience,
Last Thursday 28/9/07 my mare showed symptoms of EI. Long story short - Even though i had heard many stories on what to expect, symptoms etc When i saw my horse behaving abnormally ie: lying down constantly and big full bodied stretches when she was standing my first thought was colic. So called a vet i had never used before (only one I could get out).
By the time he arrived my mare's temp had spiked to over 40 degrees C.

It was obvious my horse had the classic EI symptoms so no testing was required. She was given 20ml Depocillin and 10ml Finidex which settled her within minutes. I was advised that my horse would need some antibiotics to ward off any secondary infections, straight away I asked if that would be Trimidine. The answer was no.

Upon the vet leaving he advised me that he could not take any of the medication off the property so would leave the bottles with me. Later that day i received the vets bill. The two bottles of S4 drugs came to a total of $210.00, I nearly fell over backwards. The total bill came to $377.00

Now I have spoken to over 5 vets from all over QLD seeking independent advice on how they would treat an EI case if it were presented to them and every time with out fail it was Trimidine to fight off any secondary infections and Bute to keep temps down. I attended a meeting in my local community hall with fellow owners of horses with EI, they all have the above listed medication Trimidine and Bute. So why was i advised differently and sold the most expensive option?

I have since purchased Bute and Trimidine which to date has cost me under $100.00 and treats both of my horses.

Is this a case of Revenue Raising on this vets behalf.

To top it off, neither S4 drug was labelled (is this illegal) i had to race into my house to grab pen and paper in order to jot everything down. In a state of stress my mind does not work let alone my memory. Then to my horror after talking with other vets one of the advised dose rates was incorrect, which the vet nurse at the clinic owned by the visiting vet admitted was wrong" his mind must have been elsewhere". Even though i was paying for him to have his mind on my horse!
When I told the same vet nurse the S4 drugs were not labelled she in no uncertain terms told me " he couldn't take two labels off a roll for fear of contaminating the whole roll"! (But he could take a bottle of Depocillin and Finidix out of the carton or the fridge).

So not only am i now refusing to pay for the drugs charged by the vet (am happy to pay for consultation and travel), my next door neighbour had to move interstate as she accepted a new job and committed herself prior to the EI outbreak so i am fulltime carer for her horse. The neighbour next to her decided to leave the rental property and leave their already emaciated pony behind which i am now co-carer for with another neighbour (i have evening shift). And we are paying to feed this starved horse with our own money. It is now an RSPCA case but to date no offer of re-imbursement has been made.

One last comment: To the many (and i mean many) DPI staff i have spoken to in the last two weeks you have been wonderful, in most cases not very informative at all and at times often misleading. I don't blame you, you are only doing your job with what resources you have been given.

But to the bloody idiot or idiots who are in charge of this whole mess - You should hang your head in shame for this nightmare. I can only pray ( and i am in no way religious) that we never ever experience anything worse than we are now. God help us if you allow the likes of Rabies, Foot & Mouth Disease or Bird Flu into this country.