I visited Drove Farm Vets for two days in Swindon in June of 2024. There I was able to follow a farm vet, see their routine visits and get an insight into the role of a farm vet. Firstly we went to see a routine visit farm and checked roughly 30 cows for pregnancy. I got to see the ultrasound imaging and the vet explained the lifecycle of a calf to me, how to spot a pregnancy and how to discover how old the calf inside is. The vet then took me to a farm which had called to have their cow looked at as she was struggling to eat and was grinding her teeth (this is a sign of pain in cows). The vet checked the cow over and allowed me to use a stethoscope to hear the cow’s heartbeat and breathing. The cow had a bad case of pneumonia and from the stethoscope you could hear the air that was coming out of the punctured lung. This cow unfortunately had to be put down as it was in so much pain and the hole in the lung was severe. We then went back to the practice and I was able to use the lab to analyse some goat poo for disease. I really enjoyed the analytical aspect of the job and identifying things within the animals. I then saw two sheep castrations which were very quick and went successfully. The vet explained to me that these castrations were unusual, as owners tend to put a ring on the balls a couple of weeks post birth. In this case that option was not possible so the vet practice was called to do the procedure. I then visited another routine farm, checking for pregnancy again. I was able to see more ultrasounds and gained a better understanding of the process of pregnancy in cows. I also was given the opportunity to milk some of the cows there and see how that process was done. I thoroughly enjoyed these two days and it was brilliant to be able to compare small animal and farm practices. It made me consider the possibility of becoming a farm vet even more.