INfrequently asked questions: Vet sees horses as fragile giants
An interview with Kati Lukas, an equine veterinarian.
Q: How dangerous is it to treat a sick or injured horse?
A: "It can be pretty dangerous. The biggest issue is that they are an animal of prey by instinct, so they get very fearful. So it's usually not out of being mean, just that they're fearful for being the weak guy in the pack. So a lot of the time you do have to sedate them and that helps a lot. ... But you always run into that because they're so big that a small kick, even (at) a fly, can get you."
Q: How many people does it take to control a horse in that condition?
A: "Sometimes just me. Sometimes they're better with just one person and being calm in that situation. A lot of times it's me, the owner, the trainer. Also, a technician can help."
Q: How did you end up a large-animal veterinarian?
A: "I have always loved being somebody working around horses and animals, helping them out, fixing them when they're hurt. I've always been that little kid that brings the sick duck or chipmunk home and has to feed it and fix it."
Q: Were there other veterinarians in your family?
A: "No, not at all. We are from the city."
Q: How do you make a barn, or anywhere else a horse may be, a suitable place for surgery?
A: "You have to try to be as sterile as possible, and you are always in that environment. But you want to stay as clean as possible."
Q: What do you do to make a barn sterile?
A: Cleaning, sterile gloves, scrubbing. If it's a laceration or a wound, you definitely flush it, clean it, scrub it. And then once you're actually suturing the laceration, you definitely want to use sterile gloves. And then antibiotics help a lot, too."
Q: Have there been any particularly unusual calls you've gone out on?
A: There have been a couple where horses seem to get themselves in unexpected situations and they seem to be able to hurt themselves so easily ... Some of it is just reaching for grass on the other side of the fence and they get caught in the fence. Or running around because they've been in because of rain or weather, and now they're getting turned out and they hurt themselves running around. They are very fragile creatures. For how big they are, it's amazing how delicate they are."
Kati Lukas
Why her? A veterinarian who works with large animals, specializing in horses, Lukas has operated her own practice - Lukas Equine - for nearly four years. Though based in Barrington, she regularly visits clients throughout a wide area that includes Barrington Hills, East and West Dundee, Sleepy Hollow, Bartlett, Hampshire, Naperville, Oak Brook and St. Charles. Her days can involve just a few horses to as many as 40 - with the current fall vaccination season keeping her particularly busy.