A lifelong passion for horses evolved into a career as an equine veterinarian for Clark County resident Dr. Melanie Moore.
Moore is currently in her first year as an associate veterinarian at the Ridgefield Equine Clinic. The journey to where she is today is a fulfilled dream, as she grew up showing horses in 4-H, open shows, and with the American Quarter Horse Association and the American Buckskin Registry Association.
“I was always that horse crazy kid and started riding at the age of 2, and then I started taking lessons, and then bought my first two horses at 10,” Moore said. “I think the biggest exposure for me was when I started in 4-H here locally. This is my hometown, and so I got to really experience the equine community and learn a lot more about horse care and how to compete. And then as I went up in higher levels into breed shows and doing quarter horse and things like that, I really got to see them as an equine athlete and experience all that.”
Moore, now 25 years old, always had an interest in science and biology, adding that the Ridgefield Equine Clinic has been a pivotal mentorship for her over the years. She used to shadow and work as a student and assistant, further fueling her passion to make a career as an equine veterinarian her life goal.
Her educational process included running start at Clark College while she attended Columbia River High School, where she earned her associate’s degree in biology. She then spent six years in Pullman, attending Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. She said being in-state was crucial, as well as being out in Pullman, in a rural, farm-life area of the state of Washington.
Moore battled through the persuasion to focus on smaller animal care along the way, citing the growing dog and cat veterinarian services sector in contrast to larger animal care.
“I would say it has been an unfortunate road with the fact that we are losing a lot of people going into the large animal industry, including horses,” she said. “There’s a lot more people going into small animal care in the veterinary world, and so there were a lot of people trying to deter me from going into this field and, you know, I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’m trying to be the change for being that next generation to continue this profession and so that’s been really cool to kind of see that progression and see how our whole employment field has kind of shifted that dynamic to bring into current day.”
Moore said that small animals are usually the easier choice, mostly because there is a broad difference in on-call status, which leads to a better work-life balance. Moore said there will always be a carrot at the end of the stick for small animal care, but for a world caring for horses, there will always be the joy of remembering how grateful she was for veterinarians who showed up after hours for her when she was growing up.
“But I would say now it’s gotten a lot better as we learn what we need to do to better manage our whole system, our staff, our other veterinarians and keeping each other happy and healthy,” Moore added.
Moore mentioned that the region is consistently losing boarding facilities, which causes a lack of proper care and services for horses in Clark County and beyond.
“That’s how we’re able to sustain the population that we have and so that’s different than a dog or a cat where most of them, you know, they can go walk their dog out in the neighborhood, they can keep them calm and cool in the house, horses don’t have that,” she said. “We have to either go, ‘OK, you don’t have the space. But here’s where we can give them exercise or we need to watch their diet. How are we going to keep them off of the grass?’ So it’s a lot more challenging based on the environment that they’re in. We have to get creative …”
With creativity in mind, it also comes to the fact that some horse owners may not be able to tend to their large equine pet on a daily, routine basis due to their own work schedules.
“Some people have to travel quite a ways to see their own horses because they can’t find a place close enough,” Moore said.
To learn more about the Ridgefield Equine Clinic, visit ridgefieldequine.com. Their services include preventative medicine, sports medicine, reproduction, dentistry and more. They are located at 20913 Northeast 15th Avenue in Ridgefield and can be reached by calling 360-887-3988 and by emailing info@ridgefield equine.com.
