Klebrowski assisting a vet in a procedure on a rescue animal.
Do you have passion in life toward something in particular or something that really matters to you? If that’s the case, meet Kristen Klebrowski, an Agricultural Business Management and Animal Science student in the Institute of Applied Agriculture (IAA) at University of Maryland, College Park. Klebrowski has a passion for animals, but in particular she is passionate about nursing sick animals back to health.
Klebrowski interned at Safe Haven Equine Rescue Center in Sykesville, MD. Over the summer, her days consisted of feeding animals and cleaning the stalls in the morning. Then after the basic care activities were done, she had more specialized tasks to do. These tasks ranged from training green horses, desensitizing new rescues, working with the rescue veterinarian and everything in between. For example, a horse ophthalmologist came from the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center to work on the eyes of a lucky, or rather unlucky, horse. Klebrowski says this was a surreal experience and she really enjoyed the opportunity because it was the first time she had seen a specialized veterinarian perform surgery on an animal that was only sedated, not completely unconscious. Another unique experience Klebrowski had during the course of her internship was on July 16 when she sat in on the Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining Hearing to Examine BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program. Klebrowski was honored to be invited to sit in on a congressional hearing regarding something she is so passionate about and says it is an experience she will never forget.
Klebrowski says that sometimes funny things happened while she was on the job. One thing that comes to mind is the day the Rescue Center discovered one of its mares was pregnant. The mare came to the rescue severely emaciated, so the pregnancy went undetected for months! The mare gave birth to a healthy baby colt. Klebrowski says this was a very cool situation.
Klebrowski learned a lot about equine care and horse anatomy and physiology this summer. She learned how to administer shots and medications, about eyeball respiratory rates and, most importantly, how to access normal animal behavior so that she can immediately determine if an animal is stressed or ill. The Rescue Center’s head veterinarian, Dr. Lewis says, “This has become second nature for her [Klebrowski].”
Klebrowski says that participating in this internship “reassured me that I want to work in animal rehabilitation after college.” Klebrowski’s boss, Tina Snyder agrees, “Kristen has a great future in the world of veterinary medicine and is truly passionate about animals.”
Klebrowski is looking forward to working in this field and applying the skills she learned in this internship to her future career.
