Career Center

I am Doug Thal DVM DABVP and our practice is Thal Equine LLC. I have been an equine practitioner for 29 years and this practice is 23 years old. I am looking for inspired vets to help me further develop and improve the practice: provide even more exemplary client service and continue to develop our  reach  and reputation as a referral hospital.  

Our practice is a well-equipped, 2-3 doctor, progressive referral practice with a full hospital and a relatively small primary-care ambulatory practice. We have a great reputation in our region. (look up Thal Equine on Google and see our reviews). About 60% of our cases are referrals from vets from a region from southern Colorado to Southern NM.  We hope to expand that.

Much of what we see are challenging and interesting cases- complex lameness and performance problems,  podiatry, difficult sinus and dental cases, challenging medical cases, elective and colic surgery, and more.

We also have a fully equipped ambulatory practice, limited to horse people who understand our approach and who want to be the very best equine caretakers they can be. The population of horses we see for primary care is a mix of English and Western performance, pleasure and backyard horses.

Our emphasis is on excellent client service, complete diagnostic and treatment options, horsemanship, exemplary client communication, and quality of life for our team members.

I created a smartphone app and encyclopedia of equine health for horse people, called Horse Side Vet Guide. It is highly rated and has been downloaded in over 90 countries  Here is my explanation for vets: https://horsesidevetguide.com/for-vets  The way I have built this practice is a reflection of the HSVG model. It has been all about client education and communication.

The practice itself is located on a scenic 50-acre equine facility. We have state of the art DR, digital ultrasound, endoscopy, and Equinosis Q Lameness locator among many other "toys",  a full surgical facility, and very well-equipped mobile unit. We have over 30 horses boarded here at any one time. We have a highly regarded dressage trainer who works here also and many of these are owned by her students. 

A position with Thal Equine will allow you to practice high-quality equine  medicine/surgery in a progressive practice. You will have the opportunity for quality of life. You will live in a quieter (but growing),  very scenic part of the west- a desirable place to be- rich in culture and outdoor recreation. You will be working in a practice model that encourages you to experience that and yet practice at the highest level!

Ideal applicants will be experienced, confident clinicians, and quiet, competent horse handlers. They will be self-motivated practice builders.  I am open to lots of possibilities and skill sets.  I will favor someone with  surgical and lameness interest. I am open to someone with less experience, but you must make up for it with a hunger to learn, improve, and take on more responsibility. If you have these attributes, I will train you quickly to be a good practitioner.

The compensation package will be very competitive- a base salary, and percentage of production, and benefits. It will be commensurate with experience, skill-set and fit to practice. We can customize your schedule to your needs and wants. It can be part-time or full time. We will provide housing on site or a stipend for housing nearby.

There is a great opportunity for practice ownership too. 

You can see more about our practice at www.thalequine.com  . Check out Horse Side Vet Guide at www.horsesidevetguide.com  

Questions? Please e-mail me at drthal@thalequine.com 

Ideally, I would hire an experienced, highly-skilled surgeon and/ or general practitioner who is looking to work part-time to full-time. 

But.... I will consider someone with less experience, but who has a hunger to learn, develop their skills, and wants to take on more challenging cases.

Preferred applicants will have these skills:

• Surgery. I would be excited to hire someone who is proficient at surgery, including arthroscopy, colic surgery (at least willing to learn) Ideally, you would be willing to take on a colic surgery or other surgical emergency, working with a trained staff. I recognize this may be hard to find. If you are willing to learn to do this, that is great too!
• Ideally, you could confidently take on almost any equine emergency, and at least route it to an appropriate provider. ( or be willing to learn to do this)
• I will favor someone who enjoys and knows lameness and performance horse work, including confidence taking and interpreting radiographs, performing ultrasound, and who enjoys providing specialized performance horse diagnostics and treatment.
• Excellent interpersonal client and staff skills are a must in this practice (at least you need to be on the path of improvement here!)
• You should be a highly effective, quiet and thoughtful horse handler. 
• Ideally you would help build relationships in the equine industry, and be a rain-maker for the practice. It would be great if your name and reputation alone would garner respect for and potentially bring business to the practice.