When she was accepted to UVM, Sangavi Muthuswamy was uncertain about whether she should pursue a nursing degree through the Larner College of Medicine or whether she should follow her love of animals into the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences. After hearing about the program, she knew that Animal Sciences was where her real interests were taking her and her four years of non-stop hands-on learning in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has shown her that she made the best decision for her career.
“One of the strengths of the program is that there's a lot of diversity in careers that it preps you for.”
This final semester of her senior year has culminated in one of the most influential and meaningful experiences, an Internship at UVM’s Morgan Horse Farm in Weybridge, Vermont. The Morgan Horse is the Vermont State animal, and its development as the premiere American equine breed began in Vermont in 1878. UVM has owned the Morgan Horse Farm since 1951 and is instrumental in perpetuating the desirable qualities of this famous breed through careful breeding practices. As an Intern at this prestigious facility, Sangavi was able to observe and assist in the training of yearlings and to be part of the exciting birthing process of this year’s foals.
Getting the internship is highly competitive, so she had already taken several classes on the care, health, and training of horses before applying.
“I was part of the class called Equus where we are assigned one of the four to five ASI horses that come, and I was given this little Welsh pony named Chili who was 8 years old and he was the cutest Little Pony and I learned all about caring and managing a horse and I think that's when I really decided I want a horse when I have graduated college I want to get a horse and I want to take care of this horse and train the horse and just give the horse the best life possible.”
Sangavi’s advice for incoming animal and veterinary science students is, “Don't be afraid to take a class that seems a little bit that's not really something you're interested in. Take all the classes you possibly can and try and get as much hands-on experience as you can.”
Though Sangavi already has a job lined up for post-graduation working in Maryland in a dog training and rehabilitation center, she’s also considering becoming a Morgan Horse Farm Apprentice. This is an advanced, post-degree program in which the apprentices live on the farm for a full year so that they can participate in a complete breeding and birthing cycle of the MHF program. “I would love to come back here to the Morgan Horse Farm in a few years and be an apprentice.”