Editor’s Note: In their fourth and final year of veterinary school, students are required to complete a series of two-week clinical rotations in the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center. This article is one in a series that highlights those rotations.
Horses and cows are typical patients that are presented to the Large Animal Hospital in the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center.
But small ruminants are also frequent patients, and a clinical rotation exposes Iowa State fourth-year veterinary student to that medical practice.
The rotation, taught by Dr. Rachel Friedrich, clinical associate professor of veterinary diagnostic and production animal medicine, not only spent time working with animals on campus but outside the hospital’s walls.
“This rotation has been one of my favorites,” said fourth-year student Hannah Pollard. “We have been able to visit several farms and get hands-on experiences.”
Those external farm visits included performing pregnancy ultrasound on ewes at Iowa State’s Sheep Teaching Farm and a trip to provide a variety of medical care to alpacas at CM Acres near Maxwell.
“This rotation was different from other rotations I’ve taken because it allowed us to get out on farms and observe some of their practices that help their business be the most efficient it can be,” said fourth-year student Taylor Clark. “With the guidance of Dr. Friedrich, we are able to give producers advice on keeping their business profitable while gaining valuable knowledge of handling small ruminants safely.”
The hands-on experiences with alpacas, goats and sheep included physical exams, drawing blood and deworming protocols. Some of the rotation’s objectives for the students included being able to obtain a complete herd and individual patient health history and being able to present clients with a prioritized differential diagnostic plan.
For Mary Shytles, another fourth-year student in the rotation, the experience provided her much-needed knowledge that she will use post-graduation.
“I plan to go into mixed animal medicine and as small ruminants become more popular, it’s important to learn common issues and problems that you may see from your clients,” she said.
While Pollard and Shytles agree about the benefits of the clinical rotation, they don’t agree on which species they prefer to work with.
Pollard was enthusiastic about both and had good things to say about alpacas.
“I had never worked with alpacas before so that was definitely a fun learning experience,” she said. “The alpacas are very cute and have big personalities making it fun to interact with them.”
Shytles preferred the sheep experience.
“They’re (sheep and alpacas) both fluffy which can make things more difficult, but at least sheep won’t spit at you while you struggle working with them,” she said.
November 2025