From Equine Vet to Meadery and Bees: Dr. Ayla Guild’s Pivot and Boundaries Hosts Dr. Chelsea and vet tech Trish welcome equine veterinarian Dr. Ayla Guild, a longtime friend, who describes pivoting from a psychology major into vet school after a riding-related head injury and completing her training at the University of Pennsylvania/New Bolton. Isla discusses challenges in equine clinical training and practice, including sleep deprivation, perfectionism, anxiety, postpartum depression, and the inefficiency of extensive driving in ambulatory work. She explains how gluten sensitivity led her family to discover mead, begin fermenting raw honey-based mead without heating above hive temperature, and ultimately open The Hive Taproom with distribution, supported by their own honey production and expanding beekeeping efforts. The conversation also covers bee health pressures (nutrition and mites), practical beekeeping realities, work-life balance, boundaries in veterinary medicine, and Ayla's plan to return via equine emergency relief work.

00:00 Show Intro

00:30 Meet Dr Dr. Ayla Guild

02:03 From Psych To Vet

04:55 Vet School Reality Check

07:52 Practice Life And Caseloads

10:56 Burnout And Big Pivot

12:59 Discovering Mead Making

16:07 Beekeeping From Scratch

18:41 Hive Growth And Challenges

20:40 Bee Health And Forage

25:35 How Mead Is Made

26:27 Eco Friendly Mead

27:20 Raw Honey Fermentation

28:10 Flavoring And Style

29:12 Scaling Up Production

30:27 Shipping And Regulations

31:20 Allergies And Ingredients

33:07 Vet Career Boundaries

36:20 Horses And Riding Time

38:29 Work Life Balance Shift

41:22 Mental Health And Guilt

45:32 Social Media And Wrap Up

46:41 Podcast Outro And Call for Guests

Would You Rather? Vet Med Edition with Dr. Chelsea and Trish Dr. Chelsea (veterinarian) and Trish (registered vet tech) host a chaotic, kid-inspired “Would You Rather?” game mixing veterinary and everyday dilemmas, and suggest adding the segment to future guest interviews while inviting listeners to share their own questions. They debate choices such as anal glands on the face vs being peed on, being trapped with a nervous Great Dane vs a furious chihuahua, cleaning kennels vs answering phones, surgery prep vs front desk work on no sleep, switching jobs vs switching phones, losing a phone vs losing caffeine, search history vs Amazon orders being leaked, cleaning puke vs attending a social school function, stepping on Legos vs sitting in mystery wet spots, losing sight vs losing memories, Hallmark Christmas movies vs horror movies, and never doing laundry vs never grocery shopping. They also discuss boundaries with phones, kids and social media, and close with guest and rating/subscription calls to action.

00:00 Show Intro

00:24 Game Setup

01:39 Gross Vet Dilemma

02:44 Big Dog Or Chihuahua

03:15 Kennels Vs Phones

04:30 No Sleep Choices

05:39 Switch Jobs Or Phones

06:49 Phone Detox Parenting

10:58 Search Vs Amazon Leak

13:01 School Function Survival

13:50 Barn Clothes Social Life

15:08 Trailer Tack Room Repairs

15:58 Legos vs Mystery Wet

16:46 Sight or Memories Debate

17:38 London and Badminton Trip

19:32 Hallmark or Horror Forever

20:24 Laundry vs Grocery Shopping

21:58 Kids Chores and Folding Hacks

24:19 Wrap Up and Guest Call

Vitamin E in Horses: Deficiency Signs, Testing Targets, and Why Liquid Supplementation Matters Dr. Chelsea and vet tech Trish deliver an educational PSA on equine vitamin E, emphasizing that many horses—especially in dry regions like Colorado without lush pasture—are at risk because vitamin E is unstable and largely lost from sun-cured hay. They discuss testing differences (Cornell HPLC targets 300–600 µg/dL; higher targets like 600–800 for symptomatic horses) and suggest annual spring screening with rechecks in 1–2 months. Key conditions linked to deficiency include equine motor neuron disease (often irreversible; only 45% recovery after induced cases), vitamin E–responsive myopathy, and the ENAD/EDM spectrum in young horses with progressive, symmetric ataxia and frequent behavior changes; deficiency may also contribute to penile ataxia/paraphimosis and head shaking. They warn high doses may affect coagulation, advise avoiding injectables, and stress natural d-alpha tocopherol—using liquid (e.g., 5,000 IU/day for 60 days) because powders/pellets can take 8–10 weeks and may not raise levels or CSF vitamin E.

00:00 Podcast Welcome

00:29 Why Vitamin E Matters

03:19 Pasture Limits and Deficiency Risk

04:46 Testing Targets and Ranges

06:30 Hand Grazing Reality Check

08:41 Sponsor Break

09:15 Deficiency Signs and Safe Dosing

10:28 Equine Motor Neuron Disease

13:48 VEM and Screening Strategy

17:28 Case Study Paraphimosis Link

19:26 Liquid vs Powder Absorption

22:23 Practical Dosing Workarounds

23:07 Liquid vs Powder Dosing

23:42 Testing Surprises and CSF

24:47 Avoid Injectable Vitamin E

25:17 EDM and Vitamin E Link

27:08 EDM Signs and Differentials

28:42 Young Horses and eNAD

30:30 Lab Ranges and Natural Forms

32:30 New Omega Oil Pump

34:27 Barn Practicalities and Storage

36:20 Common Myths and Hay

38:10 Senior Horses and Headshaking

40:10 Wrap Up and Listener Call