Meet PBEC Intern Valentine Prié DVM
Valentine Prié DVM earned her veterinary degree in Croatia and spent time in several equine clinics in Europe before heading to the United States in 2024 to broaden her knowledge. She’s part of the class of 2024/2025 interns at the Palm Beach Equine Clinic (PBEC) in Wellington, FL.
Where are you from?
I’m from Normandy in the northwest part of France. For the last six years, I have mostly lived in Croatia, where I did both my undergraduate and vet school work. In 2024, I moved to the U.S. and have been an intern at PBEC since July.
What is your background with horses?
I started riding when I was 5 years old. My family were ranchers, and we had a cattle and horse farm, so I was always around horses. I did mostly show jumping.
What brought you to PBEC?
I always wanted to be a vet — it was not even a question. My great-grandfather founded a vet school in France, and my brother is also going to graduate as an equine vet. It’s in the family!
I moved to Croatia shortly after turning 18 and graduated from the University of Zagreb’s vet school. During my fifth year, I spent some time in Austria at the University of Vienna. This year, I completed part of my final rotation at UC Davis in California.
I wanted to explore as many different approaches to equine medicine as possible. Things here in the U.S. are done differently, not just technique, but the approach to patient care and communication and the use of medications. My goal is to have, as much as possible, an open mind to veterinary practice.
When I complete the program at PBEC, I will head to going to Hagyard in Kentucky for a specialized internship.
What is the process of becoming an intern at PBEC?
I came to PBEC two years ago for a summer externship. After staying in touch with some previous interns and employees at the clinic, I applied last winter, had my interview in February, and in March, Dr. Swerdlin started helping me with the visa process. I began the internship in July.
What is the program like?
It’s been busy! I want to see as much as possible and experience all the areas of equine medicine — surgery, internal medicine, and ambulatory as well. It’s a really busy clinic with a high caseload and many veterinarians from various parts of the world, each withdifferent approaches to medicine and slightly different practices. That’s really beneficial for me to compare what can be done. It’s been a great learning experience. I see a lot and try to listen and remember!
What’s a typical day like for you?
Our schedule is organized on rotation, so we do two weeks of anesthesia, two weeks of surgery, two weeks of hospitalization/internal medicine, two weeks of ambulatory, and two weeks of overnight. Depending on which rotation I am on, the day is different.
Usually, you check the patients assigned to you for your rotation — I will do a full physical examination and write notes for every patient. After rounds, we get everything ready; for instance, with surgery, we bring the horse and assist with the surgery and the recovery of our patient. Then we take care of their treatment plan.
What do you do in your free time?
I’m a runner. I’m preparing for the Miami Marathon in February. I did the Toronto Marathon in 2024. And I read! I love all the French classical novels and poetry. I read a lot of equine medicine articles and books, too.