­NHS Student Completes Internship

With Fairfield Equine

By Eliza Hallabeck

Newtown High School senior Denise Bracnecka has ridden horses for eight years, and when she signed up for an internship last year, she suggested the places where she wanted to intern.

“I want to become an equine veterinarian,” said Denise.

She has known since the beginning of her high school career that she wanted to be an equine veterinarian, and she has always loved animals.

“I want a career that would be fulfilling,” Denise said.

Denise said her mother owned a horse for about 20 years. Denise started riding horses when her mother enrolled her in a summer camp, she said, and before that point she had been playing soccer. Denise chose to ride horses instead of soccer after taking the summer camp.

During her recent internship with Fairfield Equine, Denise went on calls with the equine veterinarian while working toward 30 hours of her internship. She said equine veterinarians frequently have to travel to different barns to visit their patients.

She was taught how to use the different machines and how to interpret and explain the exams, she said.

“They let me use the ultrasound machine,” said Denise.

She also learned that horses have to be given passports to travel out of the country.

This semester Denise is taking advanced placement biology and anatomy, and, she added, “it is neat to see it applied in the field on the ultrasound machine.” Even though her classes are teaching her about humans, she said it is interesting to see the relation in the horses.

“In veterinary school, they make you do internships,” said Denise. “It’s definitely something I want to do.”

Denise said her younger twin brothers, mother and father have been helpful throughout her internship.

Denise also works at the Wishing Well Gift Shop on Glen Road. At school, she is a member of Peer Leadership, the Guidance Honors Association and the National Honors Society. Additionally, she helps teach CCD classes at St Rose.

Some veterinarians travel out of the country, Denise said she learned during her internship. “It made me realize I could do traveling within the career,” said Denise.

She said New England is a good place to be as a equine veterinarian, because New England has many barns for them to visit.

She has enjoyed learning about the causes and treatments of the inflictions the horses are suffering.

“When I got to use the ultrasound machine,” said Denise, “it was really cool.”

Seeing the blood run through the veins and the bones, she said, was amazing.

Denise said she has not chosen a college to attend yet, but she knows she “just loves working with horses.”