The Cost of Public Judgment in Veterinary Medicine

A few months ago, Zach Loppnow, DVM, saw a racehorse trainer demanding “accountability” for a veterinarian in a social media post. The veterinarian had declared a horse lame and scratched it from a race. An onslaught of comments followed, ignoring the context, clinical reasoning, and risks. The thread became a forum to air every negative experience people believed they’d had with veterinarians or regulators.

“There is no ability to interpret the nuance, no ability to understand or have empathy for the other side, or the experience of what’s occurring there,” says Loppnow, a surgical associate at Stillwater Equine Veterinary Clinic in Stillwater, Minnesota. “On the flip side, if the veterinarian didn’t scratch the horse and there was a catastrophic incident, the individual would have been in as much hot water on social media because they didn’t scratch it.”

Social media is ripe with emotionally charged exchanges and judgments about a person’s moral character, often by strangers. The “story” becomes whatever fits in a caption.

“Social media seems to have given a lot of license to people to feel like they can say things that they probably wouldn’t even be comfortable saying in public or face to face,” he says.

Users become the judge and the jury without the details, full videos, expertise, or the authority to pass judgment, a role that belongs to Boards of Veterinary Medical Examiners, comprised of veterinarians with the ability to sort through the details.

“In these situations, I’ve always tried to investigate on my own without jumping to conclusions,” says Tracy Turner, DVM, MS, DACVS, DACVSMR, 2025 president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners and a partner at Turner Wilson Equine Consulting, in Stillwater, Minnesota. “When I see these posts, I ask myself, ‘Are they saintly people?’ Probably not, but they didn’t deserve being attacked in the way they were online by people who didn’t have all the facts.”

For that reason, Colleen Best, DVM, PhD, BsCH, owner of BestVet Consulting, avoids client forums. But she does participate in many veterinarian forums. There, she sees numerous conversations in which veterinarians are seeking advice after a client makes threats against a practice, promising to “ruin them online.”

“There’s a personal harm that comes from these posts, and then we have the business parts we’re trying to address, like reputational risk, and if they follow through, what are the consequences from a business standpoint,” she says. “Both are scary and hurt a lot.”

What often gets lost in these viral moments is that it doesn’t end with the comment thread. When veterinarians know that any decision could be clipped, reposted, and stripped of context, the pressure has the potential to change how they practice and affect their well-being.

The Impact on Care 

Public shaming and the fear of viral videos are impacting diagnosis and recommendations in some cases, says Loppnow. In his experience, older veterinarians are more comfortable offering pragmatic solutions when gold-standard care isn’t possible due to finances, logistics, or the owner’s informed decision. However, younger veterinarians are more likely to avoid anything that feels risky or open to misinterpretation, even if it might be reasonable and in the horse’s best interest.

Prepurchase exams and serviceably sound prognoses are good examples. Loppnow has seen younger veterinarians fail horses for minor lameness—not because the animals can’t work, but because of what might happen if a buyer later posts a critical video or story online. Older colleagues, who want to see more horses placed in useful jobs, often find this frustrating.

“Younger veterinarians are much more cognizant of having to have their reputation examined not just in the court of opinion in terms of your licensing board, but in the court of public opinion,” he explains.

Both sides have valid points: Experience shows many horses can thrive despite imperfections, while social media shows how quickly a single exam can be weaponized.

“In our conversations, it boiled down to trying to get both sides to understand,” he says. “We acknowledged the experience and successes older veterinarians have had and explored all angles of informed consent with the younger generations. Both sides gained perspective from the conversations, and it was worthwhile to sit down and talk.”

The Impact on Mental Health 

In a polarized world where a single post can attract countless vile comments, the outcome for the horse isn’t the only one affected. The emotional toll on the veterinarian is high, especially when they’re not allowed to provide context or when the public narrative doesn’t align with what occurred.

“The reviews we struggle with most are the ones we feel don’t reflect the work put in, the caring, the time, and the explanations,” says Best.

She believes one of the most important skills in these moments is differentiating between reflection and rumination. Reflection means, “I looked at it from all sides, figured out what can be learned, stopped, and changed.” Rumination is compulsively replaying, analyzing, and dwelling on a critical review.

“I am not going to lie, I often flipped into rumination if something was really hard,” Best adds.

Self-reflection, she says, should be paired with self-kindness because everybody has someone who misunderstands them. In these moments, she leans into what she calls the “I’m good at what I do box, a physical collection of thank-you notes, emails, and photos from grateful clients.”

“I like having physical stuff, not just stuff on the computer, because it gives me something to put my hands on,” she says.

Support might also need to extend to staff. “Your team may need help, especially if you’re leading your team,” she adds. “You’re going to be supporting your team as well.”

If a response to an online comment is appropriate, Best suggests grounding it in the clinic’s values rather than arguing the facts line by line. From what she’s seen in reputation advice, “If you want to respond, you want to respond and affirm the values of your practice and say, ‘I’m hearing that wasn’t your experience,’ ” followed by an invitation to call to discuss further.

7 Strategies for Managing Negativity  

Ignoring social media, looking for a magic bullet, or wishing it will disappear won’t work. Incivility online is not going away; in fact, it might even amplify.

“Burying our heads in the sand and ignoring this or hoping it goes away, or hoping we never have to deal with it, is not going to be a viable solution,” Loppnow says. “We need to be proactive to make sure that we are protecting ourselves and that we can be a part of guiding the conversation rather than waiting for it to come to us.”

These seven strategies can help you take a proactive approach to avoiding and managing the fallout of social media commentary.

1. Don’t be afraid to leave. “You have the right, and I mean capital R, to go home every night,” Turner says. “If you’re in a situation where the animal isn’t trained enough, there are risks, and the animal is actually dangerous, don’t be afraid to pack up and leave. Don’t get bullied into doing surgery that you’re not ready for.” 

2. Evaluate your processes. Have good medical releases, disclosure agreements, and estimates for people to sign. The more information is in writing, the more you are protected. That doesn’t necessarily address the social media aspect, but it gives you a solid base to stand on. “That has been one of the changes that has been really effective in our practice, getting that paperwork put together,” Loppnow says. 

3. Have a therapist you can call. Know which therapist you can call even if you’re not in regular therapy. When self-doubt becomes constant, sleep and appetite change, or taking routine calls starts to feel overwhelming, “That’s when we need to find some help,” Best says. “Help helps.” 

4. Establish a relationship with an attorney. An attorney can assist with cease-and-desist notifications and cases that escalate to defamation, libel, or cyberbullying. 

5. Leverage industry resources. The AVMA’s reputation management toolkit offers resources to help you manage your online reputation and handle cyberbullying incidents. The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association also provides a free 24/7 Cyberbullying and Crisis Communication Management Hotline that combines best practices and incident-specific advice. 

6. Consider a social media policy. “We are also having ongoing conversations about a social media policy and talking with clients about what gets shared on social media, though we haven’t come up with an answer yet,” Loppnow says. 

7. Slow down before responding. When a negative review comes in, Best recommends waiting at least a day before responding. With the nervous system in full fight-or-flight, this is not the time for discourse. 

Related Reading

• Tips to Help Equine Veterinary Practices Manage Online Reputations
• Social Media Use for Client Communication
• Strengthening Social License to Practice Equine Medicine

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