From Southern California Sun to Ohio Green: How This Equine Vet Found Home

Dr. McMinn traded sunshine for seasons, and discovered that sometimes the best paths are the ones you never planned

The Journey: From Assistant to Doctor

There's something poetic about a California girl falling in love with Ohio. Dr. McMinn (previously Webb) grew up 35 miles north of Los Angeles, competing in hunters and jumpers and working as an assistant trainer. During her undergraduate years at California Lutheran University, she spent five years as a veterinary assistant at a large equine hospital owned by a boarded equine surgeon and internal medicine veterinarian.

The plan was simple: become a registered veterinary technician and keep working with horses. She did it all at that hospital—ambulatory work, overnight patient care, emergency referrals, lameness evaluations, reproduction services, colic surgeries, elective procedures. She was immersed in every aspect of equine medicine, and somewhere along the way, something shifted.

"My love of horses quickly evolved into a passion for veterinary medicine and I decided to pursue veterinary school," she recalls.

She chose The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, and that decision changed everything. "While in veterinary school at Ohio State I fell in love with the beautiful green Ohio countryside and the Midwest values." She met her Cleveland-born husband, and together they decided to put down roots in Cincinnati.

Vet school nearly broke her. There was one semester where everything went wrong, including getting Giardia. "It was about 2 months of absolute hell. I persevered, started to find myself and then met my now husband who helped put all the pieces back together."

A few years ago, they moved to their farm. This past Spring, they welcomed a baby girl who, according to her proud mama, is already obsessed with animals. The California sun gave way to Ohio seasons, and Dr. McMinn couldn't be happier about it.

The Lessons: What It Takes to Survive and Thrive

Dr. McMinn credits three qualities for getting her where she is today: confidence, empathy, and work ethic.

"I'm really not afraid to sound 'dumb' or worry about what others think. My husband always says I could make friends with a wall." On empathy: "I really truly want to help others and I love people. Finding this connection with clients or colleagues gets you very far."

And on work ethic? "I had a loser ex boyfriend that told me I was 'lucky' to have such a strong work ethic. That's a lazy person being jealous of hard work and thinking it comes easy. It doesn't. You sometimes just have to work your dang can off. The dream is free but the hustle isn't."

But Dr. McMinn also learned some hard lessons along the way. Her most agonizing career decision? "Almost leaving equine medicine because of a toxic workplace. It broke my heart to make that choice. Luckily the situation abruptly changed and I am still an equine vet." Her advice to others: "Don't be afraid to walk away from toxic management."

The best career advice she ever received came at just the right time: "Just because we CAN doesn't mean we SHOULD." She explains: "Sometimes the best medicine is knowing when to stop. Owners will often just keep going and it's not always because they want to, sometimes they just need to hear this. And hear that it's okay to let them go. Or it's okay to not put themselves in debt for colic surgery. We have to balance the whole picture."

If she wasn't a veterinarian, she'd probably be a therapist. "Which quite often as a veterinarian I am. I love helping people so much and I feel like I have a knack for seeing a situation in a different light, or a different angle they might not have considered."

When stress gets overwhelming, she has a simple remedy: "One of the most grounding things for me has always been staring at the stars. Not sure why, it's just so peaceful. Looking at the stars, taking a deep breath, usually helps me just let it all go."

The Mission: Changing Equine Medicine While Raising the Next Generation

Dr. McMinn's mission in life is beautifully simple: "Be a good human, raise good humans."

But her professional aspirations are equally clear and urgent. She's acutely aware of the biggest problem facing her field: the equine and large animal vet shortage. "We have got to fix this field and keep more vets in it."

In five years, she wants to be "a force that is helping change equine medicine. Inspiring others, teaching others. All while creating a magical childhood for my children and making so many memories with my family. Which is the drive behind trying to bring more balance to vet med, specifically equine med."

It's personal. This Spring brought the adventure of new motherhood, and Dr. McMinn is candid about the reality: "Motherhood also is life changing, I am still working on getting those pieces back together. Wouldn't trade it for nothing but it really does alter you. We need more open discussions about that too. Being a new mom is HARD."

She wants to create a field where veterinarians can thrive, not just survive. Where toxic workplaces don't force talented doctors to consider leaving. Where balance is possible, even in a demanding specialty. Where new mothers in veterinary medicine can talk openly about the challenges without feeling like they're failing.

If Dr. McMinn could get everyone to try one thing in their lifetime, it would be this: "Riding a horse with no one around. Just you and the horse. It's a connection unlike any other." It's an invitation to understand what she understands—that the connection between human and horse is something sacred, worth protecting, worth building a career around, worth fighting to preserve for future generations of veterinarians.

The same stars that shone over Southern California when she was a kid competing in hunters and jumpers now shine over her Ohio farm, where she's building her legacy one horse, one client conversation, one inspired future veterinarian at a time.

Dr. McMinn graduated from The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2019. She practices equine medicine in the Cincinnati area, where she lives on a farm with her husband, daughter, and a menagerie of animals.