The camp trying to inspire young Scots to be vets

Dr Gardiner says it has also been about giving them the confidence and connections with the vet schools, who sent instructors, and the chance to meet others their own age thinking of the same path.

She says: “That is enormously helpful since they are likely to be the only one in their school who is choosing to be a vet.”

Among those taking part was 17-year-old Emily from Renfrewshire.

She says getting up at 02:00 to help out a struggling animal in a cold barn is not daunting.

“You know you are going to make an impact on the farmer and the animal’s life by helping them, that’s just part of the job,” she says

Another young prospective vet, 16-year-old Millie, travelled to the camp from Islay.

She already has her own ponies and helps out on her grandfather’s farm.

Millie says: “I would be happy to become a vet and go back home to Islay, it’s a really nice place to live.”

She would no doubt be welcomed back with open arms by the farmers and pet owners of that most rural of communities.