Dr. Bruce Snyder’s New Patients are Donkeys, Horses, and Bees
The tools of the trade are vastly different these days for Dr. Bruce Snyder. Instead of a scalpel, forceps and scissors, he’s using a tractor, bush hog, pallet forks, and a bee suit. And he’s thrilled. Dr. Snyder, 73, hung up his scrubs in 2020 after a decorated career as a general and vascular surgeon, most recently as an attending physician with Greenville Health System and professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville. He held various leadership positions including president of the health system’s medical society, president of the county medical society, chairman of the county medical society foundation, president of the South Carolina Medical Association (SCMA), and chairman of the Alliance for a Healthier South Carolina.
The foundation for his post-career path was first laid when he learned about another Greenville surgeon’s beekeeping hobby. His interest piqued, he took evening classes at Furman University and dove right in with a few hives.
“I found it very enjoyable because it was new,” he says. “People who go into medicine are curious people and one of the great things about it was learning about beekeeping and what to do.”
He enjoys being hands-on — he does all the physical work other than making the hive boxes. He spends about an hour a week during the peak season, and a full day harvesting the up to nine gallons his four hives yield. He also attends informal meetings of beekeepers in Anderson County and the South Carolina State Beekeepers Association. “You learn things, you meet people, and it’s just fun,” he says.
In January 2021, he moved with his wife, Barbara Hall, to his current home — a 29-acre farm north of Travelers Rest — which offered the opportunity to expand his beekeeping and have animals. The couple worked to improve the pastures, put up fencing, and set up the barn with four stalls, a tack room, a wash station, and a big workshop.
Dr. Snyder’s desire to pasture was sowed long before his medical career. He grew up on what he calls a “gentleman’s farm,” with a few horses and a few cows. A junior high school counseling test yielded his highest scored career as forest ranger.
“Being outdoors and experiencing the outdoors was something that was built into me for a long time and it just blossomed,” he says.
Today, the farm is home to three miniature donkeys and a Norwegian Fjord horse in addition to Tater, an 8-year-old American bulldog rescue, and 2-year-old Dooley, an English bull rescue. There’s an owl living in an owl house on the property and deer and turkey visit often as well.
Dr. Snyder’s days are centered around the animals, caring for them and ensuring the farm provides them a comfortable home. After rising spontaneously around 7 a.m. and taking in his morning coffee, he’s in the barn feeding the donkeys and horse and mucking the stalls. Then he heads back to the house for breakfast. After he and the dogs eat, he returns to the paddock to clean. Afternoons are a mix of cutting down trees, walking the dogs and preparing the feed for the evening meal. The animals in the barn eat around 6 p.m.
Every day is new, Dr. Snyder says. He’s currently learning about manure management and how to control the flies. In between his “chores,” he’s content to enjoy the animals and the environment. He’ll leisurely savor a cup of coffee or a meal at the dining room table, always taking time to soak in the view.
“We have a beautiful view of Glassy Mountain in the distance, and off to the other side, I see more mountains,” he shares. “It’s just a pleasant life. My wife and I are lucky. We’re just enjoying life.”
At-A-Glance
Dr. Bruce Snyder
Dr. Bruce Snyder served as a general and vascular surgeon for more than 30 years. For 10 years, he was a partner in a three-surgeon medical practice, Vascular Health Alliance, serving Prisma Health. He was an attending physician for the Greenville Health System for more than 20 years.
Medical Education: Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Residency: Madigan Army Medical Center
Fellowship: Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
