Emergency Care

There’s an old saying: If your horse can find a way to get in trouble, he will. So, if you own a horse long enough, chances are that some time you will face an emergency accident or injury. But will you know how to”SPAN style=FONT-FAMILY: Arial>There’s an old saying: If your horse can find a way to get in trouble, he will. So, if you own a horse long enough, chances are that some time you will face an emergency accident or injury. But will you”PAN style=FONT-FAMILY: Arial>There’s an old saying: If your horse can find a way to get in trouble, he will. So, if you own a horse long enough, chances are that some time you will face an emergency accident or injury. B”AN style=FONT-FAMILY: Arial>There’s an old saying: If your horse can find a way to get in trouble, he will. So, if you own a horse long enough, chances are that some time you will face an emergency accident or”N style=FONT-FAMILY: Arial>There’s an old saying: If your horse can find a way to get in trouble, he will. So, if you own a horse long enough, chances are that some time you will face an emergency ac” style=FONT-FAMILY: Arial>There’s an old saying: If your horse can find a way to get in trouble, he will. So, if you own a horse long enough, chances are that some time you will face an emer”style=FONT-FAMILY: Arial>There’s an old saying: If your horse can find a way to get in trouble, he will. So, if you own a horse long enough, chances are that some time you will face “tyle=FONT-FAMILY: Arial>There’s an old saying: If your horse can find a way to get in trouble, he will. So, if you own a horse long enough, chances are that some time you will”yle=FONT-FAMILY: Arial>There’s an old saying: If your horse can find a way to get in trouble, he will. So, if you own a horse long enough, chances are that some time you”le=FONT-FAMILY: Arial>There’s an old saying: If your horse can find a way to get in trouble, he will. So, if you own a horse long enough, chances are that some time”e=FONT-FAMILY: Arial>There’s an old saying: If your horse can find a way to get in trouble, he will. So, if you own a horse long enough, chances are that some t”=FONT-FAMILY: Arial>There’s an old saying: If your horse can find a way to get in trouble, he will. So, if you own a horse long enough, chances are that some”FONT-FAMILY: Arial>There’s an old saying: If your horse can find a way to get in trouble, he will. So, if you own a horse long enough, chances are that som”FONT-FAMILY: Arial>There’s an old saying: If your horse can find a way to get in trouble, he will. So, if you own a horse long enough, chances are that som”ONT-FAMILY: Arial>There’s an old saying: If your horse can find a way to get in trouble, he will. So, if you own a horse long enough, ch”NT-FAMILY: Arial>There’s an old saying: If your horse can find a way to get in trouble, he will. So, if you own a hors”T-FAMILY: Arial>There’s an old saying: If your horse can find a way to get in trouble, he will. So, i”-FAMILY: Arial>There’s an old saying: If your horse can find a way to get in trouble,”FAMILY: Arial>There’s an old saying: If your horse can find a way to g”AMILY: Arial>There’s an old saying: If your horse can fi”MILY: Arial>There’s an old saying: If your “ILY: Arial>There’s an old sayin”LY: Arial>There’s an”Y: Arial>T”:
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

There’s an old saying: If your horse can find a way to get in trouble, he will. So, if you own a horse long enough, chances are that some time you will face an emergency accident or injury. But will you know how to deal with the different types of injury situations you might encounter? Will you know how and when to perform immediate first aid procedures and, just as importantly, when not to? After all, making the wrong decision during this kind of crisis could result in unnecessary scarring, delayed healing, and even the death of your horse

Is It An Emergency?


It’s hard to tell if you are dealing with a life-threatening situation that requires immediate emergency treatment. Notes Earl M. Gaughan, DVM, associate professor and section head of Equine Medicine and Surgery, Kansas State University, “A lot of people really worry about bleeding. A horse has a tremendous volume of blood. The classic one is when its snowy outside and you get blood on white snow; it often looks worse than it is.


There are certain types of injuries that merit deep concern. Says Venaye Reece, DVM, veterinary medical officer for the State Veterinary Office at Clemson University, Animal Emergency Response Coordinator for South Carolina, and North American Trail Ride Conference veterinarian/judge, “Punctures are generally considered fairly important, particularly if the puncture is in the area of a joint or in the foot. Cuts that involve tendons, joints, or large blood vessels may be emergencies. Eye lesions that involve the actual globe of the eye are almost always emergency situations. Severe lameness, severe reluctance to move, and any known fracture warrant emergency treatment


On the other hand, bee stings, mild choke, or moderate cuts in a muscle or skin that don’t involve a joint, tendon, blood vessel, or eye might be scary, but probably wont necessitate immediate treatment. “Within a couple of minutes, horses are over the fright and pain of bee stings,” says Reece. “With choke, you have plenty of time to get a vet. Sometimes, just walking the horse or trying to get him relaxed, or, under a veterinarians direction, giving a mild sedative or tranquilizer will clear a choke. Moderate skin or muscle cuts may need moderately immediate attention in that the quicker you can clean up and suture, the better healing you’re going to get, but those are not usually life-threatening.” When you report the injury to the veterinarian, he or she will decide whether the horse requires immediate veterinary attention or immediate veterinary advice. “Most veterinarians who deal with horses appreciate the phone call and the conversation and making the decision about whether the horse needs to be treated immediately or as soon as possible,” Gaughan says

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Marcia King is an award-winning freelance writer based in Ohio who specializes in equine, canine, and feline veterinary topics. She’s schooled in hunt seat, dressage, and Western pleasure.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
328 votes · 328 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!