Equine Emergencies

Jeske Noordergraaf, VMD

April 2005

We see a horse emergency almost every night.  Common emergencies we see include colics, cuts, eye injuries and down horses.  The most critical emergency, however, is a mare having trouble foaling.  Time is always important so be prepared.  Here are some general guidelines. 

• Keep your veterinarians phone number by the telephone. Make sure that your veterinarian will cover emergencies and know which number to call after hours, when most emergencies happen.
• Have a truck and trailer available if you need to transport your horse to a hospital.  Know who to call to transport your horse to a referral hospital for colic surgery at 2 a.m. if you don’t have a trailer.
• Do you have a neighbor or friend close by who can help hold your horse until the veterinarian gets there?
• Have a first aid kit available. This should contain:

1. Thermometer (normal temp 100º)

2. Stethoscope to listen to heart rate (normal 30-40 beats per minute)

3. and gastrointestinal sounds (normal gurgling is always heard)

4. Normal respiratory rate is 12 breaths per minute

5. Betadine scrub for washing wounds

6. Disposable diapers or roll cotton – for compresses and bandage padding.

7. 6” stretch gauze rolls to keep padding in place

8. 3” sterile non-stretch pads (telfa) to cover wound

9. Nitrofurazone powder or ointment

10. Bandage scissors

11. Adhesive and duct tape

12. Clean bucket

13. Rope and halter

14. Hoof pick

15. Twitch

16. Clipper

17. Fly spray

18. Electrolytes (powder or gel) for when your horse is working hard 

Here are some guidelines as to what you should do for the following emergencies until your veterinarian arrives. 

Colic – get your horse up and walking.  Don’t feed or water your horse.  If possible, take the horse’s temperature, pulse, and heart rate.  Know if the horse is passing manure and has eaten that day.  Think about any causes such as new hay, horses eating sand as they eat off of the ground, or not having been dewormed recently.

Lacerations or cuts – if the blood is gushing out, stop the bleeding by applying pressure.  Wrap the wound using lots of padding.  If the wound is dirty, hose if possible.

Dystocia or a mare having trouble foaling.  If you can get the mare up and walking, this will often stop her from pushing.  If the placenta is coming out intact with the foal still in it, you need to open the “red bag” or the foal will suffocate.  Call your vet and you can be walked thru how to do this. 

Sick Foals An active foal gets up and nurses every hour, runs around, and then sleeps.  If your foal is less active than normal, it probably has an infection.  This infection must be treated before the joints are affected. 

Choke - This is when food gets stuck in the esophagus.  Often food and saliva will come out both the mouth and nostrils, the horse may cough or keep extending the neck and even act colicky.  Keep your horse calm and massage the neck. 

Eye Injuries – These are critical because we want to prevent blindness.  If the area around the eye is very swollen, cold pack it.  Don’t allow your horse to rub its face or it makes the injury worse.  Put a fly mask on your horse. 

Broken legs – Keep your horse quiet, if possible, put a splint on but talk to your vet first.  Depending on where and how severely a leg is broken, fixing it may be an option. 

Down horses – Try to keep them warm in the winter and keep the bugs off them in the summer.  If you can see an obvious injury, that may be why your horse is down. 

Sick horses – A very depressed horse may not be feeling well because he is running a high temperature and has an infection.  We always prefer seeing a sick horse before it is treated.  

Tying Up – This is a condition which can be caused by over exercising.  Frequently the horse won’t want to move at all and forcing movement can cause muscle damage.  Putting a blanket or cooler on will help until your veterinarian arrives. 

There are other emergency conditions.  We prefer to be on the cautious side with any concern you may have.  It is better to treat early than late, better for the horse and less expensive.  We are trained and experienced and happy to answer questions.  To make our job easier, have a halter and a lead rope on your horse, have it away from your other horses and in a safe environment.  Often we need electricity and light so plan ahead.  Hopefully you will never have an emergency, but if you do and you are prepared, it will be less stressful.