Contact Us - Emergencies

As careful as we are with our equine friends and athletic partners, sometimes accidents happen, and sometimes emergencies happen. It's important to know what to do in case of an emergency—before the emergency happens.

Is it an emergency?
It is never a mistake to call the vet for advice. If you're not sure if you need the help of a doctor you should call and get the information you need to make the right decision. Although many problems fall into the category of "emergency", the most common reasons for these calls are colic and wounds.  

• Colic is a general term from abdominal pain. Horses show belly pain by stretching out, biting/looking at their sides, pawing the ground or rolling and the degree of pain dictates how bad the signs will be. Reasons for colic include anything from mild gas, which resolves quickly, to surgical lesions, which cause increasing pain over time until the horse goes to surgery or is euthanized; and which will never get better on its own. In our opinion, any horse showing colic symptoms for more than 15 minutes should be seen by a veterinarian. In most cases the pain will resolve with minimal care, however it is always better to be 'ahead' of the situation so that appropriate decisions can be made as soon as possible. With colic, time is frequently a factor that determines whether the outcome is a positive one....or not.
• Wounds are also a good reason to call the veterinarian. In fact, many wounds that look innocuous are actually worse than they seem. In general, wounds that occur below the hock or carpus are usually worse than they seem, because important structures are found very superficially under the skin; while wounds above the hock or carpus usually look awful, but because of good muscle and soft tissue coverage, they heal very well with minimal care.   If you are on a trail ride or far from a phone, you should do your best to clean the wound, using diluted chlorhexidine or betadine and saline is ideal, however if these are not available then fresh, clean water will do. Apply a bandage to the wound before moving the horse and then do so slowly, at his or her comfort level.   Provided he is bearing weight he will be able to make it home even though he may be in some pain. In the situation of an unstable limb (when the horse cannot bear full weight) a cell phone or friend (with fast legs!) will be your most useful tools!
• Other reasons to call the veterinarian include, but are not limited to: fever (normal horse temp is 99.5-101.5), respiratory distress, choke (inability to eat, food dropping from the nose), laminitis (severe, acute foot pain, can be confused with colic), eye injuries/pain, diarrhea and dystocia (birthing complications).

As mentioned before, if you don't really know if it's an emergency call the veterinarian to discuss the situation, we're happy to hear from you and we are happy to help!

Barn first aid and emergency preparedness kit.
A basic first aid kit at the barn should include :

• Rectal thermometer, preferably attached to a string and clip
• Scissors, hemostats
• Leg wraps
• Bandaging material:
  • Telfa (non-stick) pads
  • Gauze squares
  • Roll gauze
  • Thick cotton rolls
  • Vetwrap/Elasticon
  • Bandaging tape
  • Saline solution (but clean water can be used on most wounds)
  • Wound cleanser (betadine or chlorhexidine based)
  • Splinting material such as 4-6 inch PVC piping or thick wooden or steel post
• Duct tape
• Latex gloves
• Fly mask, eye cup
• Flash light
• Shoe pulling equipment (pliers at least, to pull loose nails)

Of course, it would not be convenient to bring all these items on a trail ride. Your basic trail riding first aid kit should include:

• basic bandaging supplies
• scissors
• a thermometer
• a pair of pliers.  

Any other items in travel form can be taken, obviously, and will help you be more prepared.

 

 

 

Peninsula Equine Medical Center
(650) 854-3162 | peneq@yahoo.com
100 Ansel Lane, Menlo Park, CA 94028

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