Horse emergencies can be difficult and emotionally charged.
Preparation is crucial. Keep phone numbers, maps, and directions ready. Plan how you would transport a horse, and keep a well-stocked first aid kit on hand.
Handling horses safely is always important, but even more so when the horse is in pain or scared. These situations can be dangerous to handlers.
Common types of horse emergencies include colic (abdominal pain), trauma and cuts, and sick foals.
What Emergency Procedures Are Commonly Performed in Horses?
Horse emergencies are similar to small-animal emergencies, but there are some special considerations:
Horses can't lie down very long, so some conditions that are less serious in other animals are emergencies in horses.
Horses are treated differently because of how big they are and how their bodies function.
Monitoring the horse closely is critical. In cases of severe shock, the horse's pulse and breathing must be watched carefully.
Fluid Therapy
Preventing and treating dehydration is a top priority in horses. Diarrhea is a major cause of dehydration, especially in foals.
Large volumes of fluid might be needed. For example, a 1,000-pound horse that is 5% dehydrated needs about 6¼ gallons (25 liters) to correct that loss.
If the horse has lost a lot of blood or is overheated or exhausted, emergency fluids are needed.
Nasogastric Intubation
Nasogastric intubation (running a tube through the horse's nostril and into its stomach) is a common and sometimes lifesaving procedure to treat colic.
The tube removes fluid that has built up in the stomach because of blockage in the intestines. Removing the fluid relieves pain and can prevent stomach rupture.
If no blockage exists, the tube can be used to give the horse fluids or medicines.
How Should an Injured Horse Be Transported?
Veterinarians often make farm calls to examine horses, but sometimes the horse must be transported. Follow these guidelines to transport your horse safely:
Before loading your horse into a trailer, stabilize and immobilize any injury.
Use a low ramp for easier loading.
Use a sling under the horse's abdomen to help take weight off of a broken limb.
In straight-load trailers, position the horse facing backward for a front-leg injury and facing forward for a back-leg injury.
Provide hay and make frequent stops to check the horse and offer water.
Inside the trailer, partitions and slant-load stalls help horses balance and decrease stress on injured legs.
If a horse can't stand, it can be pulled onto a trailer on a tarp or blanket, usually under sedation. Keep the horse sedated during transport, when needed to prevent further injury. Protect the horse's head and eyes with a bandage or a head protector, and bandage its lower legs to prevent injuries from thrashing around.
What Type of First Aid Do Horses Need for Trauma?
Common horse injuries include fractures, cuts, punctures, infections, and muscle spasms and cramping from thrashing (a condition called “tying up”).
To prevent further injury, it's important to keep the horse calm. Emergency first aid and rapid veterinary care are often required.
Eye Injuries
Eye injuries in horses are usually from trauma, and they might be hard to see. One way to know that a horse has an eye injury is that the horse might hold its eye shut, or the eye might look cloudy.
Call your vet right away if you see these signs, because injuries to the eye are emergencies.
Fractures and Dislocations
Leg fractures are common and dangerous in horses. Initial goals in treating a horse with a leg fracture are to decrease anxiety, prevent further injury, and stabilize the leg for safe transport. Splinting and padding are important.
Signs of a fracture include a loud crack, sudden non-weight-bearing lameness, a misaligned leg, or an unstable leg. If a horse is down, examine it before trying to make it stand.
Restrain and sedate the horse if necessary. Control bleeding, clean and remove damaged tissue from wounds and bandage them, and apply a splint for transport. Splints must be well padded to prevent sores from developing.
Head Injuries
Head trauma can seriously damage a horse's nervous system. Swelling and bleeding might continue after the injury.
Handle horses with head injuries very carefully. If the horse is down, it might need short-term anesthesia to be moved safely.
Heat Stroke
Heat stroke is an emergency. In horses, a rectal temperature above 104.9°F (40.5°C) indicates overheating. Foals are especially vulnerable.
The first sign of heat stroke in a horse might be that it stops sweating. The horse might breathe heavily and through its mouth.
Hose down the horse with cool water, move it to a shaded area with circulating air, and get veterinary help immediately.
Wounds and Lacerations
Wounds and lacerations (tears of the skin) are common in horses. The first thing to do is control any bleeding. Wounds should be cared for as they are in small animals (see What Can I Do for My Pet at the Scene?). A tetanus shot might be required.
Esophageal Obstruction (Choking)
Feed can get stuck in a horse's esophagus and cause it to choke. Signs of choking include drooling, coughing, repeated attempts to swallow, and discharge of saliva or feed from the nose.
Do not give a choking horse mineral oil, because the oil can be inhaled into the lungs, causing permanent damage.
Call your vet, muzzle the horse, and restrict its access to feed. The vet will usually sedate the horse and might pass a tube through the mouth or a nostril to flush the esophagus with fluid.
If an obstruction remains after about an hour, or if repeated attempts to clear the obstruction fail, more testing or surgery might be needed.
Horses that choke are at higher risk for another episode 2–4 weeks later, and the esophagus might need a month or more to heal.
Complications After Castration
Persistent bleeding or tissue protruding from the incision after a horse is castrated is an emergency. Call the vet at once.
How Should Emergencies in Foals Be Treated?
Sick foals are common emergencies. A foal should start breathing within 1 minute of birth. Rub a foal vigorously if it's not breathing. If rubbing doesn’t work to get the foal breathing, call your vet immediately.
A healthy newborn foal’s heart rate should be at least about 60 beats per minute and should rise quickly after the foal clears the birth canal. If the heart rate does not increase, urgent help is needed. Chest compressions can be done if the foal has no rib fractures.
After birth, normal foals should stand within 1 hour, nurse within 2 hours, and pass their first manure within roughly 3 hours. If a newborn foal is not following these guidelines, call your vet immediately.
