Steps To Take In An Emergency
Is your horse experiencing a veterinary emergency? Try to follow the steps below as closely as you can.
- Stay Calm - Your horse will react to your emotions. Staying calm is essential during an equine emergency.
- Stay Safe - Keep yourself safe at all times. You will not be able to help your horse if you become injured.
- Try to Keep Your Horse Calm - In order for your horse to feel as calm and reassured as possible, it's critical that the people around them also remain calm.
- Move Your Horse to a Safe Area - Move your horse to an area where they are unlikely to cause further harm to themselves.
- Get Help from Others at Your Barn - Delegate responsibilities like calling the vet, holding your horse, and bringing the first-aid kit.
- Call Your Veterinarian as Soon as Possible - Give the veterinarian as detailed information as possible about your horse's condition over the phone - including temperature, respiratory rate and gum color. The veterinary professional on the other end of the line will determine the best way to move forward based on this information.
- Do Not Administer Drugs - Do not administer any drugs to your horse, including tranquilizers or sedatives, without explicit instructions from your vet.
When is your veterinary clinic open?
Badger Veterinary Hospital & Equine Services provides 24/7 mobile emergency care for horses from across Southern Wisconsin.
If your horse is experiencing a health emergency, call us straight away. A knowledgeable staff member will take your call during our regular business hours and arrange for one of our equine emergency vets to see your animal at your horse's location.
For after-hours, holiday, and weekend emergency equine care, call our equine services immediately.
Equine Emergency FAQs
Emergency veterinary care involves the treatment of horses in situations that require immediate medical attention or could potentially be life-threatening.
- What is considered an emergency?
Physical injuries are common in horses. And, while a range of sports injuries can occur during training, curiosity is also a leading cause of serious injuries like deep gashes and lacerations.
Physical injuries should always be seen by your veterinarian to prevent the injury from becoming infected or more severe. If your horse has had an accident or is experiencing any of these symptoms, bring them to our emergency office straight away.
- Respiratory Distress
- Joint & Tendon Injuries
- Eye Trauma
- Reproductive Emergencies
- Foal Emergencies
- Colic
- Excessive Bleeding
- Choking (in the horse, an esophageal obstruction due to feedstuffs)
- Swellings, lacerations, and punctures
- Acute lameness (non-weight bearing lameness in one or more limbs)
- Illness (including fever, loss of appetite, dullness, and diarrhea)
- Seizures
- Sport horse injuries
Signs of gastrointestinal pain (often referred to as colic) can be an indication of anything from constipation to extremely serious intestinal twists or displacements. If your horse companion is showing any of the following symptoms call us right away for emergency care:
- When are your emergency services offered?
We offer 24-hour ambulatory services for our equine patients.
- Should I maintain an equine emergency kit?
Absolutely! It is a good idea to have an at-home “equine emergency kit” to use if needed until a Badger Equine Veterinary Services veterinarian arrives. Make sure to items such as:
- Thermometer
- Stethoscope
- 16″ Combined Rolled Bandages (2 rolls)
- 6″ Kling Bandage Rolls (4 rolls)
- 4″ Vet Wrap (4 rolls)
- Duct Tape (1 roll)
- 4″ x 4″ Cotton Squares (24 count)
- Banamine Paste (1 tube)
- Triple Antibiotic Eye Ointment (WITHOUT steroids — cortisone and dexamethasone)
- Topical Antibiotic Ointment (Triple Antibiotic Ointment or Silver Sulfadiazine)
- Dilute Chlorhexidine Wound Cleansing Solutions (4 oz.)