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Horse Basics |
First Aid |
Virtually Horses |
      
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What do you need
to know about your horse and first aid? No matter how close you live
to the local vet clinic it is always better for you to be able to deal
with some injuries and illnesses yourself. This may mean being able
to stem bleeding before you call and then wait for the vet, or being able to
deal with smaller injuries yourself without the expense of calling the vet
at all.
First time owners will probably call the vet out more often than necessary but this is much better than leaving an animal in pain or ill through ignorance. If in doubt - call the vet! If your horse appears to be injured or ill, especially if it appears to be serious, gather the information on our emergency checklist to give to the vet with your phone call. From the symptoms on the checklist the vet will know just how serious the condition is and know whether to rush out immediately or schedule a visit. Importantly, he\she will be able to give you instructions to make your horse more comfortable (or save its life) while you wait for the vet to arrive or even confirm whether a visit is required for a minor injury. Download our sample Emergency Checklist to print and keep at your stable\barn. If you
don't have Acrobat Reader download it now
Most of the items on the checklist are self-explanatory, however there are some items which you should familiarise yourself with beforehand so that you know what is normal. Practice taking your horse's temperature, heart rate and breathing (respiration). Normal basic readings for a healthy horse should be as follows:
Learn how to find the horse's "digital pulse" - these are the pulse's found at the back of the pastern. It is not important to know the heart rate from these points but instead familiarise yourself with how strong and fast they feel to your fingers. The digital pulse is important for diagnosing any problems in the hoof and is much more important than 'heat' when detecting an abscess or laminitis. A bounding digital pulse is a good indicator of trouble\stress. Mucous membranes - look at the inside of your horse's nostrils and at his gums, they should be a healthy pink (like your own) note if they are either dark red or white. To check your horse's "capillary refill time" - press your finger into the horse's gums until they are white, release the pressure and count the time it takes for the gum to return to normal colour. Common Injuries The most common injuries your horse will suffer are things like kicks\bites, lameness, fence or paddock injuries and work injuries. What to do about them: Kicks, Bites and paddock injuries : Generally look much worse than they are. Horses can, of course, break another's leg with a kick but this is unusual. A healthy horse can generally be left to heal these injuries itself. Any open wound should be cleaned thoroughly. Bruising is treated with cold\heat as you would treat your own bruises and perhaps a recovery agent such as Aloe Vera or Arnica. If the wound is very large then it may need stitching and of course you may need to rest the horse. If there is a large amount of bleeding use a towel to staunch the flow using pressure, if possible use duct tape or bandages to secure to the area until the vet arrives. Puncture wounds are more important to assess. Deep punctures can often look innocuous on the surface but become life threatening if they hide damage to tendons, bones or harbour infection in the joints. Check the horse's mucous membranes for colour - they should be a healthy pink, ensure the horse stays warm.
If the horse is lame: If the horse has a clear injury or you recall an odd landing or slip during work, often your best course of action is to make the animal as comfortable as possible, confine him to a small paddock or stall and give him a couple of days to recover. Clearly identify which leg or legs are affected if you can and see if you can spot what the cause might be. If there is no improvement or the injury appears to get worse call the vet. The most common cause of lameness is a foot injury. If the lameness does not have any apparent cause (you didn't see a slip or know of another injury) ask your farrier to check his feet. The farrier is often a little cheaper than the vet and can usually make a very good assessment of lameness. The farrier can apply hoof testers to check for abscesses or sole bruising etc and eliminate any foot problems. If your horse has been shod recently ask your farrier to check the horse, there may be a 'hot' nail (too close to the sensitive laminae). If your horse is overdue for shoeing he may have a corn or abscess, call the farrier. If the horse shows any symptoms of laminitis call the vet immediately. If your horse partly pulls a shoe, try to remove it without doing further damage. If you are unable to, remove any nails that could cause problems and then wrap the entire hoof and shoe with duct tape to keep it on and protect the foot until the farrier arrives (otherwise the horse may rip it off and puncture himself with a nail). Muscular or tendon injuries including back pain are common both from playing in the paddock and as work injuries. There are many symptoms including lameness and reduced ability to perform. Rest is usually the best medicine for mild problems, physiotherapy and massage can help with recovery, prevention and pain relief as can liniments. Remember that while an animal may injure one muscle it may cause itself several other problems by attempting to not use the injured area. Early intervention with massage or a rehabilitation plan can often save your horse from chronic problems. Veterinary attention should be sought for both chronic (ongoing) and acute problems (usually shown with lameness and tenderness in the affected area). Tendon and ligament injuries are notoriously slow to heal and require regular vet and owner attention. Serious tendon injuries may take a year to fully heal. A rigourous rehabilitation programme will be required. If the horse returns to work (or play) too quickly the injury is much more likely to reoccur. Prevention of injuries through the horse's work means ensuring you give him a proper warm up, work on suitable ground (deep footing can be very hard on legs) and at an appropriate level for the horse's fitness. In the paddock and stable perform a daily check for damaged fences or fittings, loose items, dangerous footing (after storms or floods esp.) and lost shoes, damaged rugs etc Horses that live in groups at pasture can be fairly tough on themselves and each other as they play and sort out hierarchies. If your horse lives in a pasture with others try not to move him\her around too often. Unlike us they don't crave new companions to chat with but instead like a consistent herd environment. When you first put your horse in with a new group you can expect him to gain a few bruises and scrapes from his new herd mates, generally they will sort themselves out within a few days. Preferably allow new herd members to meet their group over a fence first - put them in a paddock next door to the group and let them see and sniff each other for a few days. Rehab - after an injury or illness you must allow your horse to come back into work slowly. The longer he has been away from work the longer you must take getting him fit again. This is particularly important with muscle and tendon injuries where the horse may have begun to compensate by using other muscles or limbs. After a sore back a horse may, for instance, drag its hind feet. Rehabilitation work is required to get the horse to reconnect its hind legs and brain and to realise that the pain no longer exists - walking over ground poles on a leadrope might be your first rehab week. Common Illnesses The most common illnesses your horse could suffer are; a cold, equine herpes virus, colic, laminitis. The vet should be called in each case to ensure that you have made the correct diagnosis. In the case of your horse having either a cold or EHV he will simply be kept warm and the virus allowed to run its course. You should follow strict hygiene measures to ensure you do not pass on your horse's virus to others. The vet will check to make sure that additional complications do not occur - antibiotics are not useful against a viral infection but may be used if your horse is attacked by a bacterial infection while he is ill for instance. Colic can be very serious and even fatal. Symptoms
may include sweating, shaking, biting or kicking at his flanks, rolling
and obvious signs of severe abdominal pain. If your horse is able to
be walked, you should do so until the vet arrives, but if he is already
weak then he should be allowed to rest quietly as there is no advantage in
making him weaker still by incessant walking.
You don't need to have a fancy commercial kit but it is
handy to have a secure box to keep it all in. Here are my
suggestions for your first aid kit. Basics:
Add as you can afford or require: Additional Items that you might
consider: When stocking up your first aid kit, remember that some
items have a limited shelf life and others require special storage (cool
and\or dark) so you should check at least once a year to replace items
that have expired or gone off. |
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| On this Page | ||
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Emergency Checklist Injuries Illness First Aid Kit
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| Related Pages | ||
| Equine Health | ||
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Virtually Horses
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All
horses will get bumps, bruises, scrapes, injuries and fall sick no matter
how excellent their care. You can guarantee that whatever happens it
will generally occur when the local equestrian supplier, vet and chemist
are shut but you can be less anxious about this and other minor problems
if you are well prepared with a basic first aid kit for your horse.
