Equine Emergencies

Signs may include hives, large areas of swelling on the body, swollen nose, or swollen eyes.

Indications your horse may be colic-ing include pawing the ground, curling their upper lip, inappropriate sweating, looking at their side, urinating small amounts several times or stretching out, lying down, and rolling. If possible take your horse’s temperature, heart rate, and respiratory rate. It may be advisable to walk your horse until the veterinarian arrives.

Signs can include your horse’s upper and/or lower eyelids being swollen, tears or discharge coming from the eye, or squinting. Place a fly mask on your horse until a veterinarian arrives.

Cuts or open wounds are best treated as quickly as possible. Ideally try and identify the location of the wound, the size of the wound, and the horse's overall condition. If you see continuous bleeding please apply direct pressure, otherwise, attempt to protect the wound until the veterinarian arrives.

Evaluate the character of nasal discharge. Look for colors: clear, white, red, green, or yellow. Determine if the discharge has a bad smell or if it looks like feed material mixed with saliva. Observe if it's from both nostrils or just one nostril if your horse has a cough and if your horse appears distressed. Please take your horse’s temperature, remove all feed if your horse appears choked, and contact a veterinarian immediately.

You may observe your horse dropping feed, chewing abnormally, not finishing their feed normally, drooling excessively, or they have a foul odor coming from their mouth. There are several indications for these clinical signs that would require emergency care.

Signs include your horse not being able to bear weight on one or more legs, unwillingness to move, or appearing very tender-footed. It is important not to move the horse and to look for obvious swelling, heat, pain to the touch, or digital pulses in the affected leg(s). Look at your horse’s foot for nails or other foreign objects penetrating the sole, frog, or heel bulbs. If you find a nail, do NOT remove it unless directed by the veterinarian.

While your horse may or may not appear lame, one or more legs may have become swollen. Be sure to take your horse’s temperature, feel the limb for heat, assess if the limb is painful to the touch, and look for scabs or cuts on the swollen leg.