Owning a horse often brings lots of pleasure, but it’s not always the joyful experience you want it to be – not least when your horse has an accident or falls ill.
In those moments, it’s down to you as the horse’s custodian to respond accordingly to ensure that your animal doesn’t suffer unnecessarily or lose its life when it could’ve been saved.
A horse’s innate flight-or-fight response means it has the potential to get itself into all sorts of potentially life-threatening situations.
That’s why responsible owners need to make sure they have the right horse insurance in place to cover treatment costs in these circumstances.
Having a little know-how of the signs to look for and the best course of action based on the symptoms presented to you could go a long way to preserving your horse’s health in case of an emergency.
Acting quickly can also keep veterinary bills down and keep the cost of renewing your horse insurance as low as possible.
The key is to be observant and listen to your instincts – if you suspect something is wrong with your horse, make sure you carry out a thorough inspection, calling on a vet when you’re unsure.
Let’s look at some of the most common horse emergencies and what you should do in each of the situations.
Colic is one of the most common horse emergencies but recognising it can be tricky.
Sometimes it will be obvious that your horse is in pain. But more often than not, symptoms can be subtle, so it’s important you’re tuned into your horse’s temperament and act promptly – if you notice a change, seek advice from the vet.
If there’s nothing visibly wrong with your horse, your first thought should be colic. If you suspect an episode of colic, you should remain calm and document the horse’s behaviour and vital signs so you can track any changes in condition.
Things to keep in mind when dealing with colic:
Nobody wants to see the sight of blood on their horse – but it’s important you keep your cool and act swiftly. The quicker you act to treat a wound, the better chance your horse makes a full recovery.
If it’s a particularly nasty wound, horses can lose quite a bit of blood. But try not to be too alarmed should this happen – while it doesn’t look good, a horse can lose a fair amount of blood and not bleed out, providing they are given the right treatment.
According to Equimed, the average horse has over 12 gallons (96 pints or 54.5 litres) of blood, and can lose over a quarter of this before going into a state of shock.
Applying pressure to the wound should mean that the blood eventually clots. However, if blood is pumping out of a large wound, call the vet as soon as you can.
Things to keep in mind when dealing with a wound:
Horses can go into a state of shock for a number of reasons. It happens when there is not enough blood flow to carry the required oxygen around the body.
Equine shock is a very serious condition and, as Horse and Hound points out, can be triggered by a loss of blood, dehydration, colic, bee stings, snake bites or any major injury associated with fear.
Symptoms of equine shock range from rapid breathing and shivering to a weak pulse. Also check if your horse’s mucus membranes are pale or turning blue.
If you suspect shock, you should offer fresh clean water to try to avoid dehydration and keep them warm with blankets – but be careful they don’t overheat.
Contact the vet immediately as shock can be life-threatening and requires professional attention.
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For all these emergencies, getting a vet’s opinion is often essential, so it’s important you have adequate horse insurance.
Equesure’s team specialise in equine insurance and have over 60 years of combined equestrian knowledge to help create a bespoke plan tailored to your requirements, for you, your horse and your transport.
Insurance arranged through Equesure can provide you with a range of benefits including:
Call our dedicated team now on 01480 220089 to discuss your requirements.
Once again I threw Arlo in at the deep end, affiliating him purely for the Arena UK second round show, and once again he pulled it out the bag. How lucky am I to have such a wonderful little horse? We haven’t really competed this year. I don’t really compete over the winter, and also my horsebox was away for repairs up until the beginning of June, so I had no transport even if I’d wanted to.
With the dry ground we don’t seem to be having much luck with shoes, as little madam managed to pull both her front shoes off within 12 hours the other day! We entered the arena with two shoes on for a schooling session and left it with one missing (took about an hour to find it). Then that afternoon, as I went to put some hoof ointment on, I looked down and had to double take, thinking I was looking at the wrong hoof. But, no, the other shoe was missing too.
After having a long wait and some lunch at the onsite café, it was time to get ready for the Joan Wolfe Overall Supreme Shetland Pony Championship. I got changed out of my usual showing outfit into black trousers and a maroon top with white spots, as you are expected to be a bit more “bling” in the evening.
We were all set to go for our next outing, and were super excited. That was until I heard the dreaded clunk of a loose shoe! I checked it over, praying it wasn’t too loose, but, nope, it was going to need a refit.