horses when to call in a vet, injury or illness, wounds, accident, bleeding, burns, collapse, severe lameness, puncture wounds, laminitis, sweating, refusal to eat, colic, increased pulse, staggering, muscle pain, choke, diarrhea, fever, eye,

Sometimes it is obvious when to call in a vet. Sometimes symptoms can be less obvious however immediate attention from a vet may be urgently required. It is false economy to ignore injury or illness as early treatment from a vet can ensure a faster recovery and prevent more serious and long term illness developing. The following information is only a guide to help you decide when to call in the vet.

The list of symptoms is not exhaustive. If you think your horse has one or more of these symptoms you should contact your vet as it could be an emergency that requires an urgent visit from your vet. It is strongly advised that if you are at all concerned about the health of your horse that you contact your vet.

Serious injury e.g. from a road accident, or serious fall, or from accident in the field, yard, stable etc…. This includes major wounds, wounds requiring stitching, bleeding heavily, burns, collapse or loss of balance, continuous pain, severe lameness, wounds to joints, deep puncture wounds, unable to stand or bear weight. This also includes continuous bleeding from mouth, nostrils, rectum, vagina, penis, or an arterial bleed (i.e. blood squirting out in a stream) etc…

Severe lameness e.g. You should be guided by the degree of lameness rather than swelling. A horse that hardly puts weight on the leg should be seen by the vet urgently. Other symptoms to look for include the horse reluctant to pick up his feet, leaning back onto the heels “laminitic stance”, bleeding heavily, deep puncture wounds, unable to stand or bear weight, multiple limb non-weight bearing lameness and wounds to joints. When the bone might be injured, a fracutre, the bone maybe exposed, or the leg has an abnormal shape or the limb is abnormally floppy, urgent attention is required. Severe lameness and significant sweating, agitation, pain, refusal to eat, or depression are also signs the horse should be seen urgently by the vet.

Severe abdominal pain / colic e.g. continuous or spasmodic colic pain, horse getting up and down, rolling, biting or kicking at flanks, pawing the ground, sweating, increased pulse and respiration rates, straining / attempting to defecate or urinate with no result etc…

Collapse or loss of balance e.g. staggering, walking in circles, unable to get to feet, muscle tremors, rigidity, paddling movements with the legs, coma, over-reaction to outside stimuli, depression, fitting etc….. If your horse is staggering or has trouble staying on his/her feet call the vet.

Severe muscle pain e.g. horse unable to move, hind quarter muscles become swollen and hard, sweating, increased pulse and respiration rates, discoloured urine, abnormal swelling and or heat, continuous pain etc…

Difficulty breathing / choking e.g. Choke where coupled with obvious distress, extended head and neck, gasping, noisy breathing, blue tongue, salivation, coughing, grunting, pawing the ground in distress, saliva and food coughed up through the nose / mouth, laboured wheezy breathing, swollen glands making breathing difficult, etc…

Severe diarrhea e.g. horse has continuous and/or painful, putrid and fluid diarrhea.

Fever A horse's normal body temperature ranges between 99 degrees F (37.7 degrees C) and 101.5 degrees F (38.6 degrees C). If your horse's temperature is significantly above or below the normal range call the vet.
Painful eye teary, lid partially or completely closed, the white part of the eye red, or the surface of the eye is cloudy or sudden onset of blindness.
Refusal to eat

Less serious conditions that will still need a visit from the vet include:-
The conditions listed here need prompt attention from a vet but are not as urgent as the ones listed above. Always contact your vet if you are not sure about your horse’s health or if you believe that your horse is not well or its’ condition is deteriorating.

When to Call the Vet