Equine Emergencies
In an emergency ring 01899 220073 (Biggar) or 01721 722879 (Peebles) 24 hours 365 days
Three out of our six vets have their own horses, and we all understand how worrying it is to have an ill or injured horse or pony. If you have an emergency, we will come as soon as we possibly can, day or night. Emergencies come before routine work, and we will cancel or leave routine appointments to visit emergency cases immediately. Below are a few examples of cases which we would prioritise as urgent or emergency.
Colic
‘Colic’ is a general term for abdominal pain in the horse. Signs include lying down more, rolling, flank-watching, belly kicking and dullness/depression. Colic can vary from mild and short-lived, to very severe with the horse throwing itself at the floor with no regard for itself or people around it.
Colic has a number of causes, including spasm of the guts, an impaction, a twist or a tumour of the guts, or grass sickness. Many colics will respond to symptomatic treatment, but some require referral for possible surgery.
Please contact us immediately if you think your horse has colic.
Laminitis
Severe laminitis is an emergency due to the possibility of the pedal bone starting to rotate downwards, and in the worst cases ending up projecting out through the sole.
Laminitis is often multifactorial - horses and ponies may be genetically pre-disposed, may be overweight, have worked on hard ground recently, had feet trimmed enthusiastically, may have had access to too much sugar-rich grass, or have Cushings disease. If several of the factors occur at once this might tip an at-risk pony over into having an episode.
If you are concerned that your horse or pony has laminitis please contact us immediately.
Non-weight bearing lameness
If you see your horse on three legs, try not to panic. The most likely cause is probably a foot abscess, which should be reasonably easy for us to diagnose and treat.
However there are more serious causes such as a fracture - this could be obvious if there is a wound, or not at all obvious if the skin is unbroken or if its within the hoof. It could also be caused by a septic joint or tendon sheath, most likely following a wound. Damage to nerves or muscles could also follow trauma.
Try not to move your horse if he’s very painful, and call us immediately.
Foaling
Thankfully the vast majority of mares foal themselves without any assistance. However if a foaling is going wrong, it does so very quickly, and calls to foalings are one of our most urgent emergencies.
The problem is often malpresentation of the foal, so one or both legs back, or the foal coming backwards. Mares have very powerful contractions and foals have very long legs, so it can be difficult to sort things out quickly. Other problems include a dead or deformed foal, major haemorrhage in the mare, or a ruptured uterus.
Retained placenta
After foaling, the placenta should be delivered within 4 hours. Beyond this time, remnants of the placenta can cause severe inflammation and result in bacterial infection of the uterus, progressing to septicaemia, endotoxaemia and severe laminitis. This condition can be fatal.
It is important to check after foaling that the whole placenta has been expelled by laying it out on the ground and noting the shape and any torn or missing areas. If you are in doubt, or its 3hrs after foaling and the placenta is still attached, please call us.
Wounds
Wounds are easiest to treat when they are fresh, so all wounds that may need suturing should be seen urgently.
If a wound is bleeding profusely, pressure should be appplied until we arrive, using a clean dressing, gamgee and bandages.
Sometimes wounds on the legs which appear fairly superficial can result in damage to underlying structures such as tendons, or allow bacteria to enter joints or tendon sheaths which can be very serious, so its best if we can evaluate these as soon as possible.
