FIRST AID FOR HORSES
When?
 Horse has sustained wounds and/or injuries
 Accident remote, e.g. long distance ride
Why?
 To give wounds the best chance for a speedy healing
 To assess whether or not your vet needs to attend
 To collect information you can pass on over the phone to your vet or
helpers
What?
 Mobile phone: contacts on speed dial, e.g. yard owner, friend with
transport, veterinary surgery, 999
 First aid kit
When to call for veterinary assistance:
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No tetanus cover
Cut larger than 2 inches
Bleeding not stopped
Horse lame
Wound over joints or tendon sheaths
Horse pale, sweaty, trembling, fast pulse
Vital Signs:
Pulse – 28 to 40 beats per minute at rest (measure on facial artery)
Respiratory Rate – 8 to 16 breaths per minute at rest
Rectal Temperature – 37.5 to 38°C / 99 to 100/101° F (foals up to 38.5°C /
101.3°F)
Increased pulse and breathing rate (at rest) can mean:
Pain
Heart/lung disease
Exhaustion
Horse is alarmed
WOUNDS
A.
Open
Cut: Well defined wound edges of varying depth caused by sharp injury
often bleed profusely. In general, most are easily sutured with good
healing tendencies.
Laceration: Ragged wound edges caused by objects that tear rather
than cut. Some degree of bruising and tissue necrosis.
Puncture Wounds: Caused by nails, wires, large splinters, pitchforks,
etc. Small entry wound, depth difficult to gauge. High risk of driving
bacteria and dirt deep into tissues with little drainage.
Penetrating Wounds: Into body cavities, e.g. thorax/abdomen.
Abrasions
B.
Bleeding
Arterial Bleeding: Strong, occasionally spurting in pulses synchronous
with heart beat, bright red. These are the bleeds that need pressure
applied and in severe circumstances may need to be tied off or clamped.
Venous Bleeding: Dripping, dark red colour, can be quite strong and
lasting too. Moderate pressure bandage usually suffices.
Capillary Bleeding: Oozing. Usually stops within 20 minutes. Bandage
mostly to keep clean.
Most wounds we encounter in horses stop bleeding on their own accord.
Horses rarely bleed to death from wounds below knee or hock.
Thoroughbreds need to lose about 10 to 15 litres of blood before
circulation is seriously affected.
C.
Contamination
Each open wound is contaminated to a higher or lesser degree from the
start. High degree of contamination will lead to infection and delay wound
healing. The earlier dirt is removed from the wound and surrounding
area, the better.
Dirty Wounds:
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Hosing or rinsing with clean potable water or, preferably, saline
solution.
Use relatively low pressure (no pressure hosing) to prevent dirt and
germs from being driven deeper into tissue.
Clean from centre of wound to the outside.
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D.
If open wound is relatively clean and skin around it very dirty, apply
Hydrogel or Vaseline as barrier to wound before cleaning skin around
it.
Age
“Golden period” for suturing: within the first 6 hours.
Age of wound is correlated to degree of contamination and cell necrosis
which in turn determines whether wound can be closed by suture. But:
Delayed closure is possible in wounds that have previously received
medical treatment.
E.
Location
Cave wounds over joints, tendon sheaths and bursas: synovial structures
that have very little defence mechanisms against bacteria. Contamination
will almost always lead to infection which is very difficult to treat. These
injuries need synovial lavage, often under GA.
F.
“Closed Wounds”
Soft tissue damage sustained by broad, blunt forces causing bruises,
sprains and muscle and tendon fibre damage without breaking of skin.
Swelling, heat, pain.
First Aid: Cool packs, ice cube bags, cold hosing for 2 to 3 days. Gels
containing Heparin against blood clotting and camphor as cooling agent.
Possibly support measures in form of boots, bandages or splints.
FIRST AID KIT
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Clean bucket, bowl and scissors
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Disposable gloves
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Roll of cotton wool
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Small bottle of disinfectant wash, e.g. Pevidine, Hibiscrub, Savlon
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2 Hydrogel to keep wound moist, reduce contamination and prevent
dressing from sticking
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Sterile wound dressings:
o 4 to 5 strips Melolin or Allevyn onto wound
o Soffban or Orthoban or cotton wool as second layer
o 4 K-band to keep everything contoured to limb
o 4 Co-Flex or Vetrap to apply pressure/keep bandage in place
o Treatplast or Elastoplast to stick to hair
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Poultice material Animalintex (boric acid as antiseptic, Tragacanth
powder turns to gel and draws out infection, use boiled, cooled down
water), VetSet PolDress
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Poultice cloth, boot or sack
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Isotonic Saline
o Shop-bought: Vetivex 0.9% saline
o Home-made: slightly heaped measure teaspoon of salt in 1 litre
boiled, cooled down water, in sterilised bottle/container
o Spray bottle or syringe to irrigate
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Cut Heal ointment or spray for minor grazes and small cleaned cuts
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Possibly thermometer