Emergency
Is it an emergency?
If you are already worried, ring now: 01291 496 0169, at any hour. Otherwise, choose what you can see below. This is general guidance, and it does not replace a vet looking at your horse.
What can you see?
- ColicRolling, pawing, looking at the belly, off food
- Sudden lamenessWon’t put the foot down, or is suddenly very sore
- A woundA cut, a puncture, or anything bleeding
- A sore eyeClosed, weeping, swollen or looking different
- FoalingShe has started, or the foal is not right
Ring today. Ring now if it is near a joint, a puncture, or will not stop bleeding.
Stitches work best within a few hours, so it is always worth a photo and a call. What matters most is what is under the wound, and a tiny hole over a joint can be far worse than a big flap on the chest.
Ring straight away if
- Any wound over or near a joint or tendon sheath
- A hole, or something still in the horse
- Bright red blood that spurts or does not slow within ten minutes
While we drive
- Press on anything that is bleeding with a clean pad, and keep pressing.
- Hose it gently with clean water, low pressure, for ten minutes.
- Take a photo and send it to us by text to the number below.
- Check when its last tetanus jab was. The passport has that.
Please do not
- Do not use powders, sprays or creams before we have seen it. They get in the way.
- Do not pull out anything stuck in the horse. Hold it still and ring.
- Do not assume small means minor.
General guidance, not a diagnosis. If what you see does not fit this page, or you just do not like the look of your horse, ring. You know your horse, and that counts.
Worried? Ring. Nobody here minds an unnecessary call.
A vet answers, day or night, and advice on the phone is free. For everything else, there is a round day.