Deciding when to call the vet

[SheckyG]

I’m a new paranoid horse owner (my first horse in over 20 years). Just got a young OTTB this year who is cute and fun with lots of personality, and is talented at getting banged up in overnight turnout. Reportedly he is instigating rough play, breaking fence boards, and throwing parties late at night. It seems every time we get over one blown up leg, he injures another. Instead of picking his hooves, the first thing I do each time I put him in the cross ties is check for what is swollen or bleeding.

So far no lameness or serious injuries - but I’m racking up vet bills pretty quickly each time I see a swelling and call the vet to have him checked and then told “looks like he just banged his leg - cold hose, wrap it and give him a few day break to be safe.”

Where do you guys draw the line and decide to have the vet out, vs adopting a wait and see approach? I’d hate to make a wrong call (oops - blown tendon, not a bang…wish I’d called the vet).

To minimize the risk, I’m switching him to day turnout close to the barn where he’ll have some supervision from the barn staff. I lunge or ride him 6 days a week, so lack of work isn’t the issue. He’s good under saddle and on the ground. I’m actually having a hard time imagining such antics but there’s a staff member on site whose bedroom window is 20 ft from the turnout who says horse is quite the wild man at night.

Does anyone have a logical process for decision making they follow for when have the vet come, especially for limb injuries?

[GraceLikeRain]

With limb injuries I look for: swelling, heat, cuts, abrasions, lameness, how the horse is standing on the leg (toe forward, weight shifted off, etc.), and horse’s general demeanor.

If my guy is hanging out in the cross ties happy as a clam with a random swollen area and a little bit of heat or a superficial cut I don’t worry. If the swelling is near tendons or a joint with no lameness then I still sit tight. Cuts don’t get a second look unless it looks deep enough to require stitches.

Lameness without swelling usually gets a 24 hour watch.

Unwillingness to put weight on a leg, shifting, swelling that appears to be progressing, deep cuts, or anything that could have been a puncture gets an immediate phone call and appointment.

[NikkiS]

Turn up 3 legged lame? Vet gets called immediately.

Turn up a little off but seem fairly comfortable? 48 hrs wait

Scratch/cut that does not require sutures? Schreiner’s-love that stuff!!

Any signs of founder, colic, choke obviously get a call right away.

Oh and don’t worry, most of us are paranoid, so we understand

[jawa]

If the leg is swollen, but the horse isn’t lame…cold hose and maybe wrap and try to ensure some quiet time for a couple of days. If the swelling doesn’t get better, call the vet.

If the leg is swollen and the horse is 3 legged lame it’s most likely time to call the vet.

If the horse is slightly lame, you could follow the typical advise the vet would give… Cold hose, poultice, bute, and confine…if things clear up within a couple of days, I’d continue with what I was doing for a week or more and then slowly bring the horse back into work. VERY SLOWLY. If the horse is only slightly better after several days, time to call the vet to get a firm dx.

When your vet comes out, watch what they do and have them explain what they are doing when they palpate and flex and when they do an xray or ultra sound. If you can try to practice the palpation and flexing with their supervision. This is how you gain knowledge about anatomy and injury. This will also give you a chance to develop a relationship with your vet that shows what you know and that you are willing to learn. It can make it so you can give your vet a call and discuss issues over the phone and save a farm call for a true emergency.

[Melissa.Van_Doren]

Anything wrong with an eyeball… non-weight-bearing lameness… gushing blood… deep laceration near a joint… mild colic that doesn’t resolve within an hour of onset… up/down colic… gross swelling anywhere ?? Vet call. No matter what day or hour.

Surface wounds… scrapes and cuts and mild swellings without unsoundness. Clean it up and keep an eye on it.

Really, though… part of learning when not to call the vet comes from experience, and a lot of that is gained from talking to your vet as he/she examines your horse. For new horse owners: better safe than sorry is a good rule to follow.

[betsyk]

My horses are generally not accident prone, fwiw. For cuts, I will call the vet for anything that might need stitches, or punctures, especially near joints or soft tissue, or sudden severe lameness (abscess?) or hugely swollen legs. I’m careful not to put any goop on a cut if there’s any chance I might need the vet to look at it and really, I rarely put goop on cuts anyway. We have awesome vets who are great about talking me through things on the phone, which has saved me many vet calls over the years. It’s a great relationship to cultivate if you can.

[AKB]

I try to look at each injury and imagine the worst case scenario. If it is a cut or puncture near a joint that could go into the joint and cause fatal infection, I call the vet. If he is 3 legged lame, I wonder if there could be a fracture, so I call the vet. If there is swelling over a tendon, time to call the vet. Fever is a vet call. If he is sound, happy, not bleeding puddles, and doesn’t have a fever, I usually wait.

I like to take photos and videos which I send to the vet to avoid unnecessary vet visits. My daughter is our usual vet. She tries to avoid unnecessary visits and is eager to talk me into her not coming out to see my horse.

[fordtraktor]

This is what BOs are for, to help new horse owners distinguish between “time to call the vet” and “it’s just a flesh wound, don’t worry!” It is ultimately the horse owner’s decision, of course, but most of us have had horses for decades and can help walk you through this. My first move in your situation would be to grab the most experienced people around at the time and start asking for advice. You don’t have to take it but it might just save you a lot of money.

In fact, I still do this myself, I often text my boarder pics of some problem and ask what she thinks before I have our vet out, because she is very experienced and I want to make sure I’m not being overly neurotic. It is always good to have a second opinion even when you’ve been doing this a long time.

[horsepoor]

My vet has been really good about letting me text or e-mail him a photo and saying, yes, need to come see it, or, no, just cold hose/wrap/whatever… And he never charges me for those consultations (and I try not to abuse it either). I’ve sent things that were questionable about if it needed stitches or not, things like that. Just the farm call to get my vet here, since I’m a ways out, is $65+ so being able to do this helps me and keeps my vet from having to run out here for little things. I’m also a good client and keep him plenty busy with all the stuff he does have to come out for and regular visits, so not like I’m just calling for free advice!

[yourcolorfuladdictio]

So I’m the panicky type. And I have a horse that is about to make me explode out of my mind (some days, other days she’s perfect). So I get where the paranoia comes from. I have also been privileged to manage a private farm with a young gelding that was pretty sure he was in training to be a stunt man. So I know when to hold off on calling a vet as well.

I tend to try and assess causation with any injury. The big (more common) red flags for me are: non-weight bearing lame, swollen shut eye(s), unusual laying down (rolling, thrashing, groaning, etc), bleeding that won’t stop, if it needs stitches, excessive swelling, and high fever.

Horses are going to run around and twist their fetlocks/knees/hocks/etc in the field every now and then and there will often be some minor swelling and a minimal lameness from it. Some pain meds and some rest and the horse should improve quickly, if it gets worse or there is no change in 72 hours I call the vet.

Eyes are bad, eyes always need a vet, there is no reason (when dealing with an injury to the actual eye) NOT to call the vet. I’ve seen some horses injure their lids superficially without injury to the eye but if you suspect an eye injury, CALL THE VET. Oh and if you have to do eye meds, CATH THE EYE (it makes life easier).

Colic is a tricky thing. If you aren’t going to call the vet, I’d suggest only giving HALF a dose of banamine as a full dose of banamine can mask a surgical colic. If your horse is still in pain after half a dose, call the vet. I just call the vet.

Wounds are frustrating. Anything that penetrates the full thickness of the skin requires some attention. If it over a joint and there is some joint swelling, call the vet. Your horse can get a joint infection, go septic, do all sorts of nasty things even with a reasonably benign seeming cut. I like anything over an inch long that penetrates the full thickness of the skin to be stitched. If it’s in a highly mobile area, I might go as low as a 3/4 inch. Any cut that is accompanied by a fever requires vet attention as well. There is a window of time when stitching is an option and then you are out of it so, ideally, if you think your horse needs stitches you should text an image of the cleaned up injury to your vet. Also, any cut that doesn’t stop bleeding, horses can lose quite a bit of blood but you (ideally) want the vet there before the horses goes down from blood loss.

Excessive swelling may indicate many different problems including lymphangitis, cellulitis, allergic reaction, or internal injury. If it’s a wrap-able area I’ll usually wrap it until the vet gets there. It’s not going to magically go away between the time you call and the time the vet gets there.

High fever is the other reason to call a vet. Often times it is an indication of infection or disease but may be a symptom of something else such as a snake bite. In this instance, it might be pertinent to know things such as: is any other horse sick at the barn, does my horse have any open wounds, and is there any localized or systemic swelling?

Some other things to note would be: If he’s out all day and is in all night, he may be a little swollen come morning from standing in his stall all night. Vets usually don’t mind you texting them, just clear it with your vet first.

[SportingSun]

Well, my geldings love to get into trouble and injure themselves so…

If the leg is puffy with an obvious cut/scratch and the horse is sound with minimal heat in the leg, I will cold hose, treat the injury, wrap, and maybe give them a gram of bute depending on the horse and if I think the leg is going to get worse before it gets better.
Any sort of increase in swelling or start of lameness, I’ll ask my vet for an opinion, possibly start on antibiotics, and have her out if either one of us thinks it’s necessary.
Huge blown up leg? Vet gets called even if the horse is sound.
Lameness is more tricky. If I think it’s originating from an abscess, no vet, leave on regular turnout, bute to take the edge off, soaking with Epsom salts as much as the horse will tolerate.
Otherwise, if there is obvious lameness but the horse appears to be fairly comfortable standing and not in obvious pain, the vet comes out for the next available appointment.
Slight lameness gets stall rest and bute for 48 hours.
Founder, colic, choke, cuts that need stitches, lymphangitis, horse in obvious pain, vet gets called ASAP.
Things like hives, sweet itch, bites, weepy eyes, etc generally don’t get vet attention unless things get worse or don’t go away in a reasonable amount of time.

[SheckyG]

So much good advice! When I have time I might try to consolidate all this into a flowchart. I do think I need to spend a few moments with my vet as was suggested to watch him palpate tendons, etc, and see what he looks for.

[gottagrey]

Originally posted by GracelikeRain Anything wrong with an eyeball… non-weight-bearing lameness… gushing blood… deep laceration near a joint… mild colic that doesn’t resolve within an hour of onset… up/down colic… gross swelling anywhere ?? Vet call. No matter what day or hour.

Surface wounds… scrapes and cuts and mild swellings without unsoundness. Clean it up and keep an eye on it.

Really, though… part of learning when not to call the vet comes from experience, and a lot of that is gained from talking to your vet as he/she examines your horse. For new horse owners: better safe than sorry is a good rule to follow

Originally posted by Fordtraktor This is what BOs are for, to help new horse owners distinguish between “time to call the vet” and “it’s just a flesh wound, don’t worry!” It is ultimately the horse owner’s decision, of course, but most of us have had horses for decades and can help walk you through this. My first move in your situation would be to grab the most experienced people around at the time and start asking for advice. You don’t have to take it but it might just save you a lot of money.

In fact, I still do this myself, I often text my boarder pics of some problem and ask what she thinks before I have our vet out, because she is very experienced and I want to make sure I’m not being overly neurotic. It is always good to have a second opinion even when you’ve been doing this a long time.

These 2 posts sum it up quite nicely. Much of it is learned by experience and sometimes you know by the horse’s behavior/attitude. Some horses might be a bit off but very happy, other times horses can have something that looks like nothing but the horse’s attitude will tell you something’s not quite right and that might be time to call the vet. One afternoon my BO called me to let me know horse had what looked like an infected bug bite or something… but it was his attitude that caused her concern - did I want vet or not. Yes. Well it turned out to be much worse than a old bug bite, he had an umbilical hernia where his intestine had dropped thru the hernia!! If it had not been for the BO/M knowing my horse & his personality I would’ve lost him…

[JackieBlue]

SheckyG, does your horse share a fence line with others? When I’ve had these types of repeatedly swollen legs, it’s usually hind legs and the problem is usually “disquiet” along a fence line (or lines). Some horses will always tangle themselves up when sharing a fence line and the repeat injuries magically disappear when you get them in a situation where there aren’t other horses on the other the side of the fence (or put up a line of hot wire to keep everybody off the fence). Trust me. Even you have a generally gregarious horse who’s fine with his own set of buddies, duke-ing it out or even playing with fence boards in the way is just asking for banged up and torqued legs.

[SheckyG]

JackieBlue, he does share a fence on both sides. So he’s got temptation on both sides! There isn’t a turnout option with no neighbor horses, but they do have hot wire along the fence line. Apparently it has not been on, so I’m going to ask them to “fire it up” so to speak.

I’m feeling a lot more relieved about the day time “supervised turnout” (makes him sounds like a delinquent) and once the hot wire is on I’ll feel even better. They only apprehension I had about switching from night to day is that night turnout is longer, vs day turnout which is available in short 4 hour “shifts”. However, the barn agreed to let him be out for 2 shifts, which means instead of 4 hours he’ll be out for 8. Not ideal, but within the limits of the boarding set up, I’m just glad to get this option and that they are trying to work with me (no one else gets this and turnout time is coveted - I think I got the young crazy horse exception).

Meanwhile - I got to see him in action today during turnout, and I see what they mean about him being a bit “lively”. He was doing his best Arab impression with tail waving in the air and literally “boinging” up and down and shaking head like he is the hottest thing around :roll eyes: …punctuated by occasionally going to the fence to taunt a neighbor. He is a really silly horse.