First time taking a horse in for surgery: what to expect?

One of my horses is going in to get knee chips removed tomorrow. I’m dropping him off on Monday and picking him up on Wednesday. This is my first time with a hospital stay where I’m 100% in charge, and I don’t know what to expect.

I’m bringing individually bagged grain meals, two bales of hay, and debating picking up some ulcergard (or do they have that there? Can I request it?).

Should I provide standing wraps? Also, this horse is barefoot and can be tenderfooted. I could shoe him today, but someone told me it’s best to have them bare for waking up out of surgery. I assume they lay them down for this. Would being footy on rocks be an issue for them? He’s fine in the stall and on grass.

Lastly, would it be a problem to have Ace or Traz on board for trailering in? His procedure isn’t until Tuesday if I’m correct, but I don’t want to mess anything up.

Anything else I should consider? I know it’s last minute but now I’m getting anxious :sweat_smile:. Any input would be appreciated.

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Absolutely ask the vet about the drugs for hauling.

In general, when I have had a horse hospitalized, they want as little as your stuff as possible. They don’t want to keep track of your standing wraps and make sure you get them back. I wouldn’t send anything. They have what they need.

If you want him on ulcergard, ask them for that. Yes, they’ll have it there.

Consider what your hard lines are. If there’s any concern about finding surprises in the joint, discuss ahead of time with the vet team about what those may be, what they mean, and if there’s a scenario where they need to consult you before proceeding, or before waking up the horse. Have the same convo about recovery risks. I know it’s grim, but it’s so much better to be prepared in case of a poor turn.

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My experience is over 20yrs ago & it’s very likely things could have changed.
My TB had the same surgery back then & same length of stay. This was done at my vet’s private clinic.
Not sure if he was laid down or sedated & operated on while in stocks.

Ask vet about Tranq to haul in.
I’d bring hay, grain might be withheld pre or post-surgery, but bagging a couple days to have there won’t hurt.
If they provide Ulcerguard it might cost more than you’re paying. Again, ask vet if you can supply your own.
I’d skip the standing wraps, knee could be surgically wrapped.
My guy had a 2-piece plaster cast as well that had to be removed, surgical site cleaned, cast put back & the whole thing rewrapped for - IIRC - a month-ish. Cast covered the knee & about 4" above & below.
I was working FT & paid one of the stableworkers (with track experience) to do this bandaging when I couldn’t be there.
Barefoot shouldn’t be a problem.
Surgical recovery stalls are matted for sterilization purposes & stalls at the big clinics are kept immaculate & deeply bedded.

Doing the Quick Recovery Dance :dancer:
My guy was back to 100% even before the cast came off

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Thanks. I’ll definitely ask about the drugs, and bring as little as possible then!

Thanks! Luckily we are being proactive here, the chips haven’t bothered him at all so far. This is a resale project (technically) so I’m getting them removed just in case. Hopefully it’ll be a smooth recovery!

They will lay him down for this surgery. They will also withhold food the night before and may or may not feed them a soupy mix of some kind after. It’s fine to send bagged grain for the couple of feedings he will need. If they have the same type food of hay you feed, I wouldn’t even leave that though.

As someone else said, send as little of your own stuff as possible and don’t send anything you care about getting back. They likely will not have ulcerguard, but for sure will have Gastroguard. They also don’t care if he has shoes on or not, as long as there is no lameness exam involved. It’s still a good idea to tell them he can be a bit ouchy on certain surfaces.

The one leg will have a (probably) full limb bandage on after and will not need your standing wrap anyway. Unless a horse really needed standing wraps for some reason, I would not provide or ask a vet clinic to put them on for me.

Ace is fine, I’m not sure about traz. Best to ask. You can also ask them to make sure he has something during his stay if needed and for pick up.

Make sure you understand what the bandaging requirements will be after. Set up regular bandage changes with your vet for after if needed.

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Thank you. This is helpful! He’s getting both knees done, so definitely no wraps needed then.

Should I bring his blanket? We are getting slammed with a winter storm (because why not) and I don’t know what the barns are like. He won’t need one in the trailer but he is used to being bundled up. He’s not clipped though.

I guess I can bring the blanket in case, and just ask.

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I would take the blanket. IME, most clinics only have a few extras and who knows what size they are or what weight they are. Some places have somewhat climate controlled barns though, so maybe double check when you get there. And make sure it’s labeled in some way!

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I would keep him barefoot. When my horse had surgery, his shoes were pulled beforehand, then replaced at a very high cost.

Okay noted. Mine go in glue ons, and taking off a fresh set might make some poor tech quit entirely :joy:

As others have mentioned do not expect to get anything back. Use your rattiest old halter & lead rope. Best of luck for a routine procedure and quick recovery.

This may or may not be helpful, but I just had a visit for a scheduled surgery in early December, my first time at a surgical clinic of this type. My mare was scheduled for sequestrum removal surgery (bone chip).

I thought I’d hand off the horse and that would be it, but it was a long and detailed process. A tech met us at the trailer to assist with leading inside if I needed help, but I led my mare in myself. A second person also came to the trailer to collect her things. I had pre-bagged feed; I did not bring anything else to leave there with her except for her halter and lead, onto which I added name tags with her/my name, and the paper intake sheet that had been requested with very detailed areas for feed, supplements, etc.

We went into the surgical facility (quite an experience for my young mare and I!) and spoke briefly to the vets before we went back outside to do a basic lameness exam. A tech took her for the trot up, which was wonderful because I could watch (typically I am the one trotting along). They then took her to do x-rays for about a half hour. I was not allowed in the x-ray room due to ray exposure but could stand right outside the concrete walls. After this, we all went over to the examination bays (open wash stall type units) and the vets did numerous ultrasounds that I was able to watch. She was not sedated for x-rays but was sedated for ultrasound (horse dependent). There were cross ties in the examination bay but a tech held her lead rope.

We discussed the results and it turned out my mare possibly did NOT need surgery due to some very positive changes since her last ultrasound. We did some treatments while there and the vet wrapped her leg at the end with a standing bandage from padding, elastikon, that fibrous brown wrap, and vetwrap. I cannot speak to the surgery portion myself, since we ended up not doing the surgery thus far. However if she had needed surgery at that point she would have been taken to a stall that was already labeled with her name and prepared for her and kept until the next day. I would be allowed to watch the surgery if I wanted. I had spoken to vet previously and the bandaging after surgery sounded very involved - you could have a set of standing wraps in trailer, but I believe they will do their own complex bandages after surgery (I was advised I would likely want to have a veterinarian come out to do bandage changes for at least a few weeks).

I received discharge instructions verbally from the vet and written instructions the next day. I went to pay my bill while my horse was put in a stall. I was able to talk about all my questions and concerns with the vets while a tech was holding my mare so I could focus on them and not splitting my attention between the two. At checkout, I was asked if I needed help loading, which I declined (my mare is typically good, and I had a helper/emotional support person with me).

The facility was very quiet and calm. We saw a few other horses in stalls, but no horses were actively being led/examined at the same time for this first visit. At subsequent visits, a horse was led past us briefly, and at another, a horse was in the surgical suite receiving surgery (being lifted with a hoist).

My mare has thin soles and was unshod at this time (typically wears glue-ons or boots when in work on varied terrain but does not require them for stall/paddock). She did not need shoes at any time during her visits. The stalls are, as mentioned above, padded and thickly bedded. The vets were mindful of her trot up on pavement and I told them she has thin soles. There is no turnout at the surgical facility I went to, so there was no concern for rocky footing. I personally would not bother to shoe.

Re: blankets, the barn at the surgical facility I went to was heated to 55 degrees (this was indicated in literature). My mare uses a blanket typically only when it is in the teens, so I did not bring one for her. You could ask about the temperature control in the recovery barn and determine what might be needed based on that. I did bring an assortment of coolers for the trailer because my mare can get nervous alone in the trailer and start sweating. I did need to use them for trailering and was glad I had multiple. I would bring a labeled/tagged stable blanket and determine at arrival if it was needed to leave it there.

I had no idea what to expect and was extremely nervous for our appointment. It was a positive experience (as much as needing this type of care can be) and the vets were extremely kind, knowledgeable, and thorough, and the techs were all wonderful with my mare. It was all very calm, clean, and low stress and I had the opportunity to discuss with the vet without needing to keep an ear and eye on my mare, which was one of my concerns (farm visits by my regular vet often include this complication, where I’m managing two things at once).

Hoping you have a positive experience and great outcome!

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Thank you so much!

Now I’m worried about the roads… I saw 8 cars in the ditch on my drive to the barn today (it started snowing). I had to pull out some latent ice-driving skills from when I lived up north too, I did quite a bit of sliding around. So very thankful to have 4WD and good tires on the truck!

It is supposed to rain and barely break freezing tomorrow morning, and just get really cold after. That’s concerning considering I have to drive 3 hours north. I don’t want to call the school on the weekend to reschedule but I also feel bad calling them on intake day - I already had to reschedule once! Safety first and all that, but darn if it ain’t frustrating. If I reschedule, the weather will certainly clear up.

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If they handle emergencies then call today. You may have to press the extension for emergency to get to talk to a real human. They’d rather have a heads up that you might cancel, and the staff there on Sunday may have access to the calendar.

As others have said, bring as little as possible but whatever you do bring, label it. I took a feed bucket full of meds from my regular DVM and it happened to be the same color bucket the hospital used for everything so I just got a random bucket back. :rofl: Use a sharpie or tags for halter/lead/blanket.

Hospitals almost always have standing wraps so if he stocks up they can use their own.

Bagged grain is fine, they might not want your hay if they have the same type. You can always bring it in the trailer and not leave it if they don’t want it.

If you plan on visiting while he’s there, bring cookies. They don’t always have those and they made my mare happy. :blush:

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Thank you for this - I called and the nice receptionist said she’d message the coordinators and I should call in the morning to reschedule. The worst of it is supposed to hit us 5am-12pm, my exact window for being on the road :roll_eyes:. Then get down to the teens and freeze everything.

Ugh. It’s so fun when the weather won’t cooperate!

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Bring the blanket. It may be warm enough in the barn to go without, it probably will be heated, but it’s nice to have on hand. Bring and old one if you’ve got it and label it.
Ask as many questions as you need to to feel comfortable. Squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Sending jingles!

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Okay:

  • old 200g blanket, labeled. I won’t cry if this one doesn’t make it back
  • 3 meals bagged grain, will ask if they need it. He eats a Purina product, they’ll likely have some
  • 2 bales of hay, will ask if they want it. Can stay on the trailer if not
  • coolers for transport if needed, kept in tack room
  • ulcergard at home, will request some from vet while he’s there
  • Xanax for me (half kidding)
  • jingles for good weather on reschedule

It’s been tough getting this appointment done. I’m wondering if the stars just won’t line up for a reason. Wish I knew what that reason was!

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A few years ago had a horse that required surgery and I gave her ulcerguard the day she left, the 2 days she was in the hospital and 4 days when she came home. This was a horse that always had diarrhea at horse shows. When given ulcerguard for the shows the diarrhea stopped.

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Please don’t risk it. It’s not an emergency. It’s not worth ending up in a ditch or having someone crash into you.

I’m a good driver on slippery roads but you can’t control how other people drive, and some people don’t drive at all well in bad weather. :wink:

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No shoes. They may take your grain and may or may not want your hay. One blanket is ok. Here, the hospital doesn’t even use your halter—they have their own and yours goes back to your trailer.

You may want to leave your trailer there till he’s released and not drive empty if the roads could be iffy.

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When my beloved horse was in the hospital, I took food for the staff. He was in quite a while and I wanted them to know how much I appreciated the care. OP, yours may not be there long enough to do that…

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