There are numerous reasons why a horse may be down, some of which are very serious. Any horse that is recumbent and cannot rise unassisted is an emergency! In most of these cases time is of the essence when it comes to recovery, so the sooner they can receive veterinary attention the better! Listed are a few of the many reasons a horse can go down:
- Colic
- Laminitis
- Foot abscess
- Broken leg
- Neurologic abnormalities
- A slip and fall
- Old age/arthritis
Before your veterinarian arrives:
- Keep yourself safe! A down horse can thrash and potentially injure themselves and you. If you can keep yourself safe in the process, remove any hazards from around your horse to protect them from hurting themselves.
- Assemble people to help when the veterinarian arrives.
When the veterinarian arrives:
- As long as it is safe to do so, your veterinarian will initially exam your horse listening to the heart, lungs, gastrointestinal tract as well as looking for fractures to determine the cause of being down.
- Depending on the situation, your veterinarian may administer medications prior to assisting the horse in rising.
- Following the initial examination, the important first step is to flip the horse from one side to the other – NEVER attempt flipping without veterinarian supervision and/or previous experience as this can be very dangerous
- Once flipped, the horse is enticed to rise. ALWAYS PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR VETERINARIAN AT THIS TIME AS THEY KNOW HOW TO KEEP EVERYONE SAFE!!
Follow-up care:
If the down horse is able to stand, it is important to attend to the initial cause of being down as well as to care for any wounds they have obtained while down. Most often your veterinarian will instruct you to administer anti-inflammatories (bute or banamine) for the next few days to keep your horse comfortable. Your veterinarian will discuss with you ways to prevent your horse from going down in the future.