Horse First Aid

 

"IF IN DOUBT CALL THE VET!"

First Aid Kit

A pony owner should have a first aid kit with emergency tools and medicine stored always in the same place and in a sealed container.
Your kit should include the following:

• Wire cutters and a good sharp file. Do not rely on using someone elses, if your pony is caught in a fence you will need it immediately.
  
• Antiseptic lotion, dressing for wounds, colic relief, animal lintex, elastic bandage and lint. (Get these from your vet)
  
• Buffer, hammer and pincers to take off a shoe. Even if you do not do this yourself it's good to have the tools handy.
  
• Good scissors and knife
  
• Animal thermometer
  
• Stethoscope

Temperature

A ponys average temperature should be around 37.5‘ C.  If you need to take the internal temperature of your pony it must be done in the rectum. Stand to the side of the ponys backside and hold its tail. Put some vaseline on the thermometer, hold it upright and insert the bulb into the ponys rectum.  Keep it there for 2 minutes to get an accurate reading. If the reading is over 39.5‘ C, you should call the vet. If your pony objects to having its temperature taken and you find it too difficult get a professional to do it.


Pulse

The average pulse for a pony at rest is 36 to 40 beats per minute, a foals will be higher. You can take your ponys pulse with a stethoscope or by pressing your fingers on a large artery that runs under the cheekbone. Place the stethoscope just in front of the girth, behind the ponys elbow. Count the number of beats for 15 seconds then multipy the number by 4 to get the beats per minute, or you could just count for 1 minute. When using the stethoscope count each 'lub-dub' as 1 beat.  If you are using your fingers, do not use your thumb as you can confuse your own pulse. The pulse will be greatly increased if the pony is distressed or in pain. If your ponys pulse is not raised due to excercise or excitement then you should call a vet.


Wounds

If your pony has a serious wound (ie torn flesh hanging, punctures) you should call the vet straight away.  Most wounds can be treated yourself without the need to call the vet. Clean any wounds and use antiseptic prescribed from your vet, dry it with a clean soft cloth and dress it with prescribed dressing.  Do not bathe the wound more than necessary but do so if the surface is messy before putting on clean dressing.  Wounds heal better when exposed to air but if there are flies around its better to protect the wound with a bandage if possible.  A gauze should be used for a leg wound and held in place with bandages above and below the wound, to save the pony hurting from the bandage pressing on the sore wound.  Constant movement of the leg(s) can aggrevate the wound and make it prone to fly strike.  You should inspect it everyday and if you find maggots, wash the wound with warm water and some added kerosene, which will kill and remove the maggots.  Very serious wounds may require an injection of penicillin and anti-tetanus, consult your vet for advice.

Founder or Laminitis

Cause: Founder is caused by too much carbohydrates, spring grass, rich feed or obesity can lead to this too. It causes inflammation of the membrane between the horny wall of the hoof and the pedal bone and sensitive inner parts of the hoof.  This results in great pain for the pony as there is much pressure on the nerves.

Symptoms: A pony with founder will be reluctant to move and may lie down or sit on its hind legs to try and relieve the pressure from the pain in the front feet.  Lying down can be an early sign of founder.

Prevention: Watch your ponys weight, if it gets too fat or if the crest on its neck becomes harder than usual, you should lock it up and restrict grazing.  You can use temporary electric fencing if you have no small yards.  The pony should only be allowed to graze for 1 hour morning and night.  Give your pony excercise to help increase blood circulation and keep its feet healthy.  Don't suddenly change the feed, instead gradually introduce new feeds over a few days, this includes grass aswell as hard feed.

Treatment: If your pony shows sign of foundering you should contact a Vet.  Don't let the pony walk around too much and hose its feet or stand it in a wet muddy patch until the vet arrives. Once a pony has foundered it will be susceptible to it recurring even if it was only a small case, as it can cause permanent damage to the ponys feet.

Girth Galls, Saddle Sores or Sweat Lumps

Cause: Saddle sores are caused by the friction between the saddle or harness and the pony.  The hair is rubbed off and can become raw or infected due to the pony having soft or dirty skin used with a hard or dirty girth.  Tears, cuts or splits can occur when a saddle or harness sticks to the skin and is suddenly moved leading to painfull swelling of the layers of skin.

Symptoms: The ponys skin will become raw, swollen or blistered most likely around the withers and girth area. It will be painful to the pony when the affected area is touched.

Prevention: Before saddling up, the saddle and girth should be brushed to remove all traces of dirt, hair, dust and sweat.  After riding, the saddle and girth should be washed and dried thoroughly. Use a fairly clean saddle blanket underneath the saddle.  For a pony with a fine coat, its recommended you use a sheepskin cover on your girth.

Treatment: Contact a vet to obtain an ointment and dress the wounds daily.  Do not ride your pony until it has healed.

Colds

Cause: If a pony has not been properly cooled down after rigorous exercise or gotten cold and wet (left in cold weather), it can catch a cold.

Symptoms: Sore throat and reluctance to swallow (often water).  Coughing, runny nose and raised temprature.

Prevention: Colds are infectious so keep your sick pony away from others and do not use the same bridle or feed buckets.

Treatment: Keep your pony warm with a rug and keep him in a stable or sheltered paddock out of the wind. Do not ride your pony.  Dampen the feed as dust may irritate the lungs and cause him to cough more. If your pony does not start to recover after a few days call your Vet.

Colic

Cause: Sudden changes of feed, worm infestation, spoiled feed, work too soon before or after feeding, accumilation of sand in the intestine (from grubbing for roots of grass).

Symptoms: Colic is abdominal (stomach) pain, the pony will be restless, sweating, pawing the ground, looking at or kicking its flanks, rolling or lying on its back. May also have raised temprature or pulse and is generally unhappy.

Prevention: Keep the feed somewhere where the pony cannot get to it and over eat. Introduce new feeds slowly over a few days. Feed your pony an hour after work is finished. If a pony has more work to do than normal do not give it extra feed.

Treatment: Try to stop the pony from rolling (as it can cause itself more damage), to do this keep it walking around and keep it warm.  Call a vet immediatly and do not give the pony feed or water until you have advice from the Vet.

Lameness

Cause: Bruising on the soles, hoofs trimmed to short, shoe nails pinching a nerve, cracked hoofs, injured tendons or ligaments, arthritus in joints, diseases of bones or joints, a shoe put on too tight.

Symptoms: Your pony will move unevenly, possibly not putting full weight on one leg (ie. limping) by making shorter steps with that leg.   It is normal for a pony to rest one hind leg but if it continually points one front leg out as it stands there is definatly trouble. Heat and swelling will indicate an injury. To check for a bruised sole tap it all over for any tender spots.  When the pony is walking he will put his head up and down, depending on whether or not he is standing on the sore foot.

Prevention: Sea water has been used as a preventative as well as curative medium and has been commonly used for centuries. Hosing down or sponging the ponys legs with cold water is used alternatively to sea water (when its not available) for the prevention of lameness. Have a professional farrier do the trimming and shoeing of your ponys hoofs.
 
Treatment: Do not ride your pony if you notice it is lame. Call your farrier if the pony was recently shod or had its hoofs trimmed. Clean the hoofs thoroughly to make sure no sticks or stones are lodged into the sole or under the shoe.  Call your vet and treat the problem accordingly and remember to rest your pony until it is pain free, unless advised otherwise by your vet.

Mud Fever and Greasy Heels

Cause: A cut or rub under the pastern can allow an infection to penetrate the skin. The ponys legs being continually wet or muddy can also cause mud fever without there being in initial wound. Ponys with white hair and pink skin are more prone to mud fever.

Symptoms: The pony will have a condition called "greasy heel" where the area is cracked quite deeply, sore and covered in a thick greasy matter.  Legs may have sores or scabs on them and will have an odour. The pony may be lame.

Prevention: Keep the pony out of constant wet or muddy conditions. If this is not possible, catch it each day and let its legs dry, then clean off all the mud with a dandy brush. Barrier creams can be applied to clean, dry legs or bandages and wraps can be worn to help prevent mud fever.

Treatment: Wash the affected areas with warm water, antibacterial shampoo and rough towelling to remove hard nodules and scabs. It may be painful for the pony but the cleaning and open air will help the healing process. Treat the area with a Mud Fever product and also each day rub healing ointment over the affected areas. If the ponys condition is very serious, please contact your vet.

Poisoned Foot ( Abcess )

Cause: An abcess forms on the membrane between the sole and pedal bone. It may be caused by bruising, due to the pony stepping on a stone, nails penetrating the sole or another sharp object.  Pus forms and has no means of escape, causing pressure on sensitive parts and is very painful.

Symptoms: The pony will be lame and the condition will worsen. The pony will not put its weight on the affected foot

Prevention: Keep your pony in a clean and debris free environment. Practice good hoof care.

Treatment: It is best to contact a farrier or vet to have them open the sole below the abcess and let the puss drain out.  This will relieve the ponys pain and let healing take place quicker.  If the abcess is left unattended, poison can work its way up between the hoof wall and pedal bone, then break out at the heel or coronet.

Sore Back

Cause: A sore back is usually caused by injuries from the saddle, the rider not sitting correctly or too much work when the pony is unfit.

Symptoms: The pony will be unfit for riding, it will shrink down when weight is put onto the saddle or when a hand is pressed on its back. The pony may have bruising or sores.

Prevention: Exercise for the pony and routine checks on the fit of the saddle should be implemented.

Treatment: Rest your pony until the bruising clears up.  Use a soft sheepskin saddlecloth and be careful handling the ponys back at all times.

Sore Mouth

Cause: Rubbing on the lips from the bit makes the ponys mouth raw and painful.

Symptoms: The corners of the ponys mouth where the bit rests will be rubbed raw.

Prevention: Start work gradually and grease the spots before they get sore. Also ensure you keep a clean bit at all times.

Treatment: Do not have your pony wear a bit until it has healed.

Strangles

Cause: It is caused by a bacterium, Streptococcus equi and is highly contagious. A pony that has had the disease and recovered from it, can still spread it up to 8 months later.

Symptoms: Pus discharge from nostrils, sore throat, pony will not want to eat or drink, swelling around the throat. The swellings will become abcesses that can burst and weep puss.

Prevention: Your pony should be vaccinated and given a booster every 6 months.  Keep a sick pony away from other ponies, aswell as keeping the feeding buckets, tools and equipment used on the sick pony away from others.

Treatment: Contact your vet to observe your pony and prescibe a treatment. Keep the pony warm and feed small amounts of damp chaff and bran, placed at a level where the pony does not have to lower its head too far.


Sweet Itch or sometimes Queensland Itch

Cause: The most common cause is an irritation from the bites of sand flies (midges). The saliva of the midge causes an allergic reaction, making the pony itchy and uncomfortable, causing it damage its skin from rubbing.

Symptoms: The pony will rub itself against any fixed object. The excessive rubbing will cause hair to fall out (along the midline and the mane), crusts, scabs or scales (on the base of the tail or around the ears). Skin wil be red and inflammed.

Prevention: Avoid keeping your pony in mashy places with stale water where the midges thrive.   Higher ground, open areas where wind can flow through helps keep the bugs away.  If the ponys condition is mild, stable it at dawn and dusk, as this is a peak feeding time for midges. Keeping the doors/windows of the stable shut and a having a celing fan can also help to keep midges out. You can also use insecticides and insect repellents.

Treatment: Soothing lotions, Anti-histimines or Corticosteroids are used to give the pony relief from the itching. If the symptoms are severe you should get your pony looked at by a vet.


Cribbing & Wind Sucking

Cause: Ponys naturally want to nibble and graze, if the pony is stabled a lot, the pony will get bored and adopt bad habits to amuse itself.

Symptoms: For cribbing, the pony will bite on stall partitions, doors or posts with its front teeth, tensing its face muscles and neck and gulp down air. Wind Suckers will flex their neck, gulp air and make a grunting sound. Horses that wind suck, don't bite onto and object to perform the habit.  Wind sucking and cribbing can cause an over development of the neck muscles and poor performance.  Cribbing can do damage to the teeth.

Prevention: Keep your horse amused with more excersise, less time in stable, stable toys or a companion animal such as another horse or goat.

Treatment: Make cribbing less enjoyable by painting posts etc with anti-crib liquid. An anti cribbing/wind sucking collar can be placed on your pony to fdeter it from flexing the neck muscles when trying to suck in air.


Warts

Cause: Warts are caused by an infection or virus called Papilloma.  Young ponys are more prone to warts as their immune systems are not as developed as an older one.

Symptoms: Cauliflower-like sores generally around the face and ears. They do not cause any harm to the pony, just unpleasant to look at!

Prevention: Keep you pony healthy with good nutrution and parasite control.  Warts are very contagious, make sure to soak/wash all equipment with a disinfectant solution after use, so that warts will not spread to other parts of the body or to other ponies. Be careful not to touch them yourself as they can also infect humans.

Treatment: They will go away with time on their own if you leave them be.  You can consult your vet for treatment options such as surgical removal or debulking to try and boost the immune system.


Sandcrack

Cause: There are many causes such as dry hooves, injuries, poor nutrition, stomping, laminitis, founder or it can be hereditary.

Symptoms: A hoof crack running parallel to the horn tubules. If it is infected the pony may be lame, have inflammation and the crack may bleed.

Prevention: Proper hoof care, such as cleaning and conditioning.

Treatment: Apply hoof oil daily.  If basic treatment does not help, you should get a farrier to look at the pony.  If the case is severe, surgery and corrective shoeing is needed.


Dandruff

Cause: Allergies, lack of nutrition, dermatitis

Symptoms: Scaling and crusts in the mane, tail, neck and body coat, which looks much like dandruff.

Prevention: A correct balanced diet, proper washing of the pony and equipment.
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Treatment: Regular washing with a medicated shampoo, to help remove excess skin debris. Regular grooming of the coat, comb out dead skin from the tail and mane. Vitamin and mineral supplements.


Ringworm

Cause: Ringworm is a fungal infection and not actually worms at all. The fungus lives on keratin that is found in skin, hair and nails of animals.

Symptoms: Skin lesions in a circular pattern, they will appear scaly and crusty and have missing hair.  Affected areas may be itchy and red

Prevention: The infection can spread to humans and other ponys, be sure to wash all tack with a disinfectant chlorine bleach solution and don't use the tack on another pony.

Treatment: If you suspect your pony has ringworm, a culture must be done to deterimine if it is ringworm, as there are other similiar condtions that require different treatments.  If your pony has ringworms, purchase creams/ointments/shampoos to treat it from your vet or pet store.  To treat the infection you should bathe your pony everyday for the first week, then twice a week to control the infection.  When bathing your pony with shampoo, work it into the skin and let it soak for 15 minutes before washing it away. For severe cases an antifungal medication may be needed.

Animal Health Australia