Equine Medical Intensive Care

What would you do if your horse got hurt? Injured so badly that he couldn’t walk or worse yet, couldn’t get up? How do you get him in the trailer … how do you get the vet to your horse? What if your schedule does not allow you to perform the follow up treatment?

What would you do if you walked out to the pasture and saw this?

This is “Charm”, a yearling filly we helped this past summer. She was found in her pasture in shock and unable to walk. We discovered that she had run into the hitch of a goose neck trailer that was parked in her pasture. We stabilized her until the vet arrived. He found a broken shoulder blade and referred her to MSU for surgery. After the vet had administered pain killers, a mild sedative and tetanus antitoxin, we assisted the owner with loading “Charm” on to the horse trailer. MSU removed the bone fragments and prescribed home treatment.

After 2 weeks

Equinox Farm provided the daily care for the next 3 months. Care consisted of washing the wound twice a day, administering bute/banamine, antibiotics (shots as well as pills) until the wound was closed. Thanks to the good nature of this filly, the wonderful veterinary care she received and the daily follow-up care, she is sound and fully healed. Do you have a plan if you have an emergency like this? We’re here to help.

At Equinox Farm, we have had specialized training to move and care for injured or incapacitated horses. As well as more than 30 years of horse experience, Liz also holds an Operational Certificate for Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue. Todd is currently a nurse technician at the UofM Hospital Surgical ICU and holds an Awareness Certificate in Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue. We do not hold any veterinarian certifications. We will work with you and your veterinarian to provide the follow-up care that is required for your injured horse.

Our stalls can be customized with cameras, heat, added ventilation and shavings /straw as well as small and safe paddocks. We have methods and tools that can be used to assist horses in walking. If they cannot walk then we have the capability and knowledge to safely drag them on a tarp or body board into a trailer or stall.