Emergency Care
A Conejo Valley Equine doctor is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you think your horse is having an emergency, call us right away.
Draft for review. This page follows the structure of Oakencroft’s emergency page; the wording is a stand-in until Conejo Valley Equine sends its own. A CVE doctor should review all medical guidance before launch. Remove this note when approved.
Not sure it’s an emergency? Call anyway. We would always rather hear from you early. During office hours our team answers; after hours, our answering service takes your call and reaches the doctor on call.
Is it an emergency?
Call us right away if you notice any of these:
- Signs of colic: pawing, looking at or kicking at the belly, lying down and getting up again and again, rolling, stretching out as if to urinate, sweating, not eating, or passing little or no manure.
- Bleeding or wounds: bleeding that pressure doesn’t stop, a deep or gaping cut, any puncture wound, or any wound near a joint, tendon or eye, even a small one.
- Something stuck in a hoof: a nail, screw or other object in the sole or frog.
- Sudden, severe lameness: your horse won’t put weight on a leg, or a leg is suddenly swollen, hot or very painful.
- Eye problems: squinting, tearing, a swollen or cloudy eye, or an injury to the eye or eyelid.
- Choke: feed, saliva or water coming from the nostrils, gagging or coughing, a stretched-out neck, or repeated attempts to swallow.
- Trouble breathing: fast or labored breathing at rest, flared nostrils or noisy breathing.
- Fever or dullness: a temperature above the normal range below, especially if your horse is quiet, depressed or off feed.
- Neurological signs: stumbling, weakness, circling, a head tilt or a sudden loss of coordination.
- A horse that is down and can’t or won’t get up, or is cast or trapped.
- Foaling problems: labor that isn’t progressing; red membranes appearing instead of the usual whitish sac; a foal in the wrong position; a foal that hasn’t stood within about an hour or nursed within about two hours; or a mare that hasn’t passed the afterbirth within about three hours.
- Possible poisoning or grain overload: your horse got into the feed room or ate something toxic. Call even if they seem fine.
- Anything that worries you. You know your horse. If something isn’t right and it’s getting worse, call.
Know what’s normal
Typical ranges for a healthy adult horse at rest:
| Vital sign | Normal range |
|---|---|
| Temperature | 99–100.5 °F |
| Heart rate (pulse) | 28–44 beats per minute |
| Breathing rate | 10–24 breaths per minute |
| Gums | Moist and pink; color returns within about 2 seconds after pressing with a fingertip |
| Gut sounds | Gurgling on both sides of the belly |
Readings run higher after exercise, in hot weather or when a horse is excited, and foals differ from adults. Take your horse’s readings on a few calm, healthy days and write them down; when you call, it helps to know what has changed. Only check vital signs if you can do it safely. A horse in pain can kick, strike or go down without warning.
How to check vital signs
- Temperature: use a lubricated digital thermometer in the rectum. Stand beside the hindquarters, not directly behind, and hold on to the thermometer until it beeps.
- Heart rate: place a stethoscope on the left side of the chest, just behind the elbow. Count the beats for 15 seconds and multiply by 4.
- Breathing: watch the flank rise and fall; each in-and-out is one breath. Count for 30 seconds and multiply by 2.
- Gums: lift the upper lip and press a fingertip on the gum until it turns pale. Let go and count how long the pink takes to return.
- Gut sounds: put your ear or a stethoscope against the upper and lower flank on each side and listen for a minute.
When you call: help us reach your horse faster
- Tell us the basics: your name and a callback number, your horse’s name and age, what’s happening and when it started, vital signs if you have them, and anything you’ve already given or done.
- Keep your phone close and the line free. The doctor may call back from a number you don’t recognize, so make sure unknown or blocked callers can get through.
- Give the exact location of the horse: street address, barn or ranch name, gate code and best entrance, plus a landmark if the property is hard to find. If your horse is boarded or away from home, give the address where the horse actually is.
- Clear a path. Move vehicles, trailers and equipment so the doctor can park as close to your horse as possible.
- Have your horse caught, if it’s safe, in a well-fitting halter and lead rope, with a calm handler ready.
- Get the area ready. At night, turn on the barn and yard lights and open the gate or have someone meet the doctor. A bucket of clean, warm water and a few clean towels are always useful.
While you wait for the doctor
Follow any instructions the doctor gives you on the phone. Until then:
- Stay safe. Keep people, especially children, out of harm’s way. If a person is hurt, call 911 first.
- Don’t give any medication unless the doctor tells you to. That includes bute, Banamine (flunixin), sedatives and anything left over from another horse. Medication can hide the signs the doctor needs to see, and some drugs can do harm in certain conditions.
- Move your horse somewhere safe and quiet, such as a clean stall or small pen near where the doctor can park, if you can do it without risk.
- Keep notes: what you saw and when, vital signs with the times you took them, manure and urine, and anything given.
Colic
Do: remove all hay, grain and treats, and ask the doctor about water. If your horse is lying quietly, let them rest and watch from a safe spot. Hand-walk only if they are trying to roll violently and you can do it safely; never walk a horse to exhaustion. Note when they last passed manure and what it looked like.
Don’t: give anything by mouth (oil, home remedies or medication) unless the doctor tells you to, or assume the colic is over because your horse has passed manure. Keep watching until the doctor arrives.
Wounds and bleeding
Do: press firmly on the wound with a clean towel or gauze pad and hold it there; on a leg, wrap snugly over the pad. If blood soaks through, add more layers on top without removing the first. Keep your horse quiet and out of mud and dirt. Take clear photos, one close up and one from further back showing where the wound is; the doctor may ask to see them.
Don’t: put creams, powders, sprays or ointments on the wound before the doctor has seen it, trim away flaps of skin, or use a tourniquet unless the doctor tells you to.
Nail or object in the hoof
Do: leave it in place, keep your horse as still as possible on clean, soft footing, and call right away. Where the object went in and how deep it went matter a great deal, and the doctor may want x-rays with it still in place.
Don’t: pull it out unless the doctor tells you to. If it has to come out, photograph it first, mark where it went in, and keep the object for the doctor.
Eye injuries
Do: keep your horse in a dim, quiet stall out of sun and wind, and try to stop them rubbing the eye.
Don’t: put drops or ointment in the eye unless the doctor tells you to (some common eye ointments can make certain injuries much worse), or try to remove anything stuck in the eye.
Choke
Do: remove all feed and water, keep your horse calm and quiet, and let them lower their head.
Don’t: put a hose in their mouth, try to flush their throat, or give anything by mouth.
Severe lameness or possible fracture
Do: keep your horse as still as possible and cover any wound with a clean dressing.
Don’t: make your horse walk, or move or load them, until the doctor has examined them.
A horse that is down or cast
Do: stay clear of the legs and head, since a horse trying to get up can thrash without warning. Gather a few helpers, and tell us the horse is down when you call.
Don’t: try to pull your horse up by the head, neck, tail or legs before you’ve talked to the doctor.
Foaling
Do: call immediately if you see red membranes instead of a whitish sac, or if labor isn’t progressing; the doctor will tell you what to do while you wait. If the mare hasn’t passed the afterbirth, tie it up in a knot above her hocks so she can’t step on it.
Don’t: pull on the afterbirth or try to reposition a foal yourself unless the doctor tells you to.
If your horse needs hospital care
Some emergencies need a hospital, for example for colic surgery, intensive care or round-the-clock monitoring. If your horse needs one, your Conejo Valley Equine doctor will go through the options with you and help you decide where to go. Hospitals our doctors refer to:
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West Coast Equine Hospital (opens in a new tab)
Somis, Ventura County
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Humphrey, Giacopuzzi & Associates Equine Hospital (HGAE) (opens in a new tab)
Somis, Ventura County
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Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center (opens in a new tab)
Los Olivos, Santa Ynez Valley
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San Luis Rey Equine Hospital (opens in a new tab)
Bonsall, North San Diego County
See our Resources page for hospital websites and directions.
Getting your horse there
- Plan your transport now. If you don’t have a truck and trailer, keep a list of neighbors or local haulers who can help at any hour.
- Keep your rig ready to go: fuel in the truck, tires inflated, lights working and a sound trailer floor.
- Practice loading. A horse that loads calmly on an ordinary day is far easier to load on a bad one.
- Know the drive. Find out how long it takes to reach each hospital from your barn, including at night.
- Check with the doctor before you load, and ask whether your horse is safe to travel.
- Bring your horse’s records (including a current Coggins if you have one), a note of any medication given and when, and your insurance details.
Be prepared: your emergency checklist
A few minutes of planning now saves precious time later.
Your plan
- Save (805) 496-0505 in your phone, and post it in the barn, tack room and trailer.
- Post the barn’s full address, gate code and directions next to the number, so anyone can give them.
- Decide, and write down, who can make decisions for your horse if you can’t be reached, how much you’re prepared to spend, and whether surgery or a hospital stay is an option.
- Arrange transport: your own truck and trailer, or people who can haul at any hour.
- Keep your horse’s records together: Coggins, vaccination history, current medications and known conditions.
- If your horse is insured, keep the policy number and the insurer’s phone number with those records, and check what the policy requires you to do in an emergency.
- Write down your horse’s normal temperature, pulse and breathing rate.
Your first-aid kit
- Digital thermometer and lubricant
- Stethoscope
- Flashlight or headlamp, with spare batteries
- Bandage scissors, plus wire cutters or a sharp knife for a horse caught in wire or rope
- Disposable gloves
- Clean towels, gauze pads and non-stick wound pads
- Roll cotton or leg quilts, and standing wraps
- Self-adhesive bandage (such as Vetrap), elastic adhesive tape and duct tape
- Sterile saline
- Antiseptic scrub (chlorhexidine or povidone-iodine), used only as the doctor directs
- Hoof pick and a hoof boot
- Spare halter and lead rope
- Any medications your doctor has prescribed for your kit, given only when the doctor tells you to
Restock after every use, and check the kit every few months for missing or expired items.
Always here for your horse
Horses don’t keep office hours, so neither do we. A Conejo Valley Equine doctor is on call around the clock, every day of the year. Where horses come first.