First Aid for Trail and Home, Part 1 Wounds and Their Treatment

vital signs to your veterinarian if he is unavailable in person but can be reached by phone. A regular pulse rate is about 30 to 40 beats per minute at rest. Greater than 60 beats is abnormal. The pulse rate can be taken on the artery just under the cheekbone. Body temperature is taken with a lubricated thermometer in the anus and should be 99 5 to 101 degrees Fahrenheit. A temperature above 102 degrees is cause for concern. Dehydration can be determined by performing a simple pinch test or gum test. Pinch a small amount of skin on the neck just above the shoulder. The fold of skin you pinch should disappear as soon as you let go if the fold remains or flattens slowly the horse is dehydrated. You can also press your thumb against the horses gum just above the corner incisor and if it takes longer than two to three seconds for the colour to return the horse may be in a state of stress or in shock due to injury colic etc. or he may be dehydrated.
Treatment of Wounds
A horse has about 55 litres of blood and can lose about 20 percent of it before showing symptoms of low blood volume shock and as much as 40 percent before death. Death from blood loss is uncommon in horses.
First response for wounds on a horse is almost identical to that for a human. If the wound is bleeding badly or if blood is squirting out indicating an arterial cut you first need to stop the bleeding with direct pressure as firm as necessary until the bleeding stops. Application of pressure can be in the form of a balled towel or cloth or your hand if a towel is not available. For a serious wound such as this a vet should be called immediately.
In a situation like this it is acceptable to apply a tourniquet see Figure 1. Use a balled up cloth as a pressure point and secure it with a cloth wrapped once around the limb and tied with an overhand knot. Place a short stick on the overhand knot and then tie a square knot on top. Twist the stick to tighten the tourniquet and tape in place. I always carry electrical tape on the trail.
With the tourniquet in place we made it into camp with the injured colt 15 minutes later.
Tourniquets need to be relieved of their pressure at regular intervals to allow circulation. In the colts case it was a full day later before we could relieve the pressure of the tourniquet without bleeding. I could not imagine how the foot had survived that long without blood flow but here was a great lesson in the vitality of horses. Over time secondary arteries can enlarge and take up the needed flow of blood. The recovery seemed a miracle to all of us who witnessed the injury.
Once the bleeding has stopped clean wounds with clean water and Betadine a povidoneiodine solution or a