Do you dare take the time to
call your vet? And what can you do to stop that gush of red? It looks awful,
but it's probably not as bad as it looks. For one thing, even a little blood
looks like a lot spilling out of a cut or puddling on the floor. For another, just
as you can safely give the Red Cross a pint of blood, a horse can lose a
gallon and a half of blood with no consequences. Unless he's cut a jugular
vein or has been bleeding for a long time, he's unlikely to lose enough to
endanger himself. The more information you can provide, the better you'll
prepare the vet, and the more specifically he can advise you. Three things
to find out before you call:
#1. Where is the wound? Lower legs, from the knees down, are where most
severe bleeding happens because their major blood vessels are close to the
surface. Wounds over a tendon or a joint can be serious because of the structures
they may involve. Bleeding from the head looks dramatic, but no major blood
vessels are near the surface; unless the skull is damaged, bleeding there rarely
presents danger.
#2. How is the wound bleeding? In arterial bleeding, blood spurts out; it's coming
from the heart and traveling under high pressure. Arteries in the lower leg are
vulnerable because they run close to the surface: over the back of the sesamoid
bones and down the back of the pastern, and, in the hind leg, next to the splint
bone. Arteries higher in the body are buried deeper and are more protected.
Venous bleeding is slower and more consistent; the blood is returning to the heart
under lower pressure. Many veins sit fairly close to the surface; in the leg,
these include the saphenous vein, which is large and easily visible on the
inside of the hock and hind leg. Where a vein and an artery are right next to
each other, as at the back of the sesamoid, an accident might easily sever
both; in that case bleeding is quite profuse. Wound size doesn't always equal
severity. Small puncture wounds can be much more dangerous than big ones
because they're hard to clean completely, so bacteria can get trapped inside.
#3. How recent is the wound? Time is critical. A wound treated and sutured during
the first six hours after it happens has the best chance of being cleaned out
completely and not becoming infected. That's why I advise calling your
veterinarian before you do anything else.
Help the body heal itself: Clotting is your horse's natural defense against bleeding.
You can help the process along by applying pressure over the wound, giving the
clot something to form against.
Ideally, you do that with a pressure bandage. If the wound is where you can't wrap
it, such as high on the body, steady manual pressure will do the job until clotting
shuts off the flow or help arrives. One good thing about a profusely bleeding
wound is that it's self-cleaning, so you're safe encouraging clotting while you
wait for your vet. Of course, you want whatever you put on the wound to be
clean, too; if you have a barn first aid kit handy, that's not a problem. If you're
not that lucky, you can make do with a clean towel or shirt, even a clean saddle
pad if that's all you have. Where you can't wrap: When you can't put pressure
on a wound by surrounding it with a bandage, you can still apply manual pressure.
Start with a thick wad of gauze if possible, and just press it onto the wound area
as firmly as you can. Add padding if the blood comes through; don't remove
what's there and distrub the clotting process. Manual pressure on facial wounds
is not recommended, they normally stop bleeding on their own. Stem the flow:
What you know about the wound can help you limit the amount of bleeding. If
you're sure you're dealing with a severed artery in a leg, for example, try to slow
the flow by pressing down directly on the artery just above the wound. You may
have even better luck with a severed vein, applying pressure below the wound
because the blood is traveling up the leg; the saphenous vein inside the hock,
for example, is easy to see, so it's easy to put pressure on to help the bandage
do it's work.
What else you can do: Keep calm and keep the pressure on are the main guidelines
to follow while you wait for your vet. If you and the vet have worked together before
he may suggest a few additional things you can do, but don't start any treatment
on your own and risk upsetting a delicate balance. You want your horse to stay calm;
if his stall is convenient and he's calm there, that's where you want him, unless he's
the rare horse who's bled so much that he's showing signs of possible shock from
fluid loss: shakiness, elevated pulse, pale mucous membranes in the mouth. In that
case, he's better off outside on the soft grass, where he'll be cushioned if he
collapses.