When to call the vet.
Designed to be printed and taped inside a tack room door. Every one of these is a reason to pick up the phone rather than wait and see.
General education, not veterinary advice. When in doubt, call. No good vet has ever been annoyed by a call that turned out to be nothing.
Call the vet now
These are emergencies. Do not wait for morning.
Colic
Pawing, looking at or biting the flank, rolling or wanting to, stretching out as if to urinate, lying down and getting up repeatedly, no manure, off feed, sweating without work, a high heart rate.
While you wait: take away hay and grain. Do not give any medication unless the vet tells you to, because it masks what they need to see. Walking is fine if it settles the horse, but do not exhaust either of you.
Laminitis or founder
Reluctance to walk, rocking back to take weight off the front feet, short pottery steps that are worst on hard ground or turning tight, heat in the hooves, a strong bounding digital pulse at the fetlock.
While you wait: stop all grain and get the horse off grass. Deep soft footing such as sand or shavings. Do not force them to walk any further than they must. Hours matter.
Severe lameness
Any horse that will not put weight on a leg, or a sudden severe lameness with no obvious cause. Often an abscess, sometimes a fracture, and you cannot tell which by looking.
While you wait: confine the horse somewhere small and safe. Do not make them walk to a better location.
Choke
Coughing, retching, stretching the neck, feed or saliva coming down the nostrils, distress shortly after eating.
While you wait: remove all food and water. Do not try to flush anything down the throat.
Tying up
Stiff, reluctant to move, sweating, hard and painful muscles over the hindquarters, dark or coffee colored urine, during or shortly after exercise.
While you wait: do not walk the horse. Moving them makes muscle damage worse. Keep them still where they stand and get your veterinarian on the phone.
Whether to rug them depends on the weather and on what your vet says. A horse shivering in cold or wind needs covering. A horse that is already hot and sweating in summer does not, and piling rugs on them works against the cooling they need. Take the temperature, look at the conditions, and ask your veterinarian. They may also want you to keep water in front of the horse, which is a call for your veterinarian and not a rule to apply blind.
Eye problems
Squinting, tearing, holding it shut, cloudiness, swelling, any visible injury.
While you wait: get the horse out of bright light. Never put any ointment in an eye unless a vet has told you to, because the wrong one can cost the eye.
Wounds
Any wound over or near a joint however small, anything bleeding heavily or spurting, deep punctures, and any puncture in the sole of the foot.
While you wait: apply firm pressure to bleeding. Leave the nail or object in place for a sole puncture so the vet can see its depth and direction on a radiograph.
Also, without waiting
Fever with the horse dull and off feed. Neurological signs: stumbling, weakness, incoordination, dragging a toe, circling, head tilt. Difficulty breathing. A horse that will not get up. Foaling that is not progressing: see the foaling card below for the timings.
With a fever, or with any neurological sign, isolate the horse before you do anything else. Several things that present this way are contagious to other horses. Keep them away from the others, handle them last, and do not share buckets, feed tubs, hay nets, tack, rugs, grooming kit or thermometers between them and the rest of the barn. Wash your hands and change your clothes before you handle another horse. Tell your veterinarian what other horses they have been in contact with, and stop horses moving on and off the property until your veterinarian has advised you.
Foaling: the three that cannot wait
Most foalings need nobody. These three are the ones where minutes decide the outcome, so the numbers are worth knowing before the night you need them. If you are watching a mare foal and are not sure, call. A call that turns out to be unnecessary costs nothing that matters.
1. Stage two is not progressing
Stage two is active straining, and it is fast. The Merck Veterinary Manual states that if significant progress is not made within 10 to 15 minutes, call your veterinarian, that an uncomplicated labor usually takes no more than 30 minutes, and that if the foal has not been delivered within 30 minutes of the fetal membranes rupturing, veterinary assistance is warranted.
Also call immediately if what presents is not two front feet with the soles down and a nose resting on them: one foot and no nose, a head and no feet, soles pointing up, a tail first, or nothing visible while the mare strains hard.
2. Red bag
What normally appears first is the pale, white, translucent amniotic sac. A thick, red, velvety bag at the vulva instead is a red bag. The placenta has separated from the uterus too early, which means the foal is not getting oxygen.
This is the one emergency on this page where you act while the phone is ringing. The membrane has to be opened at once and the foal delivered, or oxygen deprivation can kill them or cause permanent brain damage. Call your veterinarian and start; do not wait for them to arrive. If you have never done this, say exactly that when you call and let them talk you through it.
3. Retained placenta
The afterbirth should pass within 3 hours of the foal being born. If it has not, that is a veterinary call, not a wait-and-see. Retained fetal membranes in a mare can lead to serious illness and to laminitis.
Never pull on it and never tie a weight to it. Tie it up above the hocks so the mare cannot tread on it, keep whatever passes so your veterinarian can check it is complete, and note the time the foal was born.
Timings above are from the Merck Veterinary Manual, Management of Reproduction in Horses (horse owner edition), retrieved 25 August 2026. This is a prompt to call, not a substitute for a foaling plan agreed with your veterinarian in advance. No veterinarian has reviewed this page.
Normal adult horse vitals
| What | Normal at rest | How |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | 99 to 101.5°F | Digital thermometer, rectally, one minute |
| Heart rate | 28 to 44 beats per minute | Stethoscope behind the left elbow, or feel under the jaw |
| Respiration | 8 to 16 breaths per minute | Watch the flank rise and fall |
| Gut sounds | Gurgling on both sides | Ear or stethoscope to the flank. Silence is a warning sign |
| Gums | Moist and pale pink | Lift the lip. White, brick red or purple is urgent |
| Capillary refill | Under 2 seconds | Press the gum until it blanches, count until color returns |
| Digital pulse | Faint or hard to find | Feel at the fetlock. A strong or bounding pulse is a sign that may indicate pain or inflammation inside that hoof. It is a reason to stop work and call your veterinarian, not a diagnosis on its own |
Take these on your own healthy horse now, while nothing is wrong, and write them down. Knowing what normal looks like for your horse is worth far more than knowing the textbook range.
Have this ready when you call
- Temperature, heart rate, respiration, gut sounds
- When you last saw the horse normal
- When it last ate, drank, and passed manure
- Anything that changed recently: feed, hay, turnout, work, weather
- Any medication given, what and when
- Your exact address and how to find the barn after dark
Numbers to fill in
Vet
After hours / emergency vet
Farrier
Hauler with a trailer
Barn owner or neighbor
Need to find an equine veterinarian?
The Horse Services Directory opens a Google Maps search near the location you enter. A result does not establish horse care or emergency availability, so call before hauling. Use the Hydration and Normal Vitals Log to record observations for the call.
Lazy K Horsemanship · Columbia Falls, Montana · 406-270-0087 · lazykhorsemanship.com
This card is general education from a horse trainer and does not replace veterinary advice. Your vet is the authority on your horse.