When to call the vet.

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 it to walk any further than it 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 it 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 it makes muscle damage worse. Keep it warm and still.

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 mare in labor whose foaling is not progressing quickly. A horse that will not get up.

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