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Re: [RC] snakes - Rosalie MarleyUpdate on my story from last monday about the neigbor's filly that got bitten. They took her to the vets, for a night or two (not sure why), she was improving so they brought her home - just in time for this cold snap. Yep, 80 degrees monday and it's snowing/raining by friday. Saturday, my husband called the neighbor about something and asked how the filly was doing, expecting to hear basically good news. Not to be - at that time she was "peeing blood" and they had called the vet, probably to put her down. Very sad. So does rattlesnake venom break down the muscle tissue? Could the red urine be caused by muscle breakdown products (like in tying up?) Or maybe the kidneys were just exhausted? I don't want to call and ask and upset them, but I wonder. And what kind of things should I keep on hand for snakebite? The vet is an hour away, -if- he's not in the middle of something else. I read somewhere to use a twitch if the horse was agitated - that seems like the worst thing to use if they were bitten on the face/nose. Rosalie On 11 Apr 2004 at 9:38, heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote: Apply cold if at all possible, and as soon as possible. (If the horse is bitten on the leg and you happen to have streams to cross to get home, stop and let the horse stand in the cold water for several minutes before resuming your homeward trek.) The venom itself is not apt to kill a horse unless it is a REALLY oddball shot straight into an artery or major vein. It WILL cause swelling and infection, as well as some local tissue necrosis. The sooner the horse can get on antiinflamatory drugs and antibiotics the better--but not at the risk of rushing and adding stress and increased circulation to the picture. If the horse is bitten on the nose, you DO have to watch the swelling and make sure that the airway is not occluded--if the swelling is extremely rapid and severe, keeping the nostril open with any cylindrical object is helpful. You don't have to insert anything very far--only a few inches. Pieces of garden hose, the old hair curlers, a syringe barrel--most anything cylindrical of the right size will work. Otherwise, REMAIN CALM (yes, that is worth repeating) and just turn around and go home at a walk. ============================================================ REAL endurance is reading the LD vs. Endurance thread/debate every 3 months!!! ~ Heidi Sowards ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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