We love horses. We wouldn’t be in this line of work if we hated them, but some days, all you can do is sigh, roll your eyes, and sarcastically say to your coworker, “I love my job”.
What am I talking about this time? Emergencies!
Love it or hate it, we work with creatures that have the fastest reaction time of any domesticated animal, and everyday situations can go sideways quickly. That can be scary. Do you know what’s even scarier? Not knowing what to do when the dust settles.
What do I mean by emergency?
I know most things can feel like an emergency when we love our horses, but I’m not talking about a small heel grab or scratches. I’m talking about: Simba spooked on the way to the ring and got loose, ran across Greenbriar (a road in Wellington, FL), fell on the asphalt, got up, broke through a fence, and is now standing in someone else’s paddock trembling with his saddle under his belly. Yeah, scary shit.
So, what do you do?
Good question.
But not a simple one to answer.
In the rest of this article, Laura Elser walks you step by step through what actually happens next… and what matters most in those critical minutes before your vet arrives.
From What’s Next? (and why sometimes doing less is actually doing more), to the very clear and slightly brutal Don’t Touch It! section covering nails in hooves, bleeding eyes, exposed bones, and those situations where your best decision is to step back… this is the kind of practical guidance you don’t want to figure out for the first time in a real emergency.
And yes, there’s also a no-nonsense Emergency Kit checklist you’ll want to have ready before things go sideways.
This is one of those articles you hope you’ll never need… but you’ll be very glad you read.
Want to keep reading?
The full version of this article is available here for HorseGrooms Insiders, together with more articles from Laura Elser’s popular Don’t Piss Off Your Vet series and a growing library of educational content created to help grooms and horse owners learn, think critically, and care for horses with confidence.
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Hey there! A New England native, I’ve been hopping around the country since 2012, always doing something horse-related (only 4 more states to go!). In between college years I interned with professional western riders across the country and learned the ins and outs of being a groom. After graduating in 2016 from the University of Findlay, I tried my hand at assisting veterinarians on farm calls, and quickly became addicted to Florida weather during the winters. I did take a 3-year hiatus to go be a cowgirl out in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming, but now I’m back to Wellington winters- and added in summers in Traverse City, MI!
