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Equine
Emergency

Equine Emergency & Critical Care

The Equine Emergency and Critical Care Service within the Galbreath Equine Center at the Ohio State University offers 24-hour emergency and state-of-the-art intensive care for all equine medical and surgical emergencies, including neonatal emergencies.

In this section

Equine emergency team at work2

Hours & Appointment Scheduling

Emergency and Critical Care services are available 24/7/365 days. 

Please call (614) 292-6661 to alert our team of your arrival while on route to the hospital. 

See map & directions

 

Common Conditions

  • Colic 

  • Colitis/Diarrhea 

  • Dystocia (foaling difficulty)

  • High-risk pregnancy

  • Neonatal conditions, emergencies and diseases

  • Septic joint, laceration, fracture 

  • Respiratory emergencies 

  • Trauma 

  • Bleeding 

  • Neurologic disease 

  • Infectious diseases 

Service Highlights

  • Board-certified surgeons and internists specializing in emergency and critical care for equids.

  • Emergency abdominal (colic), respiratory, orthopedic, and urogenital surgery available 

  • 24/7 Intensive care unit (ICU), including neonatal intensive care, staffed by certified animal health technicians. 

  • 24/7 access to ancillary support service (anesthesia, clinical diagnostic labs, radiology)

  • Facilities for recumbent horses

  • Isolation and quarantine facilities 

  • Consultation with in-house, boarded specialists in anesthesia, cardiology, ophthalmology, neurology, radiology, theriogenology

24/7 Intensive Care for Foals

The equine neonatal intensive care unit (ICU) provides expert, around-the-clock, specialized care for sick foals. Common conditions include premature or dysmature foals, who may be small in size, have floppy ears and fine hair; generalized weakness and loss of suckle; hyperemic membranes injected sclera, cyanosis; abnormal behavior; abdominal distention. 

A mare's condition can help with early identification and intervention. Watch for illness during gestation, early lactation, placentitis, premature placental separation, or dystocia. When in doubt, please refer! 

Stabilizing the Foal for Referral

For referring veterinarians, stabilizing the foal for referral requires the following steps:

  1. Hypothermia prevention
    • Keep foal warm with heated water bottles & blankets
    • Ship in heated vehicle separate from mare
  2. For respiratory support
    • Nasal oxygen if available
  3. For fluid therapy
    • Place IV catheter, administer LRS or 0.9% saline. Add 5% dextrose (100 ml of 50% dextrose solution in 1 liter)
  4. Antibiotics
    • Collect blood culture aseptically before starting antibiotics
    • Administer broad spectrum antibiotics (penicillin and amikacin or gentamacin)
  5. Control of seizures
    • Diazepam at 0.1-0.1 mg/kg IV or IM
    • OR Midazolam at 0.1 mg/kg IV

Special Equipment & Technology

  • Stall-side oxygen 

  • 24-hour laboratory services (hematology, serum chemistry, blood gas) 

  • Sling and hoist for recumbent horses 

  • Electrocardiography (EKG) 

  • Radiography 

  • Ultrasonography 

What to Expect

Our emergency team is made up of the primary resident on-call, an emergency clinician, two 4th-year veterinary students and several experienced registered veterinary technicians. If the patient is received after hours, the initial care will be provided by the emergency team. The patient will be transferred the following morning (or on Monday morning in the case of a weekend emergency) to the appropriate service (internal medicine, soft tissue surgery, or orthopedic surgery). 

If your horse requires emergency surgery, an anesthesiologist and equine surgeon are available 24 hours/day. We work closely with the anesthesia service to achieve the best possible anesthetic recovery and pain management. Post-operative patients and those requiring intensive medical treatment are placed in an ICU stall where 24-hour intensive monitoring is performed and advanced critical care diagnostics (such as blood pressure measurements, blood gas analysis, continuous EKG) are available. 

AMAZING! We had a bad experience with another ER and came to OSU next day and there is not a thing you could of done better! Everyone was AMAZING!

People Grid Category of

Care Team

Alison Gardner

Alison Gardner

DVM, MS, DACVS-LA, DACVECC-LA CVA
Associate Professor - Clinical
Margaret Mudge

Margaret Mudge

VMD, DACVS, DACVECC
Professor - Clinical; Emergency Critical Care and Surgery Section Head
Eric Schroeder

Eric Schroeder

DVM, MS DACVECC, DACVIM
Associate Professor - Clinical
Stasia Sullivan

Stasia Sullivan

DVM, MS, DACVS, DACVECC
Assistant Professor-Clinical
Myriah Albrecht

Myriah Albrecht

DVM
Resident, Equine Medicine & ECC 2023-2026
Hannah Gaitan

Hannah Gaitan

DVM
Resident, Equine Surgery & ECC 2022-2025
Kayla Kownurko

Kayla Kownurko

DVM
Resident, Equine Surgery & ECC 2023-2026
Sarah Mazur

Sarah Mazur

DVM
Resident, Equine Medicine & ECC 2023-2026
Samantha Briggs

Samantha Briggs

RVT
Technician
Max Cannon

Max Cannon

RVT
Technician
Kaycee Clark

Kaycee Clark

RVT
Technician
Shannon Eggeman

Shannon Eggeman

RVT
Technician
Mardy Hahn

Mardy Hahn

RVT
Technician
Leah Holbrook

Leah Holbrook

RVT
Technician
Mandy Hutcheson

Mandy Hutcheson

RVT
Supervisor
Brooke Ralston

Brooke Ralston

RVT
Technician
Tracie Sidwell

Tracie Sidwell

RVT
Technician
Jen Stoll

Jen Stoll

RVT
Technician
Lisa Travis

Lisa Travis

RVT
Technician

Clinical Trials

The Equine Emergency, Critical Care and Neonatology service is often recruiting patients for related studies for which your animal may be eligible. If you have any questions regarding your animal's eligibility, please contact the Blue Buffalo Clinical Trials Office (cvm-clinicaltrials@osu.edu). 

For a listing of current trials please click here.