posted
In case anybody's writing something about horses/horse care.
One of the herd got appearantly bit by a snake sometime yesterday afternoon. By the time I found him in the evening, his muzzle was grotesquely swollen, upper lip protruding over the lower by several inches. The swelling was centered on his lower left cheek below the eye, and he appeared to be having some trouble breathing. On the other hand, he was still standing up and walking, and had an active interest in the grain bucket, though he couldn't actually eat any.
We administered echinacea tincture and sugar (20mL)and left him in the paddock last night. This morning, the swelling is down noticeably and he whinneyed when we came in sight.
I'm not sure it was the echinacea, per se, as it probably did a bit of good; it's probably a case of him being a very big horse and the snake being a very small one.
posted
Are you sure it was a snake? These reactions could occur from a spider bite, or a wasp or bee sting, too. Did you find any marks that would definitely tell you that a snake caused this?
And if it was the snake; size would have little to do with the results. For example; a coral snake isn't much bigger than a bracelet in length but can kill a man in seconds. I will agree that size might have something to do with how long the venom would take to kill a large animal such as a horse.
So how big was this horse? A draft horse or a 16 hand plus Thoroughbred? I'm curious.
As a side note: If anyone is researching horses, you can find a wealth of information on the forums at www.dailyequine.com . Also, I've spent 46 years owning, showing, trail riding, training, and managing horses. So feel free to contact me on anything concerning horses, and I'll do my best to help you or send you where you can get good solid information. I'll be more than happy to help you out .
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