Emergency call out waiting time

nicolenlolly

nicolenlolly

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I was just wondering what you would consider to be a reasonable amount of time to wait when you put in an emergency call out?

Went to check on ponies yesterday to find one of the ponies was a bit lame. Called my friend who said that she thinks his lami is back but call vet in the morning, I called before seeing them and asked to squeeze me in when convenient. Arrived at field and he is hopping, won't put foot down, won't move. Called vet back and asked to abandon the 'when convenient' I need a vet now!! That was half past nine and I am still waiting for a call to say when she will be with us...I don't want to keep changing vets but I feel really let down. He has fallen over but just about to get up and I told them that.
They haven't had much grass but did find a pup chasing them round the field last week and wonder whether it is stress induced. Regardless of cause this is 100 times worse than last time and I am really worried :(
 
Did you ask how long they would be? Friend who is vet says phone is always red hot on Monday mornings. People who don't want to pay weekend callout rates on Sunday phone as soon as surgery opens with "emergencies" . When she gets there, she finds that the horse was showing symptoms all weekend.
Phone back and ask again if they have an estimated time of arrival. There are only so many vets available in any practice.
 
They do have to prioritise their calls, probably laminitic lameness vs colic or major wound? I think they'll probably put the bleed first, the colic second and the lami third, sorry.

NOthing wrong with you phoning to update them on the situation but don't expect they can drop everything.
 
It really does depend. I've had them there in 10minutes & within 6hrs. Most vets will prioritize depending on severity & how busy they are. The 6hr wait was for a horse needing a wound stitching, it wasn't in pain & vets were dealing with an rta, a horse with colic & a broken leg. The 10mins was one with its leg hanging off, who needed pts asap. Tbh though I don't think you are in a position to rant though, you left pony out yesterday with suspected lami, so hardly the vets fault its now hopping.
 
I would expect either vet onsite (if not already on a visit for more critical case) or a call back to say how long they expect to be within about 30 mins for an emergency.

Best of luck with your boy
 
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It can often depend on where the callout vet is when the visit is requested, as to how long the wait is. Vets also have to prioritise emergencies. My colicking horse (I knew it was mild when I rang) had to wait until the vet had finished at a lambing on one occasion. On another the vet was over an hour's journey away and was needed immediately, so we were advised to get a different practice - which we did.


TBH, if I suspected my horse might have laminitis on a Sunday, I would have rung the vet there and then, described the symptoms and let them decide whether to come out as an emergency or wait until the following day. Even if the vet had decided to wait, a call explaining that the symptoms had worsened dramatically would then have had the vet setting off immediately.
 
If its only lame on one leg (your post is confusing!) then its not so likely its lami.
Is it a front or back leg?

Why did you change vets before??
 
The shortest time I had to wait was 20min and the longest was a hour and a half but that was due to traffic not vets on another call I am very fortunate that my vets come as quick as they can x
 
i know you want a vet NOW but vets rant like ambulances.
I know the horses needs to be seen but its not likely to die immediately so a few hours wait is expected.
If it was a more serious problem, colic, open wound etc the vets would make more of an effort to get to you quicker.
 
It's his front left leg. What confused it last night was he was only a bit footsore and I didn't know if he had taken a kick cos one of the ponies has been away for schooling for a couple of weeks. There was no heat in his feet or leg, no pulse, no crestyneck, feet were done 4 weeks ago so wondered if by waiting we would determine if it was a kick cos the way would be coming out by then. Even now it is not that hot just completely lame. I didn't honestly think I was doing wrong by him last night or I wouldn't have left him :( didn't know if he had just twisted something or what. It's only the girls I know and am good friends with who have had a few with lami who think that's what it is but that is why I am calling the vet.

Update: vet came and it was an abscess deep in his foot...she said she can see why someone thought it was lami cos there is dead laminae present and flaky at the front of the hoof but for now she thinks that is all it is. He was down again when she got there so at least she knew I wasn't exaggerating! Thank you all for your advice xxx
 
I usually have about a 30-60 minute wait for an emergency call out simply because of the distance we are from our vet practice. There are a couple closer but I wouln'd trust them with my horse - if it was an obvious pts situation then obviously I'd get the vet 5 minutes down the road but for anything else I can do first aid to support the horse until a vet I trust can get there.
 
He was lame not about to die so would not be classed as a true emergency, colics, open wounds and possibly emergency check ups from the weekend would take priority where I work
 
Your horse's case doesn't sound like an emergency at all to be honest....so I would expect to be seen that day,preferably early for peace of mind as a horse on three legs lame is alarming but not to go on the actual Emergency list at all...

Severe Colic, broken leg, severe wound, RTA, difficulty foaling etc are emergencies ....a horse that goes from mild non urgent lameness to very lame is not an emergency, its the classic presentation of an abscess!...even the other differentials for that scenario are all not a threat to life based on the time seen.

I would stick with your vets if you have been happy otherwise.
 
Aru said:
Your horse's case doesn't sound like an emergency at all to be honest....so I would expect to be seen that day,preferably early for peace of mind as a horse on three legs lame is alarming but not to go on the actual Emergency list at all...

Severe Colic, broken leg, severe wound, RTA, difficulty foaling etc are emergencies ....a horse that goes from mild non urgent lameness to very lame is not an emergency, its the classic presentation of an abscess!...even the other differentials for that scenario are all not a threat to life based on the time seen.

I would stick with your vets if you have been happy otherwise.
Click to expand...

Agree with this - although any problem with your horse is extremely worrying for an owner, if he wasn't weight bearing and not moving he wasn't going to go anywhere and damage himself further, and so highly unlikely to deteriorate. In that case I'd call through a "if you've got a vet in the area today please" type call rather than emergency now!
 
I agree that it is more likely to be an abscess.

Vets not only have to prioritise calls but also work out a route.
Pointless them being 40 miles away with three calls and have to go back and return after visiting you.

I had a yearling damage himself seriously. It was early evening when I called the vet. He was an hours drive away. I told him it was a 'good one' and he said he would be there as soon as he could.

Took him just under an hour. He came immediately because he knew that if I said it was bad it was BAD.

This is how bad.

20120808_12872.jpg


20120808_1289.jpg


Even though it was serious it was not life threatening. Had the vet told me that he had a serious colic I would understand if he called to see that first. I wanted this particular vet and not one of the younger ones to do the stitching.

It is a matter of experience. A foot sore horse looks very different in the way it moves to one with an abscess.

Someone who has worked with horses all their life and seen many injuries, will get faster attention if they say it is an emergency because the vets know it will be so.

Someone who panics because a horse is lamer than they originally thought with no sign of injury will not be down as a priority.

This is the wound last week - 8 weeks on using a product I got from the USA Resolve Wound. Healing has been far, far faster than ever I thought it could be as the stitches all broke down. Don't think he will even have a scar.

20121008_1390.jpg
 
Ugh please please don't post those photos again without a warning, I was in the middle of my breakfast!

Anyway, I had to get the emergency vet yesterday as horse was down in her paddock, sweating, shaking and laboured breathing. Turned out to be colic, but I had no idea when we got the vet as I wasn't there (was at work) and only got the description of her symptoms from a friend. I got to the farm about 5-10 mins after being phoned (lucky I work locally) and the vet turned up 5 mins after me, so only about 10 mins after she'd received the call! I had luck on my side though - the vet was at a nearby yard and also knows my horse very well as I used to keep her on her (the vet's) mother's yard, before she even qualified. So when she heard my horse was down, she knew how uncharacteristic it was and pretty much dropped everything.
 
OMG Foxhunter how did they do that !!
We live a fair distance from my vets but they are the nearest. I had my cob go down overnight and I put in a desperate call at about 0800 . He was with me within 45 mins as he knew it was serious . He had to put him down and then did his best for the other mare who was better by the end of the day.
It felt like it took hours for him to get to me , still remember every moment of that morning.
 
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