Elf On A Shelf
...
Today I took a horse down to the vets for a work up today and when I arrived there was a horse on the table getting an op. I sorted my horse and its paperwork out and went to be nosey. The horse was finished on the table and now in the padded wake up cell but obviously still out cold. This is something I have never seen either - getting up from a GA.
So the horse was sparkoed on the floor with a towel wrapped round his head coving both eyes but only placed there, not held so it would fall off when the horse was awake enough to move its head. One vet was checking the pulse under the cheek and whilst the pulse was strong the horse wasn't breathing - at all! How utterly bizarre! Even they were confused by this phenomenon! A nurse gave the horses side, just behind the ribs, a couple of good thumps in the hope it would wake the horse a little and kick start its system. That didn't work. Next trick is to poke a needle into the horses muzzle - the muzzle being the most responsive part of the horse they normally ready badly to this and kick start the waking up process - apparently! Well this horse didn't flinch. It was still out cold, nothing was waking it, it still had a good pulse but not breathing.
Bring in 2nd vet who starts chest compression - he knelt on the horses ribcage, toes just on the floor, and almost jumped up and down with his knees onto the rib cage (it's quite hard to describe actually!) Obviously it's half a tonne of animal so delicacy is not needed. He did this 5 or 6 times but to no avail. The horse had taken one half ragged breath in but that was all. So a heart monitor came out to double check the heart rate and sure enough, there it was, strong as ever. But still no breathing. Much longer without breathing and this horse wasn't going to be coming around as by know it was almost to the stage of being unconscious due to lack of oxygen.
So vet 2 gave it another round of chest compressions whilst the 2 nurses were getting the oxygen tank set up again. Both vets and both nurses were utterly confused by this horse. They have never had one do this before. Die yes, make a has of waking up yes, but never one that has a good strong pulse but won't breath.
On the 3rd round of chest compressions just as the oxygen was about to be connected the horse dragged in a full ragged breath. And held it ? so vet 2 knocked the breath out of it again. And it dragged in another. And another. And another before finally letting one out again. Like you would when you are completely winded.
So know there was a horse sound asleep on the floor but finally breathing properly and so they closed up the room and left the horse to wake up in the semi dark and scramble to its feet by itself.
But oh no! This horse can't just be normal now can it! Nope! It had somehow managed to turn itself around and flop down, legs first into the door/wall. The vets were watching on cctv the whole time and did have to squish themselves in to pull the horse round a bit. Incredibly dangerous to do with a groggy horse that is most likely quite frightened too. When he was finally almost up on his feet he was up on his front feet but he was standing on his hind fetlocks, feet facing backwards behind him. It looked so uncomfortable and weird! You could see how it is very easy for a horse to break a leg waking in from a ga! The horse stood like this on his fetlocks for about 5min before he had woken up enough to figure out how to stand up on them properly.
So that was my quick introduction to how to do CPR on a horse! Utterly utterly bizarre!
So the horse was sparkoed on the floor with a towel wrapped round his head coving both eyes but only placed there, not held so it would fall off when the horse was awake enough to move its head. One vet was checking the pulse under the cheek and whilst the pulse was strong the horse wasn't breathing - at all! How utterly bizarre! Even they were confused by this phenomenon! A nurse gave the horses side, just behind the ribs, a couple of good thumps in the hope it would wake the horse a little and kick start its system. That didn't work. Next trick is to poke a needle into the horses muzzle - the muzzle being the most responsive part of the horse they normally ready badly to this and kick start the waking up process - apparently! Well this horse didn't flinch. It was still out cold, nothing was waking it, it still had a good pulse but not breathing.
Bring in 2nd vet who starts chest compression - he knelt on the horses ribcage, toes just on the floor, and almost jumped up and down with his knees onto the rib cage (it's quite hard to describe actually!) Obviously it's half a tonne of animal so delicacy is not needed. He did this 5 or 6 times but to no avail. The horse had taken one half ragged breath in but that was all. So a heart monitor came out to double check the heart rate and sure enough, there it was, strong as ever. But still no breathing. Much longer without breathing and this horse wasn't going to be coming around as by know it was almost to the stage of being unconscious due to lack of oxygen.
So vet 2 gave it another round of chest compressions whilst the 2 nurses were getting the oxygen tank set up again. Both vets and both nurses were utterly confused by this horse. They have never had one do this before. Die yes, make a has of waking up yes, but never one that has a good strong pulse but won't breath.
On the 3rd round of chest compressions just as the oxygen was about to be connected the horse dragged in a full ragged breath. And held it ? so vet 2 knocked the breath out of it again. And it dragged in another. And another. And another before finally letting one out again. Like you would when you are completely winded.
So know there was a horse sound asleep on the floor but finally breathing properly and so they closed up the room and left the horse to wake up in the semi dark and scramble to its feet by itself.
But oh no! This horse can't just be normal now can it! Nope! It had somehow managed to turn itself around and flop down, legs first into the door/wall. The vets were watching on cctv the whole time and did have to squish themselves in to pull the horse round a bit. Incredibly dangerous to do with a groggy horse that is most likely quite frightened too. When he was finally almost up on his feet he was up on his front feet but he was standing on his hind fetlocks, feet facing backwards behind him. It looked so uncomfortable and weird! You could see how it is very easy for a horse to break a leg waking in from a ga! The horse stood like this on his fetlocks for about 5min before he had woken up enough to figure out how to stand up on them properly.
So that was my quick introduction to how to do CPR on a horse! Utterly utterly bizarre!
