Snake Bites: What Not to Do

During a stroll in the forest or even by the lake, do not be oblivious about the possible dangers that the wild might come to you and to your horse.  Although the goal is to enjoy the experience, the scenery and the ride with your horse, be cautious at the same time with your environment.  Most of the articles will warn you about poisonous trees, leaves, flowers and fruit your horse might accidentally eat and step on but do not forget about the wild animals might come attacking and charging for you and your horse during your unaware approach. 

Snake bites can be detrimental to your horse's health.

One of the animals that slithers and charges on you despite its size are the venomous snakes found almost anywhere in the forest areas.  There is big possibility that most of the venomous snakes will immediately strike anything or anyone that comes near to it as a sign of his defense mechanism.  What we see on films and movies is that when someone is bitten by a snake, someone will always try to sip the venom out of the bitten area which is of course dangerous and wrong because without professional knowledge about the first aid on snake bites, there is possibility that the first aider will also risk his life. 

After seeing the attacker bit your horse do not waste your time approaching it, or running after it to smash with a log instead immediately take your attention to caring your horse.  Your vet does not even require for you to know what kind of snake bit your horse because if it’s venomous we only need to remove the venom, save your horse and nothing more.  If you also try to run after it tendency is that some of the snakes will strike not just once but more than that in order to survive for himself and might harm you.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Do you fancy trail rides? Make sure your horse has an updated equine worming program to ensure that parasites are kept at  bay and your horse will not be the source of parasite infestation for other horses in your barn. For affordable equine dewormers, click here.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As said, another important thing to remember is to never try sucking the venom out of the bitten area just like how we see it on movies.  This does not help a bit for your horse because sucking does not really help you remove all of the venom inflicted upon your horse.  The other way around, if it is not helping your horse it surely does not help you either.  Sucking the venom might even enter your system into your stomach and could surely cause you danger and even death.  Even if you are careful enough not to swallow the venom you might be unaware of some open wounds in your mouth and facial area that might be an opportunity for the venom to enter you.  So be careful and never try to be a hero if you have not been trained to be one. 

Finally, do not forget that applying tourniquet does not really stop the toxin from spreading.  It may have cut off blood circulation but toxins have their way to successful inflict their harm to your horse.  Follow these don’ts and learn the proper horse first aiding with the help of your vets.