Large animal rescue

Question 1

What does BARTA stand for?

Answer 1

British animal rescue and trauma car association

Question 2

What are your responsibilities in a large animal rescue?

Answer 2

• make animal health and welfare their first consideration when attending to animals
• keep within own area of competence
• should not unreasonably refuse to provide first aid and pain relief for any animal of a species treated by the practice during normal working hours

Question 3

How should you prepare for a LA rescue?

Answer 3

• Organise equipment before leaving: Head collar, lead rope, lunge line
• Protective clothing
• Drugs

Question 4

Which drugs should you have prepared for a LA rescue?

Answer 4

• Sedation: alpha-2-agonists, butorphanol
• NSAIDs: phenylbutazone, meloxicam
• Local anaesthetic
• Ketamine
• Euthanasia

Question 5

What are the vets 4 main roles during a rescue?

Answer 5

• Provide triage: assessment of injury severity
• Provide restraint: usually by chemical means
• Provide euthanasia
• Advise on welfare

Question 6

What is the overriding priority during a rescue?

Answer 6

No humans get hurt

Question 7

What are the priorities during a rescue?

Answer 7

• Create a safe work space: stop traffic, switch off electricity
• Place a head restraint
• Assess whether the animal is worth rescuing (i.e. does its condition warrant immediate euthanasia)
• Contact owner
• Provide analgesia where possible

Question 8

What are some important considerations when handling the animal being rescued?

Answer 8

• You can’t tell whether a horse can/will stand unless you give it a try.
• Be very wary when actually raising horses – they often stagger and fall back down again - this is a high risk time to get injured.
• The passing of strops/ropes under the body is another period of high injury risk
• You must maintain a safe exit path at all times

Question 9

What is a simple method of keeping a horse calm that the owner can do?

Answer 9

Offer a bowl of food

Question 10

Which 3 alpha-2 agonists can be used to sedate a horse?

Answer 10

• Xylazine
• Detomidine
• Romfidine

Question 11

Alpha-2 agonists should be used with?

Answer 11

Butorphanol - deepens sedation and provides more analgesia

Question 12

What method of sedation can give more controlled, prolonged sedation?

Answer 12

Constant rate infusions of alpha-2 agonists

Question 13

How should you put a horse under general anesthesia?

Answer 13

For rescue work this will involve sedation with an alpha2 agonist followed by induction with ketamine

Question 14

How should you maintain anaesthesia?

Answer 14

“top up” ¼ to ½ original dose sedative and ketamine – either at timed intervals or as required

Question 15

How can anaesthesia in the field, in an emergency differ?

Answer 15

• Don’t under-estimate the effects of adrenaline in countering the effects of sedation!
• Be prepared to give high doses, preferably from the start.

Question 16

What is involved in the immediate aftercare of a rescues horse?

Answer 16

• Clinical exam to pick up any previously unnoticed problems
• If there is not obvious reason look for an underlying cause
• Treat wounds and injuries
• Blood samples

Question 17

How do cattle being rescued present as a different challenge to horses?

Answer 17

• Head shy: unlikely be able to get head control as easily.
• Venous access not so easy.
• Often in groups and have to be handled in groups
• Range from very docile/phlegmatic to aggressive

Question 18

Which drug can be used to chemically restrain cattle, what are the considerations?

Answer 18

Xylazine –by im injection – very sensitive , small doses