Equine Emergencies I – Adult Equine Emergencies

Practical Emergency Medicine for Equine Interns, Clinicians and Practitioners

About this training program

This program is available starting February 2027, and can be completed at your own pace (self-guided). You will have three months of access to complete all modules.

In this program participants first develop a systematic approach to the adult equine emergency patient, beginning with triage, stabilization and emergency decision-making. With a practical, case-oriented approach participants will learn how to approach an emergency patient step by step:

Recognize the emergency → assess severity → stabilize the patient → select appropriate diagnostics → initiate treatment → decide whether referral or surgery is required.

Throughout the program, specialists translate their experience into practical approaches that can be applied during emergency duty, both in ambulatory practice and in the hospital environment.

Special attention is given to:

  • Prioritizing diagnostics when time is limited
  • Recognizing life-threatening abnormalities early
  • Stabilizing patients before transport or referral
  • Making rational treatment decisions
  • Avoiding common pitfalls
  • Communicating prognosis and referral decisions
  • Knowing when surgical intervention may be required

The training program series Equine Adult and Foal Emergencies

The Equine Adult and Foal Emergency Program is a comprehensive, practice-oriented online training program designed to help equine veterinarians confidently assess, stabilize and manage emergency patients.

Equine emergencies require fast decisions, a structured clinical approach and the ability to determine which patients can be managed initially in the field and which require urgent referral. This Program brings together experienced equine specialists from different disciplines to provide a practical framework for dealing with the most important emergencies encountered in adult horses and foals.

The entire Program is taught in English.

The program series consists of two separate programs, which can be purchased individually or together as a discounted package.

The program is particularly suitable for:

  • Equine interns
  • Junior and early-career equine clinicians
  • Equine practitioners who regularly encounter emergency cases
  • Veterinarians wishing to refresh and structure their approach to equine emergency medicine
  • Equine clinics looking for structured emergency training for interns and junior team members

Participants first develop a systematic approach to the adult equine emergency patient, beginning with triage, stabilization and emergency decision-making.

The Program subsequently covers the most important emergency presentations encountered in equine practice, including:

  • Emergency analgesia and sedation
  • Colic and gastrointestinal emergencies
  • Shock, fluid therapy and critical care
  • Respiratory and cardiac emergencies
  • Upper respiratory tract emergencies
  • Neurologic emergencies
  • Fractures and orthopedic stabilization
  • Septic synovial structures
  • Emergency wound management
  • Muscular emergencies
  • Laminitis
  • Ocular emergencies
  • Emergency orthopedic imaging

Emergency cases are often the situations in which young veterinarians feel the greatest pressure.

The goal of the Equine Adult and Foal Emergency Program is to provide a structured clinical framework that veterinarians can fall back on when confronted with a critically ill horse or foal.

By the end of the program, participants should feel more confident in:

  • Performing a systematic emergency assessment
  • Identifying the most urgent clinical problems
  • Establishing stabilization priorities
  • Selecting appropriate emergency diagnostics
  • Starting initial treatment
  • Recognizing surgical and referral cases
  • Managing common adult and neonatal emergencies
  • Making practical decisions under time pressure

The emphasis throughout the Program is on clinically applicable knowledge, structured decision-making and confidence during real equine emergencies.

The program will be available in February 2027.

Anesthesia and analgesia

Topics include:

  • Management of the recumbent horse
  • Emergency analgesia and sedation
  • Alpha-2 agonists, opioids, NSAIDs and CRIs

Instructors: Charlotte Cuypers
Total estimated duration: 30 minutes
Learning materials used: Webinar

Reviews from our students

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