Horse Emergencies: How to Prepare and Find a 24/7 Equine Vet

Prepare for a horse emergency before one happens: save your vet’s after-hours number and a back-up number, learn the route to an equine surgery center, stock a first aid kit and plan how you would haul. When something looks wrong, call the vet first and follow their instructions. Finding an emergency equine vet takes a few phone calls on a calm day, not a frantic search at midnight.

1. Spot the signs
2. Call your vet
3. Share what you see
4. Follow instructions
5. Stay reachable

What counts as a horse emergency?

Penn State Extension and the University of Missouri Veterinary Health Center both describe signs that should send you to the phone. The University of Missouri adds a plain rule: if you suspect an emergency, you are probably right, and a veterinarian should see the horse right away. These lists help you recognize a problem, not diagnose it. Your veterinarian decides what is wrong and what to do.

The University of Missouri lists lameness that keeps a horse from bearing weight and watery diarrhea as emergencies, so the line between “routine” and “urgent” depends on severity. When you cannot tell which group applies, call. The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) says not to worry about overreacting or annoying your veterinarian, because time is critical. For one common emergency, see our guide to colic in horses.

How do you prepare for a horse emergency before it happens?

The AAEP recommends mentally rehearsing the steps you will take so panic does not take control. Its guidelines for horse owners come down to five preparations.

1. Save your vet’s number

   Keep it in your phone, along with how the practice can be reached after hours.

2. Ask for a back-up

   Get a back-up or referring vet’s number from your regular vet, in case you cannot reach them quickly.

3. Know the route

   Learn the most direct route to an equine surgery center before you need to transport your horse.

4. List your helpers

   Store the names and numbers of nearby friends and neighbors who can help while you wait for the vet.

5. Stock a first aid kit

   Keep it somewhere clean, dry and easy to reach, and make sure family members and other barn users know where it is.

UConn Extension’s disaster-planning guide adds a written contact list with your vet’s name, address and phone number, a mobile equine vet’s contact information, and a signed medical release form that authorizes treatment if you cannot be reached. Penn State Extension suggests learning your horse’s normal vital signs and behavior in advance, and planning finances and trailering ahead of time. Ask your vet to show you how to take vital signs and what is normal for your horse.

If you board, ask the barn manager who calls the vet when you are away. Our guide to choosing a horse boarding barn has more questions to ask.

What should be in a horse first aid kit?

The AAEP calls this its short list of essential items and says kits can be simple or elaborate.

• Cotton roll
• Cling wrap
• Gauze pads in assorted sizes
• Sharp scissors
• Cup or container
• Rectal thermometer with string and clip attached
• Surgical scrub and antiseptic solution
• Latex gloves
• Saline solution
• Stethoscope
• Clippers

Penn State Extension’s list also includes non-adherent pads, vet wrap, tape and a flashlight. UConn Extension’s list adds items such as ice packs, hoof picks and duct tape. Ask your vet what else to stock for your horse before you buy beyond the basics.

How do you get your trailer ready for a horse emergency?

Many vets travel to the barn: 424 of the 554 equine vets listed on Barnmap say they come to the client. Still, an emergency can mean hauling your horse to a hospital, and Penn State Extension tells owners to plan trailering and finances ahead of time. UConn Extension suggests having a trailer ready to go or one you can borrow. These items belong on your trailer list.

• A first aid kit in the trailer or towing vehicle, plus a pared-down version for the trail (AAEP)
• The most direct route to an equine surgery center, known in advance (AAEP)
• Your vet’s after-hours number and the hospital’s number, saved in your phone
• A trailer you own or can borrow, ready to go (UConn Extension)
• Copies of Coggins paperwork and vaccination records, with proof of ownership (UConn Extension)
• Names and numbers of friends or neighbors who can help (AAEP)

If you are heading to a hospital, call first. The University of Missouri Veterinary Health Center says its team needs the call to prepare for your arrival. Other hospitals may ask the same, so ask yours.

What should you do when you think your horse is having an emergency?

Penn State Extension’s guidance is to stay calm, move non-essential people away, assess your horse and take vital signs, then call your vet before giving any medication. Make the call with the following details ready, and keep your phone with you until the vet calls back.

• Your name and a phone number where you can be reached
• What you see, in plain words (the nature of the emergency)
• Vital signs, if you have learned to take them: temperature, heart rate, breathing rate, gum color and manure production

Then follow your vet’s instructions and ask when to expect help. This guide does not replace that call. For any health decision, ask your veterinarian.

Where can I find an emergency vet near me?

Start with the vet you already use, and ask how to reach them or their back-up after hours. If you do not have one, use a directory to see who says they cover emergencies. Barnmap shows which equine vets announce 24/7 emergency service on their own websites, as published by the establishments and listed on Barnmap as of October 2026.

Is there a 24-hour emergency vet near me?

Possibly. The table shows two vets for each of the seven states with the most listed equine vets, largest first. Each pair is the first two alphabetically from the vets announcing 24/7 emergency service, so it is a sample. It is not a ranking or an endorsement, and a website claim is not a guarantee, so call to confirm that after-hours coverage is current.

Browse every listed vet on the national equine vets page, or by state: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. For recommendations, see Barnmap Picks. If no vet is listed near you, the steps in this guide still apply, starting with a call to your regular vet. Our equine vet guide covers choosing a regular vet.

What should you ask an equine vet before you need one?

A website that says “24/7” does not tell you how emergencies are handled. A short call on a quiet day settles the details, and the answers belong on your contact list.

• Do you offer emergency coverage after hours, and how do clients reach the on-call vet?
• Who covers when you are unavailable, and which back-up do you suggest?
• Do you come to the barn, or do you ask owners to haul in after hours?
• Do you see emergencies for horses that are not established patients?
• What are your emergency fees, and when and how do you expect payment?
• Which equine surgery center do you refer to, and what is the route?

The fourth question matters. Penn State Extension notes that practices often cannot send an emergency vet if you do not already have a veterinarian-client-patient relationship for that animal, so becoming an established client before an emergency can make a difference.

How much does an emergency equine vet cost?

It depends on the practice, the time of day and what your horse needs, and very few vets publish prices. Only 15 of the 554 vets listed on Barnmap show a price on their websites, as of October 2026, so ask by phone. As one published example, the University of Missouri Veterinary Health Center lists an after-hours emergency fee of $420 plus evaluation costs, and says hospitalization and diagnostic costs vary with the condition. Fees change, so confirm with your own vet.

Policies matter as much as fees. In a June 2023 survey by the AAEP Horse Owner Education Committee, 2,384 horse owners reported on their veterinarians’ emergency policies. The chart shows the share of owners who reported each one.

This guide is general information for horse owners, not veterinary or legal advice. Prices come from what establishments publish on their own websites, as listed on Barnmap on the date shown. How we check