No Happy End in Spite of total Rescue Response
Tages Anzeiger newspaper Zurich, Switzerland Karin Wenger, reporter
http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/zuerich/unterland/Trotz-vollem-Einsatz-kein-Happy-End-/story/15276843
Translated by Tomas Gimenez, Dr.med.vet (numbers in bold are the translator’s notes)
The large animal rescue team in Embrach (Switzerland) responds to large animal emergencies.
In the case of an Arabian mare they struggled for twelve hours to save her life. The emergency call came to Ruedi Keller from the Large Animal rescue Service (GTRD) in Embrach. A horse injured herself on a paddock and must be transported immediately to the animal clinic in Zurich, which specializes in equine fractures. Ruedi Keller jumps in the ambulance, and picks up Celine Blaser in Neftenbach on their way to the German border.
It is one of the approximately 200 calls to the team stationed in Embrach. Except that this call is no ordinary one. The 10 year-old mare has an open leg fracture, she is about 180 kilometers (110 miles) from Embrach, and the rush hour traffic will start soon. Keller estimates it will take them five to six hours to get there while she calls the veterinarian at the incident site. An emergency cast has been placed on the leg. Apparently another horse in the paddock stepped on her. The mare has received an analgesic and a sedative. Keller passes the information to a veterinarian at the clinic.
The chances of survival from an open fracture are not good, says Keller. Horses are very susceptible to infection. The mare has a seven-week old foal (1), which increases her chances because she was an greater will to live.
Daily on Call
Ruedi Keller founded the GTRD thirteen years ago. Those who work for the ambulance service are volunteers. There are 5 persons in the ambulance service at Embrach. They are on call 24/7, which demands great flexibility from their regular jobs. It is an enormous load.” It would be nice if we could spread the responsibility among more volunteers”, says the 40 year-old. He looks for people who can be trained as ambulance personnel. There are presently six stations in Switzerland, and the veterinary medical direction is at the animal clinic in Zurich.
Keller is also a volunteer. He is an independent master boat builder, he equips ambulances, develops rescue equipment, and makes custom devices for veterinarians, for example for the animal clinic.
Misfortune on the way
The GTRD ambulance turns at the breeding barn in Allgau (southern Germany). The barn owner and his team are distraught, and guide the ambulance crew to the stall where the mare is located. The pretty Arabian mare is shaking and standing on three legs. The emergency cast is too loose. The rear leg has an abnormal angle, and her stressed foal stands in the corner.
Keller says: “This cast must be removed”. The leg must be straightened and a new cast placed for transport, much tighter and up to the knee. The mare need to be sedated and placed in a sling (2). Although it’s only a few feet to the ambulance, the mare slides and falls to the ground. “Keep her down!” yells Keller. The mare cannot be allowed to stand up. Blankets are gathered and placed under the mare who now lies down out in the open. The horse is sedated immediately with a drug. Once the cast is removed, the entire extent of the injury becomes apparent. The white shin bone sticks through the skin.
Exotic Patients
Most of the GTRD calls are for transport. Horses with colic, which need transport to the hospital quickly, or fractures. A third of the calls are rescues of cows of horses that have fallen in ravines. “Other than being messy, these rescues are successful”, says Keller. Some times there is nothing the rescue team can do. Recently we had a horse that got out of a paddock, jumped over a stream, and ran head first into a tree. Ninety-seven percent of the animals transported are horses, donkeys or mules. On some occasions buffalo, camels and porcupines have also been transported.
Ruedi Keller and Celine Blaser fix the cast with steady hands. A transport net is slid under the horse’s belly. Then the animal is carefully lifted with a telescopic crane. The horse is sleepy in the net. “Come on, little horse, wake up!” says Ruedi Keller, and pats the horse on the neck. The crane is lowered slowly, allowing the horse’s feet to touch and feel the ground. The mare acts very uncomfortable with the cast, and will not stand on her legs. She must stand on the legs, because the crane can only bring her close to the ambulance. She must cover the last 2 meters (6 feet) on her own. Once inside the ambulance she can be placed in a sling and won’t have to support her 470 kilograms (1000 lb).
Encouraging the mare and foal
The foal is brought to the ambulance. He should stimulate the mare to follow him into the ambulance. However the mare hangs sleepy in the net. “I think she has given up” says the worried barn owner. Keller and Blaser do not give up. Finally there are signs of arousal in the mare. The helpers push the mare inch by inch up the trailer ramp. After one and a half hours they have covered the 2 meters (6 feet). The trip to the animal clinic can start at 11 pm.
All formalities at the border are taken care of quickly. They travel fast on the A1 autobahn towards Zurich. “Can you please drive more slowly” says Keller through the intercom, who watches the mare and foal in the trailer (3) Celine Blasser slows down some. “During such incidents we must depend on each other 100%” says Celine. She was worked for the ambulance service for 5 years, says the 25 year-old member. She learned to ride already as a child, and now owns three horses. She works part-time in the business sector. In case of a call she can leave for the next day what she is doing at work.
The ambulance arrives at the animal clinic in Zurich. The x-rays destroy any signs of hope. Not only is the bone completely fractured, several bone fragments have also separated. “A severe fracture. The chances for the horse are very small”, says the veterinarian. “The owner must decide whether to operate”. The work of the ambulance team is done after more than twelve hours. Keller goes to the mare one last time and rubs her back. She is shaking and has difficulty breathing. “Sleep well” is all his lips can utter. A few hours later the horse was euthanized. The foal was picked up by the owner.
Translator’s notes:
Excellent article describing the large animal ambulance service in Switzerland
1 – It is a known fact in the scientific literature that mares during the first weeks of lactation practically have osteoporosis. The demand for milk calcium from feed and the mare’s skeleton is highest during this period in the mare’s life.
2 – These people really need a rescue glide. If they had placed the mare in the rescue glide in the first place they would have saved a considerable amount of time and effort.
3 – They need to have a TV camera in their trailer to monitor the horses.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sent by Tomas Gimenez: Be aware when rescuing pregnant and lactating mares.
Effects of gestation, lactation, and maternal calcium intake on mechanical strength of equine bone. Glade MJ.
Department of Pharmacology, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.
Abstract
Skeletal homeostasis during late gestation, lactation, and the post-lactational recovery period is poorly understood. In an experiment using an animal model (the horse), metacarpal breaking strengths (MBS) estimated via transmission ultrasonics were examined during the last 12 weeks of gestation and for 40 weeks after parturition. MBS increased during the last 6-10 weeks of gestation in mares fed amounts of calcium (Ca) recommended by the National Research Council; maximum MBS coincided with the week of parturition. In contrast, MBS in mares fed 20% less Ca remained relatively constant during the last 12 weeks of gestation. In contrast to increases during late gestation, MBS decreased steadily in all mares during the first 12 weeks of lactation. MBS increased after approximately 12 weeks of lactation, but more slowly than they had declined. MBS of the bones of mares fed recommended amounts of Ca were fully restored at 24 weeks post-parturition, but those of Ca-deficient mares had not fully recovered even 20 weeks after milk production had ceased (40 weeks after parturition). Mid-cannon mediolateral diameters of foals born to mares fed Ca-deficient diets were thinner and mechanically weaker at birth (both p < 0.01). These differences in limb bone size and strength persisted during the first 40 weeks of life.
J Am Coll Nutr. 1993 Aug;12(4):372-7.