With most large animals, you have to either take them to the vet, or have the vet come to you. Unfortunately, there are many times and circumstances where taking a large animal to the pet hospital or vet is not going to work. This is often the case with very sick animals that cannot stand or animals that are so severely injured that moving them could cost them more harm or greater blood loss. That is when you need to know what to do with these large animals until you can get an emergency vet to come to you.

For Large, Sick Animals

Most large animals, such as horses and cows, generally sleep standing up. If you find your cow or horse down in the bedding or the pasture, it may be very sick. Do your absolute best to get the animal to its feet, and if it cannot or will not get up, your animal is in grave danger. For cows, it is imminent death because it cuts off the blood flow to their legs and they will never get up and walk again. For horses, it is not quite so grave, but it does not mean anything good for the horse that does not want to run, graze and frolic (unless your horse is very, very old, and then you know what that means when it does not want to get up). 

If you can get your sick animal to its feet, walk it. Keep it walking if you can until the vet arrives. If it tries to lay down more than twice, get the animal into the stable or barn and into a stall where it can be examined. Make sure there is plenty of water available and place the animal close to the water, just in case it needs a drink and is willing to take one. Keep trying to get the animal up on its feet until the emergency vet from the pet hospital arrives.

For Large Animals That Are Injured and Bleeding

Blood loss for large animals is every bit as serious for them as it would be for humans. Most horses and cows get their injuries from nails sticking out of stalls or barns, barbed wire fences and wooden fences that crack and slam into the animal's face, neck, chest, abdomen and buttocks. If you see that your animal is losing blood, get it into the nearest shelter and tie it up there to keep it calm. If there is anything sticking out of the wounds, leave it there, as pulling the items out could cause greater blood loss than leaving it in. If you can, use bandages and blankets or clean towels to help wipe some of the blood away and/or immobilize any large objects protruding from the wounds. When the vet arrives, he or she will have plenty of sterile surgical supplies with him/her to perform emergency field surgery on your animal right there in the stall. Contact a company like Seattle Emergency Veterinary Hospital for more information.