By By Kean Keaton

Frontiersmen feared rattlesnake bites for good reason: They could make
you very sick and kill your horse.
Horses are particularly vulnerable to bites because, unlike humans,
they are driven by curiosity, they lower their heads to investigate the
snake and are struck by the snake, describes says Dr. Lance Campbell 
of East County Animal Hospital in El Cajon. A bite in the horse's nose
is particularly dangerous because it can result in swelling that closes
the nostrils and causes suffocation.
This is the type of bite that puts the animal at most risk of having it
be a fatal injury, he said.

Horses can also be bitten in the hind legs when they step too close to
the rattler. Most horses that are bitten don't die, but they may have
tissue damage that could develop into a bone infection or gangrene, a
decay of body tissues caused by infection or lack of blood flow,
leading to death. Even recovery could take the horse down for several
weeks, maybe months.

It is hard to keep a horse from sniffing things he finds curious. If he
happens to have found a rattlesnake, he could be in serious trouble.
Bites on the face usually begin to swell rapidly, and the horse could
be in life-threatening trouble within 30 minutes, said Dr. Campbell.
The horse will feel miserable. There could be swelling around the nose
and lips. Even the eyes may swell shut.

As there is no way to prevent a rattlesnake bite to your horse, 
Campbell suggests that a bit of preparation may go a long way in an
emergency.
Because when bitten on the nose the horse is in danger of suffocating
to death, the treatment recommended by the East County Animal Hospital
is large doses of anti-inflammatory medicine. Keeping medicines on hand
that are designed for anti-inflammatory use such as Banamine or Bute
will allow a horse owner to administer treatment as soon as they see
the bite happen or as soon as they find the horse.
Then call a veterinarian immediately, recommends Campbell.

Until help arrives, it is important to monitor the horse. If the
anti-inflammatories are not sufficient, Campbell suggests cutting two
pieces of regular garden hose, about 5 inches long each, inserting them
into the nostrils of the horse. It is a tricky procedure, he said,
because if the nostrils are not swollen enough, the hose will fall and
the horse will fight. If the swelling has gone too far, it may be
impossible to insert the tubes.
"There is a small window of opportunity," he said.
If insertion is successful, use tape to hold the hoses in place. This
will help until the vet arrives. He or she may have to perform an
emergency equine tracheotomy if swelling does not subside.

While many veterinarians recommend the use of an anti-venom such as
Antivenin to treat the injured horse, East County Animal Hospital
treats snakebites with large doses of steroids or DMSO, a very potent
anti-oxidant, instead.
"You can give horses anti-venom, but there is no set number or dosage
that has been proven to work 100 percent of the time," said  Campbell.
Because an animal can take from one to seven bottles, and even more
depending on its size, cost often becomes an issue of whether the
animal receives the proper amount of anti-venom it needs. Each bottle
costs approximately $600, Campbell said, so often people will only give
one bottle and that does it.
Anti-venom could also cause a reaction on the horse that in and of
itself has the potential of being worse than the actual snake bite, he
said.
"Different vets will treat a snakebite in different ways. Treatment
varies on personal preference," he said.

If the bite is on the legs, there will also be swelling, Campbell said,
but the imminent danger is not the same, although he recommends the
same treatment with anti-inflammatory medicines.

Other recommendations from veterinarians in case your horse has been
bitten are:
- Tourniquets do not work. Try to keep the horse from moving so the
venom does not spread.
  - Do not cut the horse and try to suck or drain the venom.
- Apply an ice pack to reduce the swelling.
- Keep the horse calm, and don't move him much. Take him by trailer as
far as you can, walk him as little as possible, and get him to a vet as
soon as possible.