Horses make wild patients at Israeli hospital
RISHON LEZION, Israel (AP) — At Israel’s main equine hospital, the animals can be wild patients, creating some unique challenges for the veterinarians treating them.
“They are not good patients,” said Dr. Gal Kelmer, who heads the large animal department at Hebrew University’s Koret School of Veterinary Medicine. “I get a lot of satisfaction when things work.”
Veterinarians at the hospital operate on about two dozen horses a month, most of them pleasure and show horses. To prepare a horse for surgery, anesthesiologists slip an infusion into the animal’s jugular vein, which is harder to dislodge than an IV in the leg.
- A veterinarian holds a horse during a leg surgery at the Hebrew University’s Koret School of Veterinary Medicine in Rishon Lezion, Israel. Veterinarians at the hospital operate on about two dozen horses a month and rely on elaborate tools and an army of volunteers to safely treat animals that can weigh more than 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms). (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
- Veterinarians examine a horse after his surgery at the Hebrew University’s Koret School of Veterinary Medicine in Rishon Lezion, Israel. Veterinarians at the hospital operate on about two dozen horses a month and rely on elaborate tools and an army of volunteers to safely treat animals that can weigh more than 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms). (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
- A horse receives medication in his recovery stall after a surgery at the Hebrew University’s Koret School of Veterinary Medicine in Rishon Lezion, Israel. Veterinarians at the hospital operate on about two dozen horses a month and rely on elaborate tools and an army of volunteers to safely treat animals that can weigh more than 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms). (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
- Veterinarians and students prepare a horse with a broken leg for a surgery at the Hebrew University’s Koret School of Veterinary Medicine in Rishon Lezion, Israel. Veterinarians at the hospital operate on about two dozen horses a month, most of them pleasure and show horses. To prepare a horse for surgery, anesthesiologists slip an infusion into the animalís jugular vein, which is harder to dislodge than an IV in the leg. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
- A horse stands in a stall after leg surgery at the Hebrew University’s Koret School of Veterinary Medicine in Rishon Lezion, Israel. Veterinarians at the hospital operate on about two dozen horses a month and rely on elaborate tools and an army of volunteers to safely treat animals that can weigh more than 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms). (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
- A horse and her one day old foal rest in their recovery zone, as other horse receive treatment at the Hebrew University’s Koret School of Veterinary Medicine in Rishon Lezion, Israel. Veterinarians at the hospital operate on about two dozen horses a month and rely on elaborate tools and an army of volunteers to safely treat animals that can weigh more than 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms). (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
- A veterinarian examines a horse with a leg wound at the Hebrew University’s Koret School of Veterinary Medicine in Rishon Lezion, Israel. Veterinarians at the hospital operate on about two dozen horses a month and rely on elaborate tools and an army of volunteers to safely treat animals that can weigh more than 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms). (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
- A horse is supported in a recovery room after a surgery at the Hebrew University’s Koret School of Veterinary Medicine in Rishon Lezion, Israel. To restrain a flighty horse, Dr. Gal Kelmer, who heads the large animal department, straps the animal into a sling that suspends it from the belly and lifts it into the air, keeping the mouth closed and tail tied as the horse gradually regains control of its body. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
- A horse is brought for a treatment at the Hebrew University’s Koret School of Veterinary Medicine in Rishon Lezion, Israel. Veterinarians at the hospital operate on about two dozen horses a month and rely on elaborate tools and an army of volunteers to safely treat animals that can weigh more than 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms). (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
- A veterinary technician feeds a horse at the Hebrew University’s Koret School of Veterinary Medicine in Rishon Lezion, Israel. Veterinarians at the hospital operate on about two dozen horses a month and rely on elaborate tools and an army of volunteers to safely treat animals that can weigh more than 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms). (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
- Veterinarians operate on a horse with leg wounds at the Hebrew University’s Koret School of Veterinary Medicine in Rishon Lezion, Israel. Veterinarians at the hospital operate on about two dozen horses a month and rely on elaborate tools and an army of volunteers to safely treat animals that can weigh more than 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms). (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
- Dr. Gal Kelmer, head of the department of large animals, unties a horse after its operation at the University’s Koret School of Veterinary Medicine in Rishon Lezion, Israel. ìHorses have an instinctive response of flight from danger,î Kelmer said. ìThe minute they wake up they start trying to stand and run, even if they donít have control of their limbs. So then they fall.î (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
- Veterinarians and students hold a horse as he is being anesthetized before a surgery at the Hebrew University’s Koret School of Veterinary Medicine in Rishon Lezion, Israel. To prepare a horse for surgery, anesthesiologists slip an infusion into the animalís jugular vein, which is harder to dislodge than an IV in the leg. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
- A horse is hoisted onto an equine operating table ahead of a surgery at the Hebrew University’s Koret School of Veterinary Medicine in Rishon Lezion, Israel. Horses are prone to galloping off the operating table as soon as anesthesia wears off, requiring veterinarians to rely on elaborate tools and an army of volunteers to safely treat animals that can weigh more than 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms). (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
- A veterinary doctor treats a horse and her one day old foal as they rest in their recovery zone at the Hebrew University’s Koret School of Veterinary Medicine in Rishon Lezion, Israel. Veterinarians at the hospital operate on about two dozen horses a month and rely on elaborate tools and an army of volunteers to safely treat animals that can weigh more than 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms). (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
- Dr. Gal Kelmer, head of the department of large animals, left, and a veterinarian technician prepare a horse for an X-ray demonstration at the Hebrew University’s Koret School of Veterinary Medicine in Rishon Lezion, Israel. The most common medical problem is colic, Kelmer said, a digestive ailment that usually requires hoisting the horse upside down to examine the abdomen. Other issues include trauma, leg fractures and breathing problems. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
- A veterinarian holds a horse as he is anesthetized before a surgery at the University’s Koret School of Veterinary Medicine in Rishon Lezion, Israel. To prepare a horse for surgery, anesthesiologists slip an infusion into the animalís jugular vein, which is harder to dislodge than an IV in the leg. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
- A horse owner waits outside the clinic as veterinarians examine her horse at the Hebrew University’s Koret School of Veterinary Medicine in Rishon Lezion, Israel. Veterinarians at the hospital operate on about two dozen horses a month, most of them pleasure and show horses. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Horses are prone to galloping off the operating table as soon as anesthesia wears off, requiring veterinarians to rely on elaborate tools and an army of volunteers to safely treat animals that can weigh more than 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms).
“Horses have an instinctive response of flight from danger,” Kelmer said. “The minute they wake up they start trying to stand and run, even if they don’t have control of their limbs. So then they fall.”
To restrain a flighty horse, Kelmer straps the animal into a sling that suspends it from the belly and lifts it into the air, keeping the mouth closed and tail tied as the horse gradually regains control of its body.
The most common medical problem is colic, Kelmer said, a digestive ailment that usually requires hoisting the horse upside down to examine the abdomen. Other issues include trauma, leg fractures and breathing problems.
“Some people ask me, ‘What, you do only horses?’ But for surgeons it’s very broad,” Kelmer said. “Today I treated an eye, and a horse with an injured distal limb, and a rectum. For a human, not in a lifetime would a surgeon do these three things.”