Equine Emergency Services – Southwest Florida

With the well-known shortage of veterinarians in the area, we wanted to let all of our current and prospective clients know that at Sunny Coast Veterinary, we take all equine emergencies around the clock, both from non-clients and from current or past clients.

In the event of an emergency within our immediate on-call range (Naples to Punta Gorda), we are happy to travel to your farm. In the event of an emergency outside of our immediate on-call range, we have a veterinary technician that we can send to your barn to triage your horse and provide transportation back to our Buckingham clinic if necessary. In the out-of-range cases, we can sometimes come to you, depending on the number of emergencies we have at that time.

What to do in the event of an emergency:

• Text Dr. Francheville’s cell phone at 941-815-3832. Texts are preferred as they provide an instant message to us, whereas voicemails are often delayed.
• If you think your horse is colicing, remove all food until the horse has been assessed. Because hydration is imperative in these cases, offer four small buckets of water, including one flavored with Gatorade, one flavored with molasses, one flavored with alfalfa, and one flavored with senior feed.
• Providing pictures of wounds and visible issues is always helpful.
• Our veterinarians will give you clear and concise information on managing your emergency over the phone until we arrive on the farm.

Emergencies are the last thing you want to have happen, but being prepared and knowing your options ahead of time helps in these stressful and difficult times. If ever you aren’t sure if your case is an emergency, do not hesitate to contact us.