Just bringing this back to the top. Have a neighbor that has had two bitten already. (Copperheads and Rattlers are plentiful)

While living in the Sierra Nevada Foothills, my horse was bitten by a rattle snake in the nostril, twice. The vet says that they get the first bite then look down again to see what happened and get the second bite. We did get him to the vet in time, but they thought they were going to have to do a tracheotomy, but the meds helped with the swelling. He was on antibiotics for 7 days but made a complete recover. Scary, his head was swollen 3 times its normal size.

I live in west Texas and out here we have two different types of rattlers that I am very familiar with. We have the Western Diamondback and the Mojave Diamondback. I kill more Mojave's than Westerns by a ratio of at least 10:1. If you or your animals get bitten by the Western Diamondback you stand a chance but there is no antidote for the Mojave that anyone around here knows about. We recently sent our dogs to rattlesnake training in the Central Texas area and it has already paid off. Now when the dogs see, hear or smell a snake they bark at it to alert us but stay far away from them. The snakes seem to be bigger this year than last so maybe I didn't kill enough of them last year...

Thanks for updating this information.

Is that time of year again. wow. I have already had 2 Rattlers and a Copperhead in the pasture this Spring. Had to look this over again...so much experience here. Wanted to refresh and figured I'ld get it back to the top. Hope all are well. *D*

My 18 hand quarter horse was bitten by a rattle snake, 2 times between the nostrals...His head and face were swollen 3-4 times its normal size. Found him like this in the early morning hours. Loaded him in the trailer and headed to the vet office, since it would take the vet just as long to get to my house and he had all the right "needs" at his office. By the time I arrived a the vet hospital, the horse was having difficulty breathing...they were planning to do a trachiotomty... but after the meds took effect the was out of the woods...but had to stay at the hospital for 7 days, with antibiotics 3 times a day...the vet said that horses are stupid when it comes to snakes and that once he was biten, he decided to check out what bit him and that is when the second bite occured ...anyway he made it thru and we all survived...we lived in the rattle snake capital of Cali or that is what I thought at the time. Hope that all stay alert and cautious when in snake country.........Dreamin

one of the reasons penicillin can kill a horse in addition to the very real allergic reaction------ i almost did not pull the plunger back to check for blood one time after over 30 yrs of never hitting a bad spot----this little mustang mix was dancing for all she was worth and i was trying to get it over with----stayed with her and did get to put a slight pull on it and i will never give any injection without checking----yep---first time for everything---blood pulled right up in there----had i proceeded i would have killed her probably in less than 5 minutes!!!!! if one is not familiar with this----for sure let your vet do it----if it is an ongoing treatment at home----ask your vet to teach you----most of them are more than willing to. have a blessed day and take a moment to give thanks for the good vets that do want their clients to take an active part in caring for the patient!!!

Electroshock from a high intensity DC source such as electronic ignition (spark plug wire with engine running), Nova stun gun, applied with the contacts spanning the fang marks will cure any venomous snakebite or insect sting. The venom is composed of large protein molecules with relatively weak bonds which the electric current breaks, thereby changing the venom into some other compound. I have used this on dogs and horses. You can google information on this subject, try Dr. Roy Guderian, not sure on the spelling. He was working in a missionary clinic in South American and used this technique to treat Indians bitten by insects and snakes. The choice is spend a bunch of money on drugs and watch the wound rot out or shock em and ride them the same day.

Thanks Jacquie. Our vet is due out again next month, so I'll make sure to have this topic on my list of questions. Always good to learn new things and be prepared. Thanks again.

An allergic reaction can happen to anyone, human or animal, and at any time. Penicillin has been known to cause a reaction in some cases, and is most commonly treated with a shot of Epinephrin to counter-act the aniphylactic shock from the drug reaction. (excuse the spelling, but both words are close). As I have previously mentioned, these treatments are a suggestion, in case of an emergency. The best thing to do if you have any questions is to discuss treatments and medications with your own vet BEFORE you ever have an occasion to need them in an emergency situation. Jacquie