Approach to the emergency equine patient

Often in emergency situations minimal data are collected, decisions are made, manipulations are performed, and therapeutics are administered without the collection of complete data sets that would indicate a detailed history and laboratory analysis. The incomplete clinical analysis may lead to occasional mistakes, but most often expediency is necessary and admirable. This article presents a clinical approach to emergency patients that requires minimal data collection in the face of the need for timely decision development. Medicolegal considerations are addressed briefly.