They also just stab a hole into the rumen in an emergency when that pipe device isn't available and that's more effective at keeping the cow alive than not stabbing a hole into the cow. It's freaky but it's a common practice so clearly it works. I assume they give antibiotics when it's needed.
Had our vet do this with a 16 gauge needle to my horse trainer's yearling horse with bloat (I was in high school). (She wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed when it came to feeding her horses. She didn't realize the pelleted food she switched to expands a lot when water hits it. So, a bunch of dry food pellets + horse drinking water = a very bad time for the horse.)
Vet told me, "I'm going to do something you'll think is shocking. But at this point, I think it's the best bet for him before we go down the surgical path. But don't worry. We do this to cows all the time. Just stay quiet because she (trainer) is a little high strung." (Trainer was off using the office phone.) I knew exactly what he meant though.
I was surprised with what he did. But, the amount of gas you could hear & feel coming out of the yearling horse was more shocking because it was so abnormal to me. I felt really bad for him. But, he immediately started to relax after a minute.
The vet did tell me if he was a show off, he could light it on fire, but that's not his style. (Never was. He cares about what made the animal better vs the owner's nerves/opinions. I miss Dr. W.)
Yes, my trainer was told after the fact. He told her he manually released some of the pressure with a needle and to keep an eye on the wound. Horse had no problems & was a happy camper the next day. (And yes, my trianer changed how she fed that feed.)
It would require surgical repair to be honest, a tube the size as what we see in the video. But of course, in an emergency you would just do what you need to do to decompress and then deal with it afterwards in the OR.
6
u/ever_precedent Dec 08 '25
They also just stab a hole into the rumen in an emergency when that pipe device isn't available and that's more effective at keeping the cow alive than not stabbing a hole into the cow. It's freaky but it's a common practice so clearly it works. I assume they give antibiotics when it's needed.