WILD- Topic 26: Applying a Sling

There are two different types of emergency slings that you can use for animals. The first one is an abdominal sling that wraps around the animal’s abdomen and supports the animal as it walks. This is helpful if the animal hurts a hind leg or joint and cannot put pressure on its hind end.

You can use a blanket or towel folded up the long way, wrap it under the animal’s abdomen and hold both ends of the blanket up in the air supporting the animal’s body.

The other type of splint is an Ehmer sling which uses a stretchy bandage material to hold one hind leg up in flexion. This protects the limb from further harm in an injury where bearing weight could lead to further damage. To see how to place an Ehmer sling please watch the video above.