Equine IV catheter guide highlights technician role
Bottom line
Today’s Veterinary Nurse published a peer-reviewed digital exclusive on June 25, 2026, offering a step-by-step guide to intravenous catheter placement in equine patients. Written by Molly Cripe Birt, BS, RVT, VTS-EVN, the article frames jugular catheterization as a practical skill for credentialed veterinary technicians in both ambulatory and hospital settings, not just veterinarians, so long as delegation aligns with state practice acts. It walks through catheter selection, site choice, restraint, aseptic preparation, placement technique, securing the line, maintenance, and common complications such as thrombophlebitis, embolus, sepsis, and arterial puncture. (todaysveterinarynurse.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the piece lands at the intersection of clinical technique and workforce utilization. The guide emphasizes that most adult horses are suited to a 14-gauge, 5.25-inch over-the-needle catheter, with larger 10- to 12-gauge options for rapid fluid resuscitation and smaller sizes for ponies, donkeys, and neonates. It also reinforces that aseptic prep, secure fixation, and routine maintenance, including flushing every 4 to 6 hours and checking for complications during treatment and exams, are central to catheter longevity and patient safety. That’s especially relevant as technician scope-of-practice remains inconsistent across states, a gap NAVTA said this year can create confusion around delegation and credential utilization. (todaysveterinarynurse.com)
What to watch: Expect this article to be used as a training and delegation reference as practices look to standardize equine nursing skills and make fuller use of credentialed technicians within state rules. (todaysveterinarynurse.com)
Today’s Veterinary Nurse has added a new procedural resource for equine teams with the June 25, 2026 publication of “A Step-by-Step Guide to Intravenous Catheter Placement in the Equine Patient.” The peer-reviewed digital exclusive, authored by Molly Cripe Birt, BS, RVT, VTS-EVN, presents equine IV catheter placement as a core technical skill that credentialed veterinary technicians can perform in ambulatory and hospital practice when state practice acts allow it. (todaysveterinarynurse.com)
The article arrives amid a broader profession-wide push to better define and use technician skills. In the piece, Birt argues that equine catheter placement is often still “relegated” to veterinarians even though it fits within the practical scope of credentialed technicians in many settings, and she links underuse of technicians to both inefficiency and financial strain for practices. That message lines up with NAVTA’s 2026 scope-of-practice report, which found major variation across states in delegation rules, supervision definitions, and recognition of credentialed technician roles. (todaysveterinarynurse.com)
Clinically, the guide is detailed and practical. It identifies the jugular vein as the most common and accessible site in equids, while noting that cephalic and saphenous veins may also be used in specific circumstances such as regional limb perfusion or anesthetic support. For most standard adult horses, the article recommends 14-gauge, 5.25-inch over-the-needle catheters, with 10- to 12-gauge catheters better suited to rapid fluid boluses in dehydrated or hypovolemic adults, and 16-gauge options for ponies, smaller donkeys, and neonates. It also distinguishes between shorter-term Teflon-style catheters, which should generally be left in place no more than 3 days, and polyurethane catheters, which may be used for up to 2 weeks in hospitalized patients needing ongoing IV therapy. (todaysveterinarynurse.com)
The procedural emphasis is on preparation and asepsis. The article recommends proper restraint, sedation for fractious or needle-shy horses, a two-phase skin prep, sterile gloves for the secondary prep, and a “clean hand, dirty hand” technique during placement. It advises placing the catheter in the upper one-third of the neck, where the jugular is more superficial and the carotid lies deeper, then using a controlled puncture at roughly 45 degrees, confirming blood flow, advancing the catheter, and securing both the hub and extension set with sutures and tape. Maintenance guidance includes flushing every 4 to 6 hours, disinfecting injection ports before access, changing the injection port daily, and monitoring the site closely for complications. (todaysveterinarynurse.com)
The article’s sourcing also reflects an effort to anchor technique in current educational and nursing references. Its bibliography includes the 2025 Textbook of Equine Veterinary Nursing, a 2017 review of equine catheter complications, a 2018 study on disinfecting catheter caps and thrombophlebitis, and a 2025 paper on antiseptic skin agents in dogs and cats used to support the broader asepsis discussion. Separately, AAEP’s current clinical skills list for equine veterinary graduates includes placing and securing an intravenous jugular catheter, underscoring that jugular access remains a foundational equine competency across training pathways. (todaysveterinarynurse.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this is more than a how-to. It’s a workforce document as much as a clinical one. Equine practices, especially ambulatory services and hospitals managing emergencies, anesthesia, fluid therapy, serial blood sampling, or euthanasia, depend on reliable vascular access. A clear, peer-reviewed protocol can help standardize training, reduce avoidable complications, and support more confident delegation to credentialed technicians. But the article also carries an important caveat: whether a technician can place an equine IV catheter still depends on state law and supervision requirements. That matters in a national workforce environment where scope-of-practice rules remain uneven and sometimes poorly defined. (todaysveterinarynurse.com)
There’s also a business and team-design angle. Birt explicitly argues that using veterinary nurses and technicians for comprehensive nursing care allows veterinarians to focus on tasks only they’re licensed to perform. In practice, that can mean faster treatment workflows, better use of advanced technician training, and a clearer division of labor in equine settings where staffing is often tight. The piece is likely to resonate with practices trying to improve efficiency without compromising safety, particularly as technician utilization continues to be a national conversation. (todaysveterinarynurse.com)
What to watch: The next step is whether practices turn this kind of procedural education into formal training, competency checklists, and written delegation protocols, especially in states revisiting technician scope-of-practice rules and in equine teams looking to expand technician-led nursing responsibilities. (navta.net)