Knowing Your Horse
(Checking the Vital Signs)
Respiration - 8 to 16 breaths per minute
Pulse - 32 to 40 beats per minute
Capilliary Refill Time (CRT) - no more than 2 seconds
Dehydration - Pinch Test
Blood Pressure - 120/70 Checking the Temperature:
Use a rectal thermometer with a string and clip attached securely to it. Lubricate the bulb end of the thermometer with either vaseline or spit and insert it into the rectum. Make sure you stand to the side and raise the dock. Grip the thermometer firmly so that it cannot be drawn into the rectum. The clip at the end of the string can be clipped onto the horses' tail. Leave in for one minute (or according the thermometers instructions), then withdraw. Wash and disinfect the thermometer after each use.
Checking the Respiration:
Stand behind and slightly to the side of the horse to watch the rise and fall of the flanks of the horse.
Checking the Pulse:
Feel for the Pulse with your fingertips (not your thumb). The easiest place is under the top of the lower jaw. Gently press the Facial Artery against the inner surface of the jaw bone below the heavy cheek muscles. You can also use the Traverse Facial Artery which is located below and slightly behind the eye. The Radial Artery can be checked on a front leg by placing the finger tips over the artery on the inside of the back of the knee. The last place you can check is the Digital Arteries in the pastern. The Digital Arteries run parallel with the deep Digital Flexor Tendon and can be felt on all four legs just below the fetlock.
If you are using a Stethoscope, place it on the left side of the horse just behind the elbow. You should be able to feel the impact of each contraction with the flat of your hand as well.
An adult horse weighing approximately 1,000 pounds has about 9 gallons, or 35,000 cc's (35 cc's per pound) of blood in their system.
Following moderate exercise the pulse rate should increase from 180 to 240 beats per minute but will fall to abour 60 beats per minute in 10 to 15 minutes of rest and then slowly return to normal. A very rapid or slow pulse rate in a resting horse indicates lack of health.
Normal pulse rate is 32 to 40 beats per minute in an adult horse. A two year olds will be slightly faster and a neonatal foal (2 to 4 weeks old) will have a pulse rate of 70 to 90 beats per minute. It is a good idea to check and record what your horse's pulse rate is.
Capilliary Refill Time (CRT):
Press thumb over upper gums, hold and release. The color should return to normal in 2 seconds, but if the finger impression remains pale for 3 seconds or longer, the horse is severly dehydrated or in shock.
Examining the color of the gums will enable you to obtain important information.
Pink - adequate circulation
Pale color - could indicate anemia
Gray or bluish tinge - indicates an oxygen difficiency (cyanosis)
Cyanosis can be seen in heart disease, lung failure or severe colic.
Pinch Test for Dehydration:
Dehydration is not recognized until a horse has lost 5% or more of his body weight, due to loss of fluids. A loss or 12 to 15% of body weight in water is life threatening.
Pick the skin up into a fold either on the neck or on the lower chest above the elbow. It should spring back into place but in cases of severe dehydration it will stay up in a ridge or return back to its normal position very slowly.
Blood Pressure:
Blood pressure is taken with a special cuff designed to go around the base of the dock over the Middle Coccygeal Artery or on the leg at the Digital Artery. A horse's blood pressure is difficult to hear with a stethoscope so a Doppler ultrasound is used. Of course, most of us are not lucky enough to own such equipment.
Healthy Horse
Standing and behaving normally, energetic but managable
Alert
Shiny coat which lays flat, unless the breed doesn't permit it to, such as the Bashkir Curly
Skin should be loose and supple and move easily over muscles and bones
Skin should lay flat within a couple of seconds of performing a pinch test
No visible signs of sweating except in hot weather
Eyes wide and bright
Body should be well filled out but not obese
Limbs should be free of swelling or heat and cool to the touch
Standing evenly on all four feet (resting a hind leg is normal but not a front)
Sound in action, strides equal lengths
Urine fairly thick and either colorless or pale yellow and passed several times a day
Droppings should be soft, damp balls and passed around 8 times a day
Gums should be a salmon pink in color, just like the membranes in the eyes and linings in the nostrils
Unhealthy Horse
Poor appetite or depression
Could be lethargic or over-excitable
Running nose or eyes
Coughing
Weight loss (depending on the breed, it could be rapid or gradual)
May endure rapid, noisy, strained, or shallow breathing
Coat may become dull and rough and you may even observe hair loss
Coordination may become poor
Horse may develop stiffness or weakness
May show signs of diarrhea
Sweating
Skin not responding immediately to the pinch test
Each horse is different and you should learn what to expect with your own. Know what his normal temperament is like and how he responds to different stimuli. What are his vital signs when resting and what is his overall appearance?
What to do before you decide to call the vet:
Check the injury or general health of the horse
Take the horses' temperature
Check his respiration
Check for his pulse
Check his CRT
Check for dehydration (pinch test)
The information you should have written down when you call the vet:
Name of horse
Breed of horse
Health problem or type of injury
Temperature
Respiration
Pulse
CRT (Capilliary Refill Time)
Dehydration
Anything which the horse has consumed or that you have given the horse in the past 24 hours
Any change in the horses' exercise routine
When the vet gets there:
Have horse ready and make sure that hot water and washing facilities are available
Be ready to tell him the history of the illness or problem
Advise him if the horse is on any drugs
and whether the horse has had a bad reaction to any drugs in the past
Listen and make notes of instructions as to treatment, feeding and exercise
Be sure you understand and follow instructions precisely
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Created on December 26, 2003
Most recent update December 26, 2003
Copyright © 2003, Susan McDonald
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