Healthy Horse Check List
I made up this little check list and keep it by the Ties in the Stable. Use it every day or every time you groom Your Horse. Besides all the normal things you do while grooming your horse, such as looking for cut’s etc., you should make this list part of your daily grooming activity also. It will assure a healthy horse stays healthy.
Pink Gums: Look to see that your Horse has moist pink gums – not white, bluish or dark red.
Horse that have pale gums, almost white could be suffering from colic or shock.
Horse with bluish gums are probably suffering from bad circulation and bright red gums probably has a
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Any colour other then the nice pink colour and you should have her checked by a vet.
Gut sounds:Your Horse should have gurgling sounds coming from the rear abdominal area when you listen with a stethoscope or your ear close to the abdomen.
The digestive system is one of the most sensitive and crucial systems in a horses body. Horse are unable to vomit so everything they consume has to be passed in their waste. This is why Colic can be so dangerous, it literaly shuts down the digestive system causing severe cramping but you will notice the normal gurgling sounds are no longe present. A Horse with no gut sounds is in trouble, call a vet in immediatley.
Signs to watch for Colic are pacing, sweating, pawing at the ground, rolling, standing stretched out kicking and biting at her sides. Call a vet at the presence of any of these signs. Watching these signs can tell you how far along the colic is. While the vet is on the way keep your Horse up and walking.
Bright Eyes: Your Horses eyes should be clear, bright and open, without redness, swelling or excessive tearing. Horses in moderate pain or who are seriously ill will have a dull look in their eyes. They may keep one eye or both half shut or completely shut. They maybe runny, swollen or reddish in colour.
When a Horse is in severe pain her eyes will be wide open and a white sclera will show. They will usually behave in an anxious manner.
Normal Pulse: For most adult Horses a normal resting pulse is 28- 40 beats per minute. This can vary based on breed and age, however knowing your horses pulse rate when she is feeling well gives you something to compare it with if she is feeling under the weather.
To find the Pulse put your index, ring and middle fingers behind the Horse Girth on the left side; on the inside of the foreleg ;or under the jawbone below the jowls. You can detect the pulse in all of these areas.
When you find the pulse start counting the beats for 15 seconds using a watch or clock with a second hand.
Multiply what you get by 4 and that’s your Horses heart rate per minute.
A Normal Temperature:
If your Horse is not eating or just doesnt seem right then check her temperature. A Healthy adult Horse has a temperature a little higer then a hunams at 99.5 – 101.4. Healthy younger Horse especially foals and yearlings can have a slightly higher temperatures.
A lot of factors come into play with a horses tempeature, hot weather, cold weather, excersise or nerves. But if she falls below 97 then something isn’t right with her body. She may be sufferiong from shock, chill or anothe illness. If he temoerature is over 102 then she is probably fighting and infection or colic. In either case a vet should be called in right a way to check her out.
Normal respiration: Another good health indicator is a Horses breathing. The normal rate for a Horse from weanling to adult at rest for 20 minutes is 8-16 breathes in a minute. Determining your horses breathe per minute is easy. Using a watch or clock with a second hand count the times the Flanks (area betwen her barrel and thigh) expand outwards in 15 seconds. Multiply that by 4 to get her breathes per minute.
The Right Weight: Horses who are under or over weight are inheritently unhealthy.
To get the approximate weight of our horse follow these steps: Meaure the Girth about 4 inches behind the front legs. Start at the Withers with a measueingtapeand go all the way around until it meets the othe endof the tape. Thetapshould be tight enough to leave a slight impression on the flesh.
Measure the length of the Horse starting at the point of sholder near the chest, to the point of the buttock.
Then take the Girth and multiplyit by itself. Then multiply this number by the length measurement. Multiply this number by 330 and the answer is your horses weight.
For example if a horses girth is 68 inches and the length is 74 inches the it would be ((68×68)x74) / 330 = Weight.
Many Horses fall in this weight range but height and breed could cause this to very by several hundred pounds either way. Have your vet evaluate your horses weight and decide the proper weight for your Horse.
Good Manure: A sure sign of a healthy equine digestive system is good manure. Good manure means the Horse is properly processing her food. Healthy horse manure come out in moist, firm, round balls. It shouldn’t be runny or unformed, nor should it be hard and dry. A horse who eats 3 times a day will eliminates from 5 to 8 piles of manure (about 31 pounds per day). Note how much your horse produces when she is healthy to determine if something isn’t right when she is not feeling well. If you see her manure point is less even though she is eating the same keep a close eye on her. Her intestines could be slowing down due to a problem.
Shiny Coat: A shiny or Dull coat can tell you things about your horse. A dull coat or mane can be a sign of malnourishment. A horse who does not shed her winter coat or has a very dull unattractive coat or is very slow to do so may be overburdened with intestinal parasites. Call your vet for a checkup.
Do this checklist everyday or everytime you groom or work with your horse and you will be sure to keep your horse healthy and happy.
Appaloosa in England with the spring-loaded foot. And who can forget that paint yearling in India ? Or the landmine-maimed elephant amputee in Thailand ? Longtime Hoofcare and Lameness Journal readers will remember them all. So when I first heard that a pony had survived amputation surgery at Louisiana State University ’s (LSU) equine hospital, I didn’t run to the keyboard and beg for photos. A few weeks later I did, though. Meet Molly. She’s a gray speckled pony who was abandoned by her owners when Katrina hit southern Louisiana . She spent weeks on her own before finally being rescued and taken to a farm where abandoned animals were stockpiled. While there, she was attacked by a pit bull terrier, and almost died. Her gnawed right front leg became infected and her vet went to LSU for help. But LSU was overwhelmed, and this pony was a welfare case. You know how that goes. But after surgeon Rustin Moore met Molly, he changed his mind. He saw how the pony was careful to lie down on different sides so she didn’t seem to get sores, and how she allowed people to handle her. She protected her injured leg. She constantly shifted her weight, and didn’t overload her good leg. She was a smart pony with a serious survival ethic. Moore agreed to remove her leg below the knee and a temporary artificial limb was built. Molly walked out of the clinic and her story really begins there. “This was the right horse and the right owner,” Moore insists. “Molly happened to be a one-in-a-million patient. She’s tough as nails, but sweet, and she was willing to cope with pain. She made it obvious she understood (that) she was in trouble.” The other important factor, according to Moore , is having a truly committed and compliant owner who is dedicated to providing the daily care required over the lifetime of the horse. Molly’s story turns into a parable for life in post-Katrina Louisiana . The little pony gained weight, her mane felt a comb. A human prosthesis designer built her a leg. “The prosthetic has given Molly a whole new life,” Allison Barca DVM, Molly’s regular vet, reports. “And she asks for it! She will put her little limb out, and come to you and let you know that she wants you to put it on. Sometimes she wants you to take it off too.” And sometimes, Molly gets away from Barca. “It can be pretty bad when you can’t catch a three-legged horse,” she laughs. Most important of all, Molly has a job now. Kay, the rescue farm owner, started taking Molly to shelters, hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers. Anywhere she thought that people needed hope. Wherever Molly went, she showed people her pluck. She inspired people. And she had a good time doing it. “It’s obvious to me that Molly had a bigger role to play in life,” Moore said, “She survived the hurricane, she survived a horrible injury, and now she is giving hope to others.” “She’s not back to normal,” Barca concluded. “She’s going to be better. To me, she could be a symbol for New Orleans itself.” This week, Molly the Pony , a children’s book about the pony who has already inspired thousands of people around New Orleans , has been published. It’s not a book about amputation or prosthetics, it’s a book about people and ponies. But the photos you see here are from the book. Maybe Molly won’t make the vet textbooks, but she might reach more people from the pages of this book for children. If you know a child, a library, a hospital, or maybe a therapeutic riding program that can use a lift, here’s a book that can do that. And you can explain how the leg and hoof work! HOW TO ORDER: This book is an oversized, square “laminated” (so it wipes clean) hard cover book. Hoofcare Publishing is proud to offer it for sale to you at the price of $15.95 each plus $6 post. A portion of the sales price will go toward Molly’s fund. To order, send check or money to Hoofcare Books, 19 Harbor Loop, Gloucester MA 01930 . Telephone orders to ( USA ) 978 281 3222. Fax orders to ( USA ) 978 283 8775. Email orders to books@hoofcare.com . Visa or Mastercard accepted; please supply account number and expiration date. When ordering, please give phone and/or email details. You will LOVE this book–and Molly!
FL. Lived there for 13yrs then moved to GA.I have been living here for 5 or 6 yrs…I can’t remember.I love horseback riding mainly barrel racing.I have a horse in training right now.