Basic Equine Health Care

Question 1

How should a healthy horse behave?

Answer 1

Bright, alert and responsive
Interested in surroundings (lift head/ ears react to change)
Doing what it normally does
Engaging how it normally does (other horses/handlers/stimuli)

Question 2

What does DUDE stand for in regards to healthy horses?

Answer 2

Defecation
Urination
Drinking
Eating

Question 3

Describe healthy defecation.

Answer 3

Quantity - 4-13 piles/day, approx. 17kg/day for 500kg horse
Appearance - individual formed nuggets, moisture, normal colour, no visible parasites
Location - neat/messy as is usual for horse

Question 4

Describe healthy urination.

Answer 4

Several times a day
One large/several small wet patches
May wait for soft surface (avoid splashback)
Normal posture - hindlimbs wide + caudal

Question 5

Describe healthy drinking.

Answer 5

Volume - 40-60ml/kg/day

Timing = increases when eating/with dry food

Question 6

Describe healthy eating.

Answer 6

Interest
Quantity - 1.5-2% bodyweight of dry matter intake/day
Frequency - continuous trickle, by choice grazing 18hrs/day

Question 7

What do we look for when examining a horse?

Answer 7

Demeanour + behaviour
Respiration
Pulse/heart rate
MMs and CRT
Lymph nodes
Auscultation
Temperature

Question 8

What is normal respiration on examination?

Answer 8

Normal 12-20 breaths/min
Should be hard to see (no nasal flare/abdominal effort/heave line)
Nares moist but no discharge
No coughing

Question 9

What is a normal heart rate for a horse?

Answer 9

Normal = 30-40bpm

Question 10

Where can we palpate a horse’s pulse?

Answer 10

Transverse facial artery
Facial artery
Digital artery
Apex beat palpation/cardiac auscultation

Question 11

Describe how we examine lymph nodes.

Answer 11

Small, pea to bean sized nodes
Either side of midline ventral mandible
Directly between points where facial arteries cross under the jaw
To palpate, stroke skin from caudal to cranial and feel for a bump

Question 12

What do we auscultate during examination?

Answer 12

Lungs + trachea - should be difficult to hear, divide into 9 fields
Heart - clear ‘lub-dub’, left and right, ‘dropped beats’ (2nd degree block) normal at rest, may hear murmurs
Abdomen - gut sounds (present in all quadrants, proportional to activity), caecal emptying (right dorsal quadrant, ‘toilet flush’ sound)

Question 13

What is normal temperature in a horse?

Answer 13

Normal 37.3-38.2 degrees
Rarely hypothermia in adult
If hyperthermic/pyrexic then likely to be real

Question 14

What are some signs of colic?

Answer 14

Rolling
Looking at flanks
Bruxism
Posturing to urinate
Recumbent
Pawing
Anorexia/inappetant
Reduced faecal output

Question 15

What are some signs of respiratory disease?

Answer 15

Exercise intolerance
Extended head + neck position
Increased abdominal effort (heave line)
Flared nostrils
Coughing
Nasal (+ ocular) discharge

Question 16

What are some signs of liver disease?

Answer 16

Dull/hyperaesthetic
Inappetant
Weight loss
Jaundice
Head pressing
Compulsive circling
Photosensitisation
Diarrhoea

Question 17

What are some signs of dental disease?

Answer 17

Dropping food (quidding)
Weight loss
Slow to eat
Halitosis

Question 18

What are some signs of lameness?

Answer 18

Recumbency
Abnormal posture
Resting limb
Slow/reluctant to move
Lame when moving
Changed behaviour during/around exercise

Question 19

What preventative medicine can we provide for horses?

Answer 19

Vaccination
Dentistry
Worming
Foot care + farriery
Fly treatments
Body condition score/weight
Physiotherapy/chiropractor

Question 20

What are the routine core vaccinations for horses?

Answer 20

Influenza

Tetanus

Question 21

How is dentistry carried out in horses?

Answer 21

Routine exam - with gag/speculum
Every 6-12 months for healthy adult (increase if pathology)
Palpate, pick + probe cheek teeth, view with mirror and light
Removal of sharp enamel points / rostral/caudal hooks

Question 22

How often should farriery be carried out?

Answer 22

Routine trim/shoe every 4-8 weeks

Question 23

What factors affect whether or not to shoe a horse?

Answer 23

Growth vs wear
Conformation
Hoof quality

Question 24

What do shoes provide for a horse?

Answer 24

Protection - prevent excess wear
Support - usually at heel
Traction - road nails/studs
Gait alteration - changes point of loading

Question 25

Describe influenza and its vaccination.

Answer 25

IM dose, 6 monthly for FEI competing horses / annual booster
Highly contagious viral infection
Acute onset respiratory disease (pyrexia, nasal discharge, coughing)
Horses very sick but rarely fatal

Question 26

Describe tetanus and its vaccination.

Answer 26

IM injection
Not contagious
Spastic paralysis (muscular contraction, extended head/neck/spine/elevated tail, flared nostrils, wide open eyes, erect ears)
Uncommon due to vaccination
High mortality

Question 27

Describe an appropriate grooming routine.

Answer 27

Dried mud removed with dandy brush/rubber curry comb
Body brush used all over
Feet picked out with hoof pick (heel to toe AWAY from frog)
Face sponge for eyes + muzzle
Perineal sponge

Question 28

Why is grooming hospitalised horses beneficial?

Answer 28

Improves wellbeing - contact time / stimulation
Time to notice things e.g. skin lesions, behaviour changes
Minimum - pick out feet daily