Horse health

Question 1

are horses herd animals?

Answer 1

yes, they usually stay in a group
sometimes they can prefer to be alone or being off by itself may be indicative of being hurt or ill

Question 2

how do we estimate body weight?

Answer 2

heart girth measurement and sometimes body length measurement to estimate for feed, weight loss, weight gain, correct medicine dosages

Question 3

how do we take girth measurement?

Answer 3

place tape or a thin piece of material around the girth, tape encircles horse just behind withers and just behind elbows on the bottom
record measurement after the horse breathes out

Question 4

how do we take body length measurement?

Answer 4

from point of shoulder to point of buttocks

Question 5

equation to determine weight (lbs)

Answer 5

heart girth to the 2nd power x length (in) / 330

Question 6

what are common causes of eye irritation?

Answer 6

dirt or debris in the eye
can also be caused by injury, infectious disease, or specific eye condition

Question 7

CS of eye irritation

Answer 7

eye becomes red/irritated, may be sensitive to light and horse will squint or keep eye closed
tearing or discharge is common as a result of trauma, irritation, infection, and disease

Question 8

mild eye irritation treatments

Answer 8

1. clean around edges of the eyes with a damp warm water washcloth: start at the corner of the eye and wipe away from the eye
2. rinse with artificial tears or other eye safe product
3. eye should be protected from excessive sunlight, dust, flying insect irritation

Question 9

how do we administer eye ointment?

Answer 9

lower eyelid is pulled down slightly to create a pocket, small ribbon of ointment is placed into pocket, eyelids gently brought together once or twice to spread ointment around

Question 10

normal fecal appearance

Answer 10

usually firm manure balls
not loose/watery and shouldn’t show undigested grains or other feed stuffs

Question 11

normal urine appearance

Answer 11

normally wheat-straw colored and cloudy

Question 12

normal HR

Answer 12

35-45 bpm
foals: 70-90 bpm
varies with age, outside temperature, humidity, exercise, and excitement levels

Question 13

where can we find the pulse?

Answer 13

facial artery: use light pressure just under jaw to palpate
external maxillary artery: crosses lower border of jawbone

Question 14

normal RR

Answer 14

8-16 Bpm
exercise, air temperature, humidity, fever, distress, pain, anxiety will increase

Question 15

normal temperature

Answer 15

99.5-101.5 F
high outside temperature, exercise, dehydration can increase 2-3 degrees

Question 16

continuous noise gut sounds

Answer 16

indicative of overactive gut or hypermotile

Question 17

no gut sounds

Answer 17

indicative of gut hypomotile

Question 18

normal gut sounds

Answer 18

gurgling, sloshing, dripping faucet sounds
listen in each of 4 quadrants and should hear a sound every 4 seconds

Question 19

normal mucous membrane color

Answer 19

light to dark pink

Question 20

pale mucous membranes

Answer 20

indicative of shock from hypovolemia or pain, cold extremities

Question 21

red mucous membranes

Answer 21

indicative or sepsis or endotoxic shock when blood pools in capillaries and small vessels

Question 22

cyanotic mucous membranes

Answer 22

indicative of severe/prolonged shock
may be seen along with overlying hyperemic tone due to pooling of blood in capillaries and the cell’s subsequent depletion of O2

Question 23

equine conformation

Answer 23

evaluates the degree of correctness of a horse’s bone structure, musculature, and body proportions in relation to each other
usually judged by what the horse’s intended use is (“form to function”)

Question 24

conformation nose examples

Answer 24

dished nose on Arabians (concave)
roman nose on shires (convex)

Question 25

pig-eyed conformation

Answer 25

small eyes
some claim these horses have stubbornness or nervous disposition

Question 26

mouth conformation examples

Answer 26

monkey mouth: overbite
parrot-mouth: underbite
both can be managed with regular teeth floating

Question 27

bull neck conformation

Answer 27

short, thick, beefy neck
attachment to body is beneath the half-way point down the length of the shoulder
desirable for draft or carriage horses since muscles of the neck generate pulling power
common in draft breeds, Quarter horses, and Morgans

Question 28

long neck conformation

Answer 28

may hinder balancing ability and horse may fatigue more quickly
used for jumping, and speed sports
Thoroughbreds or saddlebreds like Arabians

Question 29

arched neck conformation

Answer 29

ideal
crest is convex or arched with proportional development of all muscles

Question 30

large crest conformation

Answer 30

seen in stallions, ponies, and draft breeds
caused by large fat deposits above the nuchal ligament

Question 31

ewe/upside down neck conformation

Answer 31

bends upward
can be seen in any breed especially long-neck horses, mainly Arabian and Thoroughbred
may be caused by a horse that holds neck high (stargazing)

Question 32

swan neck conformation

Answer 32

set at a high upward angle with upper curve attached, yet a dip remains in the front of the withers and muscles bulge on the underside
common in Saddlebreds, Gaited horses, Thoroughbreds

Question 33

what is the most important conformation?

Answer 33

legs

Question 34

toed in/pigeon toed conformation

Answer 34

legs turn in from knee down causing faulty movement called paddling or brushing
causes strain to joints and tendons

Question 35

toed out/splay-footed conformation

Answer 35

legs turn out from the knee down causing faulty movement called winging
causes strain to joints and tendons

Question 36

cow-hocked conformation

Answer 36

hocks turn inward

Question 37

toed out conformation

Answer 37

associated with cow-hocked, hooves turn out at about the same angle that the hocks turn in

Question 38

straight hocks conformation

Answer 38

not enough angle between stifle joint/thigh and hook joint/cannon
causes chronic lameness as the horse ages
common in Thoroughbreds

Question 39

sickle hocks conformation

Answer 39

angle in the hock joint is too closed, bringing hindleg too far underneath the horse
causes strain on the joint and tendon

Question 40

long, low pasterns conformation

Answer 40

causes abnormal strain on the fetlock joint and tendons