Horse health Flashcards
are horses herd animals?
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
how do we estimate body weight?
heart girth measurement and sometimes body length measurement to estimate for feed, weight loss, weight gain, correct medicine dosages
how do we take girth measurement?
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
how do we take body length measurement?
from point of shoulder to point of buttocks
equation to determine weight (lbs)
heart girth to the 2nd power x length (in) / 330
what are common causes of eye irritation?
dirt or debris in the eye
can also be caused by injury, infectious disease, or specific eye condition
CS of eye irritation
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
mild eye irritation treatments
- 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
- rinse with artificial tears or other eye safe product
- eye should be protected from excessive sunlight, dust, flying insect irritation
how do we administer eye ointment?
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
normal fecal appearance
usually firm manure balls
not loose/watery and shouldn’t show undigested grains or other feed stuffs
normal urine appearance
normally wheat-straw colored and cloudy
normal HR
35-45 bpm
foals: 70-90 bpm
varies with age, outside temperature, humidity, exercise, and excitement levels
where can we find the pulse?
facial artery: use light pressure just under jaw to palpate
external maxillary artery: crosses lower border of jawbone
normal RR
8-16 Bpm
exercise, air temperature, humidity, fever, distress, pain, anxiety will increase
normal temperature
99.5-101.5 F
high outside temperature, exercise, dehydration can increase 2-3 degrees
continuous noise gut sounds
indicative of overactive gut or hypermotile
no gut sounds
indicative of gut hypomotile
normal gut sounds
gurgling, sloshing, dripping faucet sounds
listen in each of 4 quadrants and should hear a sound every 4 seconds
normal mucous membrane color
light to dark pink
pale mucous membranes
indicative of shock from hypovolemia or pain, cold extremities
red mucous membranes
indicative or sepsis or endotoxic shock when blood pools in capillaries and small vessels
cyanotic mucous membranes
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
equine conformation
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”)
conformation nose examples
dished nose on Arabians (concave)
roman nose on shires (convex)
pig-eyed conformation
small eyes
some claim these horses have stubbornness or nervous disposition
mouth conformation examples
monkey mouth: overbite
parrot-mouth: underbite
both can be managed with regular teeth floating
bull neck conformation
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
long neck conformation
may hinder balancing ability and horse may fatigue more quickly
used for jumping, and speed sports
Thoroughbreds or saddlebreds like Arabians
arched neck conformation
ideal
crest is convex or arched with proportional development of all muscles
large crest conformation
seen in stallions, ponies, and draft breeds
caused by large fat deposits above the nuchal ligament
ewe/upside down neck conformation
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)
swan neck conformation
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
what is the most important conformation?
legs
toed in/pigeon toed conformation
legs turn in from knee down causing faulty movement called paddling or brushing
causes strain to joints and tendons
toed out/splay-footed conformation
legs turn out from the knee down causing faulty movement called winging
causes strain to joints and tendons
cow-hocked conformation
hocks turn inward
toed out conformation
associated with cow-hocked, hooves turn out at about the same angle that the hocks turn in
straight hocks conformation
not enough angle between stifle joint/thigh and hook joint/cannon
causes chronic lameness as the horse ages
common in Thoroughbreds
sickle hocks conformation
angle in the hock joint is too closed, bringing hindleg too far underneath the horse
causes strain on the joint and tendon
long, low pasterns conformation
causes abnormal strain on the fetlock joint and tendons
