Basic Horse Health

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Basic Horse Health Disease Prevention

• Kristen M. Wilson
• Regional Extension Horse Specialist

Maryland Cooperative Extension provides equal
access programs
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Horse Health Management

• Horses must be observed at regular intervals
• Know personality and normal stimuli responses
  from each individual animal
• Establish normal values for your horse
• Record keeping is key

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Daily Observation
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Recognizing Problems
Learn to Recognize Abnormal Behavior
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Vital Signs

• Vital Signs
• Measurements of a horses body function and are
  good indicators of the horses overall health

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Vital Signs

• Common vital signs
• Temperature
• Pulse
• Respiration
• Gut Sounds
• Mucosal Color/Capillary Refill Time
• Skin Pliability

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Vital Signs Temperature

• Normal 100F or 38C
• Varies 99.5 101.5F
• Exercise, excitement, hot weather, illness and
  pain will raise the temperature
• Shock and very cold weather will decrease
  temperature
• Mercury vs. Digital

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Temperature
(Hill, 1997. Horse Health Care)
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Vital Signs Pulse

• Horse should be calm, rested and relaxed for most
  accurate results
• To determine pulse gently press fingers against
  an artery
• Count the beats for 30 seconds and multiply by 2

Normal Resting Pulse Rates (In Beats Per
Minute) 2 weeks old up to 100 4 weeks old
70 Yearling 45 60 2 Years 40 50 Adult 30
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Heart Rate
(Hayes, 1997. Hands-On Horse Care)
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Digital Pulse
A good indicator of foot problems
(Hill, 1997. Horse Health Care)
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Vital Signs Respiration

• Normal respiration is 8 - 16 breaths per minute
• To determine watch the nostrils or flanks
• Nostrils flare and contract with each breath
• The respiration rate should NOT exceed the heart
  rate

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Respiration
(Hill, 1997. Horse Health Care)
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Pulse/Respiration Ratio

• Normal Ratio 42 or 21
• A more significant measure of stress than each of
  the actual figures alone
• Respiration exceeding pulse is an indicator of
  serious stress
• Call vet immediately!!!

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Vital Signs Gut Sounds

• Gut sounds can help you diagnose a sick horse
• Caused by the normal contracting and relaxing
  movements of the digestive tract during the
  digestion process
• Place an ear on the flank area or use a
  stethoscope
• Abnormal- Absence of gut sounds!

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Gut Sounds
(Rose and Hodgson, 2000. Manual of Equine
Practice)
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Vital Signs Mucosal Color

• Indicator of blood circulation
• Several mucous membranes can be checked the
  inner lips and gums, inside the vulva and
  nostrils should be moist and pink
• Determine capillary refill time by pressing your
  thumb on the horses gum and then releasing it
• It should take 2 seconds for the blood and
  normal color to return to the area

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Capillary Refill Time
(Hayes, 1997. Hands-On Horse Care)
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Mucous Membranes-Sick Horse
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Vital Signs Skin Pliability

• Test for dehydration
• Pinch a fold of skin on your horses neck and
  release it - it should quickly flatten back in
  place
• If the horse is dehydrated - the skin will
  flatten slowly or tend to stay in a fold

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Skin Pliability Test
(Hill, 1997. Horse Health Care)
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Other Factors to Consider

• Bodily fluids (feces, urine, saliva sweat)
• Body condition and weight
• Movement
• Hair coat
• Hoof condition
• Feeding habits
• Behaviors

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Body Fluids
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Hair Coat
Normally shiny and generally healthy looking
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Body Condition Weight
BCS - 1
BCS - 5
BCS - 9
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Henneke Body Scoring System
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Hoof Condition
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Hoof Care
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Pick Out Hoofs Daily
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Feeding Habits Behavior

• Know what your horses normal behaviors are
• Decreased interest in feed could indicate dental
  problems and/or health problems
• Anything out of the ordinary could be an
  indication of a health problem

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Disease Prevention

• Equine diseases reduce performance, cause
  economic and personal losses, lowers morale of
  workers and often affects farms reputations
• Goals
• Prevent or minimize exposure to infectious agents
• Optimize resistance

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How Do Diseases Spread?

1. Air
2. Living animals of the same species
3. Living animals of other species
4. Dead or sick animals
5. Feed
6. Water
7. Movement of contaminated personnel, equipment and
   vehicles
8. Movement of effluent between properties

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Equine Disease Control Program

1. Optimize health and nutrition plans for animals
2. Use rodent, parasite and vector control programs
   throughout the year
3. Do not allow horse access to streams and
   waterways
4. Contract with a veterinarian and clearly post
   their contact information

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Equine Disease Control Program

• Communication is key
• Limit human access to barns if they are not
  clientele or workers
• Clean and disinfect barns, stalls and equipment
  regularly
• Discard all manure and bedding from stalls that
  house sick horses

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Equine Disease Control Program

• Become familiar with common diseases that affect
  horses
• Identify symptoms with the onset of a disease
• Vaccination Plan
• Deworming Plan

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Common Equine Diseases

• Equine Encephalomyelitis (sleeping sickness)
• Equine Infectious Anemia
• Equine Viral Arteritis
• Equine Rhinopneumonitis
• Influenza
• Potomac Horse Fever
• Rabies
• West Nile Virus
• Strangles
• Tetanus (lock jaw)

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Identifying Symptoms
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Identifying Symptoms
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Identifying Symptoms
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Vaccination Program

• Vaccines
• Inactivated, modified, or killed forms of
  bacteria and viruses that are administered to
  horses so that they acquire immunity to diseases
• Usually given twice yearly
• Booster shots required for unvaccinated animals

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Sample Vaccination Schedule

• Fall
• Tetanus, Influenza, Rhinopneumonitis, Rabies
• Spring
• EEE, WEE, Potomac Horse Fever, West Nile Virus,
  Influenza, Rhino, Coggins Test
• No vaccine is 100 effective and good management
  strategies are needed

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Parasite Control Management

• Management plans should consider internal and
  external parasites
• Consult your veterinarian when establishing a
  program
• Types
• Rotational
• Daily

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Sample Deworming Schedule
Month Class of Dewormer
January Ivermectin
March Oxfendazole
May Moxidectin
July Pyrantel Pamoate (double dose) or Ivermectin/Praziquantel
September Fenendazole
November Ivermectin
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Summary

• Visual inspection of your horse on a daily basis
  can help prevent illness and/or injury
• Important to know normal vital signs
• Good management practices can improve your
  horses overall health and prevent diseases from
  spreading

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• Kristen M. Wilson
• kswilson_at_umd.edu
• 301-596-9478