Your horse's vital signs

- What to look for
- How to measure them
- How to use them
- When to call the vet

When you own, ride and care for one or more horses you have a tremendous responsibility.

In most cases, you stable, feed and manage, ride and compete, and take responsibility for all aspects of that horse’s life, health and well being. The horse relies totally on you to maintain its health and well being, as well as its level of fitness and ability to perform.

Because horses in a natural state are herbivorous animals, constantly grazing, eating and exercising, anytime you stable or confine, transport, ride, compete or feed them, you have altered the natural daily activity and behaviour of the horse to some degree.

It is now up to you to become totally familiar with all of the horse’s individual behaviours and vital signs - so that you know what is normal, what is abnormal, and when you may need to call the vet for expert help. If you can become very familiar with each horse’s normal signs and behaviour, you can be of tremendous value to a veterinarian in the case of warning of serious illness, and in monitoring treatment and recovery.

You can also become very proficient at monitoring response to exercise training programmes, and at monitoring recovery, and thus the state of fitness, of your horse.

If you have the right information, you can very efficiently monitor your horse for health, disease, and performance potential. All you need is the facts, and some advice on how to collect the relevant information.

Before we look at the things you should observe regularly, it can’t be stressed enough that you should start to collect information on all of these signs for each horse you have, by taking observations regularly over a few weeks when the horse is normal, so you can begin to understand what is abnormal for that particular horse.

While many vital signs are within a narrow margin for all horses,(normal body temperature, for example) there are some others that do vary significantly with individual animals, and in different situations (some horses may like to lie down and sleep for a few hours a night, where others prefer to stand, for example). I will outline these, and your job is then to define the normal range for that particular horse in a variety of conditions.

Above all, get into the habit of recording vital signs in a notebook when you start. You won’t be able to remember the variations you will record, and very quickly you will develop a “normal” range for each individual. Choose various times of the day, but always when the horse is at rest, not when it has worked or is excited, when starting to record normal signs.

Learning to accurately observe takes a lot of practice. Start to practice right now.

So, what vital signs can we measure, how do we measure them, what is a normal result, and what causes abnormalities?

1. Demeanour and Behaviour

While not strictly a vital sign, the horse’s normal demeanour and behaviour can tell you a lot. Is the horse bright, alert and responsive. Is the horse acting like itself, or does it show behaviour that is abnormal for that particular animal? A horse may be lethargic, may lie down far more than normally, may not eat, or may have an intermittent appetite, or it may simply refuse some types of food it normally eats with relish. Young foals may simply show a reluctance or failure to suckle.
Any abnormal behaviour, posture, pattern of activity, appetite or appearance can be a sign of something wrong. The only way you know what is abnormal is to fully understand what is normal for that horse.

Behaviours commonly associated with illness are signs of pain, distress, depression, lethargy or anxiety. Every horse has a different personality, and variable behaviours, but each horse should normally be quite consistent in its behaviour patterns, where any change will alert you to a potential problem.
A horse with colic, even mild colic, may stretch, roll, nip at his flanks, or sweat a lot. A foundered horse will usually stand with its hind legs under its abdomen and its front legs stretched out more than usual. Foundered, or imminent laminitis horses, may frequently stand in cool water in a creek or dam, and this may be very different behaviour to normal that indicates a problem to you.
Sick horses often adopt strange or abnormal behaviour and attitudes. They may be irritable, flick their tails a lot (but that could just be fly worry as well), and they may be restless, or even quite lethargic.

Behaviour also includes general attitude and expressions, how the horse socialises with humans and other animals, and the presence or absence of behavioural vices such as cribbing, weaving, biting, kicking, etc.

Eating patterns and attitude are especially important. Any horse that refuses to eat or drink should be considered a concern. You may then notice other unusual behaviours such as difficulty urinating, or difficulty defaecating, which lead you to investigate the horse more fully. If you feed the same amounts every day, you will soon begin to see if the horse’s appetite increases or decreases. Lack of desire to eat usually indicates something is seriously wrong, especially if your horse is normally a regular, enthusiastic eater. Poor appetite in a normally good eater immediately means that you should check all other vital signs. Be sure to look at water consumption as well if food is being refused. He could stop drinking, or drink more than usual - these are important clues for further action.

An average horse eats about 2-3% of its bodyweight a day. (A 450kg horse therefore eats about 9 to 13.5kg of food by weight daily) The only way you can evaluate food consumption properly is to weigh the food consumed daily on a set of scales. It is not enough to estimate “one dipper of this, or one biscuit of hay, etc. Once you are certain how much a normal diet weighs, you have a solid base for working out daily feed consumption. This information is vital when you do a dietary analysis, or just when you are thinking of changing feeds.

An average horse drinks between 20 and 50 litres of water a day, depending on environmental conditions and activity level. Get used to observing how much your individual horse drinks under different conditions.

Normal urination for an average 450kg horse will also vary, but is usually around 4-9 litres daily. Get used to the normal frequency of urination, how the horse stands to urinate, and the normal colour of the urine. Colour will vary with the feed type consumed and the time of day (urine is frequently darker early in the morning after it has concentrated overnight)

How often does the horse normally pass manure? This will also vary with the type and amount of feed consumed, but will typically be several times daily. What is the normal consistency of faeces - again, this will vary with type of feed, but the primary issue is that of the consistency of faecal balls, and the ease of passing them. Healthy faeces is usually hay-coloured and moderately solid. Horse faeces is not as fluid as that of, say, cattle, and is almost always normally solid and formed. Diarrhoea is a sign of problems in both adult and foals. Colic will almost always be associated with altered passage of faeces, or apparent difficulty defaecating, for example.

Dropping food or grain while eating can be a sign of tooth trouble which may require dental attention. It is also useful to get used to checking the tongue and inner cheek for any cuts or scars from sharp teeth. Perhaps a horse will play with the bit when it is worked because of damage to the cheeks or tongue. If you are checking the teeth for sharp edges be aware that some horses with tooth infections, or with a lot of cuts inside the cheeks from sharp teeth, will have a foul odour in the mouth. This can be an important sign of trouble.

Body weight and condition is a function of breed, height and body type, but you will quickly work out what is correct for your horse. Any rapid increase or decrease in bodyweight may indicate problems. It is useful to put your horse in a float and take it to a weigh station to weigh the horse periodically, so that you have an accurate idea of its bodyweight. This is extremely useful when medicating your horse; even for worm drenching, so you don’t underestimate weight. Weight loss and a general unthriftiness are a sign of tooth problems, possible feed nutrient deficiencies, and chronic disease of many causes.

Hair coat is a good non-specific indicator of general health. Generally a horse hair coat should be slick, and never extremely dull or rough. Winter coats will be longer than that for summer, and should shed rapidly in spring. Poor hair coat condition can indicate problems such as nutritional deficiencies or internal parasitism. Dehydrated horses usually have a dull, dry coat. Horses fed some oil usually have a very shiny coat.

Hoof condition is an excellent indicator of past care and nutrition, as well as of the efficiency of hoof trimming and shoeing. The ideal hoof is hard, with an almost shiny waxy surface, where the outside layer of the hoof prevents dehydration of the hoof to prevent dehydration and cracking. The frog and sole should be pliable - not dry or cracked. Excessive rasping of the hoof wall during trimming and shoeing removes the waterproofing ability of the hoof, and should always be discouraged.

Mobility at all gaits rapidly indicates lameness issues if you are familiar with normal locomotion for that particular horse. Signs of painful movement include bobbing of the head or limping at any gait. Veterinarians rely mostly on mobility at a trot on a level surface to indicate lameness issues. Pain is often associated with high heart rates.

Discharges may be important. When you are measuring vital signs look for abnormal discharges from the eyes, nose, sheath in stallions and geldings, vagina in mares, rectum,a nd from any discharge from a skin wound or cut. Signs to look for, and of possible concern, are generally a yellowish colour, an odour, or thickened discharge. Any discharge other than normal waste from the rectum, vagina, or sheath are cause for concern. Both the eyes and nose regularly have some degree of normal watery discharge under normal conditions.

Does your horse breathe hard, sweat heavily at certain times, bleed abnormally, or lie down at unusual times? Could you recognise changes in the manure, or the quantity of hay eaten? Do you know how much your horse drinks on an average day? Develop the skill of observation. Start developing that skill be recording all normal behaviour and signs.

2. The Vital Signs

These are all specific indicators of general health, and some can also be very useful to indicate response to training.

Vital signs include:
Temperature
Pulse
Respiration
Capillary Refill Time
Mucous membranes
Skin Pliability (Pinch Test)
Gut Sounds

a) TEMPERATURE

The normal temperature for a horse is 37.5 - 38.5 degrees C (99.5 - 101.4 degrees F).

A temperature higher than that may indicate infections, or heat stress if the horse has been exercising in hot, humid conditions such as in endurance rides. A healthy horse’s temperature can vary by about 3 degrees, depending on environmental conditions.
Foals and yearlings may have higher temperatures, especially if they are nervous. High humidity and hot weather may increase the body temperature, as will exercise.
Temperature is usually one degree or so higher in the afternoon than in the evening
Temperature usually rises a little a few hours after a horse has eaten - see how much it alters your horse by taking temperatures every hour for 4-5 hours after feeding.
Cold weather may lower a horse’s body temperature.

How Do You Take Temperature?

The most accurate way is take a rectal temperature. You can do this with a thermometer, which should be a thick large animal rectal thermometer, not a relatively thin and fragile human thermometer (although this will do as long as you are very careful with it)

The common thermometers are mercury filled, which require you to shake the fluid level down by shaking the thermometer sharply before you insert it into the rectum, as it may still be at the temperature indicated from its last use. Many large animal thermometers have a ring at the end so you can attach a piece of string to it. (There’s nothing like trying to retrieve a thermometer that has been lost in the rectum of a horse. This can be very dangerous for the horse, so make sure you either have a string attached to the thermometer, or that you hold it in place carefully.) Mercury thermometers need to be in place in the rectum for 2-3 minutes to accurately reflect body temperature.

Newer thermometers are digital, and ‘beep” about 1 minute after insertion to let you know they are finished recording the temperature. These are cheap, and available from chemists or your veterinarian.

If you don’t know the horse well, (or it doesn’t know you), inserting a rectal thermometer may be cause for some concern to both of you. It is an important enough procedure that both you and the horse should be comfortable with taking temperature. Your vet will certainly need to take temperature regularly if treating the horse - so you should learn to do it as well. It could be extremely valuable when dealing with severe or acute illness like colic.

To take a horse’s temperature, stand to its side facing the rear, and rest your hip and body close against the horse’s rear leg. Grab the tail near the base with your left hand (about 12-15cm from the base of the tail). Slowly and firmly raise the tail and move it to the side (horses much prefer the tail to be moved to the side than having it raised high). Insert the thermometer with your right hand slowly into the anus. Push it in, and slightly upwards until only 5cm or so is protruding. It is almost always easier on you and the horse to lubricate the thermometer with liquid paraffin, vaseline, saliva or K-Y Jelly before you insert it. Allow the tail to return to its normal position - it will help keep the thermometer in place, and the horse will be more comfortable.

Leave a normal thermometer in the rectum for about 3 minutes, or a digital thermometer for over 1 minute until it “beeps”. When you remove it, wipe it on a few strands of tail hair to clean it before reading the temperature.

Remember, temperature increases with exertion, excitement, illness, and hot,humid weather. Temperature decreases with shock (this is serious!), and may be a few degrees lower in very cold weather.

As you become comfortable with normal temperature variations in your horse, you can use the result in combination with factors such as the degree or amount of exercise, amount of drinking and sweating, and environmental conditions, to evaluate the actual affects of long, hard work, and the recovery from exercise. Temperature is an essential vital sign for everyone to know and learn to interpret.

While taking temperature to begin a record, try taking a resting temperature at about the same time each day for a week or so, then also try a working temperature by retaking temperature after a work programme. It is worth taking temperature after different intensity work periods to note any variations due to work. This all helps you understand your horse more. These temperatures after work allow you to develop a temperature maximum for your horse.

An exercise to help define your horse’s normal temperature:

Record your horse’s temperature at the same time of day every day for one week while at rest.

Then record temperature after a standard work period of, say, 30 minutes for a week.

Then record temperature a few hours after feeding to see if there’s a difference from feeding.

Then record temperature during different environmental conditions (hot, humid weather, cooler months, at night time, etc) to assess how much normal temperature in your horse changes, and what is the maximum normal temperature for that particular horse.

The records will let you quickly determine what is a normal temperature range for your horse.

b) PULSE

The pulse is simply a record of the heart rate, measured at some point on the body, as it measures the flow of blood through an artery as blood travels to the body tissues.

The normal pulse for an adult horse at rest is between 26-40 beats per minute (bpm).
Foals have rates between 70-90bpm, and yearlings usually show 45-60bpm, while 2 year olds reduce closer to adult rates at 40-50bpm.

Any rate over about 50bpm in an adult resting horse is definitely abnormal. Rates over 80bpm mean you have a serious problem.

Having said that, remember that hard working racehorses at the peak of their sprint will regularly have heart rates over 200bpm, and this is quite normal. A well conditioned horse in competition can regularly show pulse rates over 100bpm and be perfectly OK

Pulse rate will increase rapidly if a resting horse is excited or nervous, as well as if the horse is in pain, shock, during and after exercise, or has a disease associated with a high temperature. If the horse is heat stressed the heart rate will be higher than normal as well

Pulse rates are lower in fit horses, and in cooler weather..
The higher the heart rate, the more severe the condition, generally, except immediately after strenuous exercise.

Heart rate varies with work intensity as well as with the level of fitness of the horse.
Horses that are fit may have pulse rates as low as 24-28, however any rate above 40 at rest needs further investigation. Rates between 40 and 60 are to be considered serious, but maybe explained by an elevated temperature. Rates above 80 at rest are to be considered critical, requiring immediate attention.

A really important value of taking pulse (heart rate) is to evaluate how rapidly heart rate returns to normal after hard work - the recovery rate. This is a very useful parameter for evaluating fitness in competition horses. As fitness increases, the time to recover to normal ranges decreases. In racing or endurance evaluations - if heart rate, respiration or temperature have not returned to near normal in 10 minutes, there may be a problem requiring assistance.

How Do You Take The Pulse?

There are several positions where the pulse can be taken easily;

1. Under the jawbone, just on the inside of the jaw, about midway between the large muscle mass of the jaw, with practice you will feel a fairly thick blood vessel (maxillary artery) running under the bottom edge of the jawbone, which you can rub with your fingertips. Light pressure with fingertips (not thumbs) on this blood vessel will allow you to feel the pulse with a little practice. If you press too firmly you will restrict blood flow and not feel the pulse: if you use your thumb, all you may record is your own heart rate, so make sure to use your fingertips lightly. This is an easy position to take the pulse rate from, so spend some time to try to learn it. Use a clock to time the number of beats over one minute (or count beats for 30 seconds and multiply by two). The disadvantage is that the horse may move its head, and you will lose contact and have to start again.

2. You can use a stethoscope (available very cheaply) placed over the heart directly at the point of the elbow on the near side chest. This will allow you to hear and count the heart beats.

Note: remember that one heartbeat will sound in two parts (Lub-dub), so you must make sure you count one heartbeat as one, not two beats.

3. The Digital Arteries located on both the inside and outside of the horse’s leg just above the fetlock, are easily accessible to feel the pulse. The digital pulse is particularly valuable to help evaluate pain and inflammation in the foot and hoof, but be warned - finding this pulse may take some experience and expertise. You may need to ask your vet to show you the exact sites.

To Take the Digital Pulse

Feel on the inside and outside of each leg toward the back of the fetlock at the level of the sesamoid bones. This pulse takes practice, as it is very slight, and can be difficult to feel. Applying too firm a pressure with your fingers (not thumb) can block the arteries and stop any pulse. If you have trouble finding the artery, slide your fingers forward and backward in the region until you lovate a slight pulse - the digital artery is about 2-3mm thick only.

Tip: Compare the findings on all four feet when you have located the artery, so you can judge if one foot is abnormal. Check the digital pulse when your horse is healthy to determine what is normal.
A strong digital pulse can indicate pain associated with a foot abscess, bruise, laminitis or other foot lameness, and will guide you to look more carefully at that particular foot for problems.
Note that if the pulse is increased (stronger) in more than one foot, there may be a systemic, not a localised problem.
Foals are opposite to adults - the digital pulse is easy to feel, and a weak pulse should be of some concern. You first need to know what is a normal strong or weak pulse for your horse before you can make that judgement.

One clue: nervous horses can very rapidly elevate heart rate. Take the reading for one minute, listening to see if the pulse rate varies, or comes down in excited horses. It very often will after the horse settles from a surprise.

With each heartbeat a typical adult horse pumps approximately one litre of blood out of the heart. This is called the stroke volume. With a resting heart rate of 30-40 beats per minute, this means that the total blood pumped in one minute (the horse’s cardiac output) is 30-40 litres. This contrasts to humans, where average output is 5 litres per minute. When a fit horse has a maximum heart rate of 220-240 beats per minute, this means that cardiac output at rest of about 35 litres/minute can increase very rapidly to up to 240 litres/minute

Exercise:

Take the pulse in your chosen manner regularly every day at rest. Record the results.

Take pulse rates after exercise to try to find the difference. Perhaps you can try pulse rates after light, medium and hard work.

Remember that heart rate can elevate rapidly if the horse is startled, nervous or excited.

c) Respiration

The average resting respiratory rate for an adult horse is between 8-15 per minute, and is increased by hot, humid environmental temperature, exercise, fever and pain.

Rapid breathing at rest almost always requires veterinary attention
An exercising horse’s breathing rate will increase to up to 60 - 140, depending on the intensity and duration of hard physical work, and the environmental conditions.

One breath is measured as one inhalation plus one exhalation.

The ratio of the pulse to the respiratory rate is an important one in many cases, as it is a significant measure of stress. Depending on a horse’s age, the normal resting pulse to respiratory rate ratio would

range from 4 : 1 to 2 : 1. If that ratio became 1 : 1 or 1 : 2, the horse is suffering from oxygen deprivation which indicates a very serious stress.
Keep in mind that the respiration rate should never exceed the pulse rate.

A horse should normally spend an equal amount of time inhaling as exhaling, and the effort of breathing should not be forced or difficult in any way.

In galloping horses, the respiration rate is linked to the steps the horses take.

How To Take The Respiratory Rate

When a horse is exercising heavily it is easy to measure the respiratory rate by watching the nostrils dilate and relax (each dilation when they breath in, and relaxation when they breathe out, is one breath), or by watching the ribs move in and out. Count the number of breaths per minute.

Respiratory rate in a resting horse however, can be much more difficult, so the best way is to use a cheap stethoscope placed on the trachea (windpipe).

With the stethoscope earpieces in your ears, press the stethoscope bell firmly onto the underside of your horse’s neck about 10-15cm below where the throat meets the neck. You will hear the air entering and leaving the lungs as it travels through the trachea. Remember that one inspiration and one expiration equals one breath.
Count the number of breaths over one minute, or over 30 seconds and multiply by two.

Alternatively you can use the stethoscope placed over the chest just behind the front leg and hear the breathing cycle as air enters and leaves the lungs, but this requires more experience.

You may choose to just watch the ribcage for one minute, remembering that one inhale plus one exhale is one breath. Each breath is fairly slow in a normal resting horse. If it is hard to see the ribs move you may be better to watch the nostrils, or even place your hand in front of the nostrils, to feel the warm air being released onto your hand - but be careful not to obstruct the breathing by blocking the nostril.

Deep, heavy breathing, or breathing with extra effort from the abdominal muscles, abnormal noises while breathing, laboured breathing or gasping are all very important indicators of problems, and should be noted. Get used to how quiet normal breathing is, and to how little apparent effort the horse puts into normal breathing.

Do you know if your horse moves its abdomen when it breathes normally? If not, get used to observing all normal behaviour.

Exercise:

Count the horse’s resting respiratory rate by several methods every day until you are comfortable with the results. Record all results while you are learning. Does the horse move its abdomen with normal respiration? Does breathing look difficult, or forced?

Count respiratory rate after exercise periods. Is there any difference? Does the horse use its abdomen when breathing now? How long does it take for breathing to become normal again after exercise?

Count respiratory rates on very hot or humid days. Is there any difference?

d) MUCOUS MEMBRANES and CAPILLARY REFILL TIME

This is the time taken for blood to return to an area of blanched tissue in the gums. In other words, if you put pressure on a pink part of the gums inside the mouth, how long does it take for the area that is white and devoid of blood immediately you take the finger pressure away, to fill with blood again and become pink.
This is an indicator of the blood circulation. Normal refill time is 1-2 seconds. If the time taken to return to pink is longer than 3 seconds the horse is likely to have shock.

How To Test Capillary Refill Time

Simply lift the horse’s upper lip and firmly press your thumb against his gums for a few seconds to create a white mark. This white mark should return to a normal pink colour within 1-2 seconds after releasing the pressure. Delayed return of pink colour over 3 seconds is an indication of poor blood perfusion to tissues, often brought on by serious dehydration, shock or other toxins.

You can obtain information on the horse’s general health and the function of its circulatory system by inspecting the mucous membranes around the eyes and gums, and inside the nostrils for a normal bright pink colour and slight moisture. The mucous membrane condition is another indicator of circulation status, to be considered in combination with all other vital signs.
A healthy horse’s gums are slightly paler than a humans
If the mucous membranes are very pale or white, the horse probably has blood loss (anaemia) or some impairment of the circulatory system which needs further investigation.
If the gums are a very pale pink, the blood capillaries (small blood vessels) are contracted, indicating fever, blood loss or anaemia This indicates poor tissue perfusion of blood
If the gums are bright red, this may indicate a toxic (poison) condition. If the gums look a greyish blue colour the horse is probably in shock (very poor circulation). If the gums look yellow there is likely to be jaundice and a liver condition.

Dry mucous membranes may indicate a fever.
Unusual odours in the mouth while examining gums may indicate a tooth problem.

An extended capillary refill time is often seen in horses with severe colic or those in shock.

e) SKIN PINCH TEST - DEHYDRATION

Healthy horses drink about 20 litres of water daily. If your horse is dehydrated it is very important to encourage it to drink, particularly in hot, humid weather or during long exercise periods.

The Skin Pinch test is a quick and easy way to evaluate skin turgor (the normal state of skin resilience and distension), and to measure dehydration. The best indication is to know that your horse is properly hydrated by knowing how much fresh water the horse is drinking, and that the manure is moist.

So, the skin pinch test is a quick evaluation of hydration, and veterinarians often use this test in combination with the Capillary Refill Time, and an assessment of the eyes and gums - they should appear moist and shiny, not dry.

How To Perform the Skin Pinch Test

Pick up a fold of skin in the neck or shoulder area and gently pull it away from the body using your thumb and forefinger. Release the fold of skin. It should return to normal almost immediately to its normal flat position, unless the horse is dehydrated. If the skin remains obviously peaked for 2-3 seconds this indicates a degree of body fluid loss. A ‘standing tent” of skin for 5-10 seconds indicates moderate to severe dehydration which may require veterinary attention.

In simple terms, the longer the skin stays pinched up before flattening, the more dehydrated the horse is.

Exercise: Check this test regularly, to understand what is normal for your horse, then check it after hard work, and in any very hot, humid situations or after travelling. Regularly check Capillary refill time and eyes and gums at the same time, to establish normal states for your horse.

f) GUT SOUNDS

The scientific word for gut contractions causing the typical gut sounds is borborygmus.

The sounds that come from the horse’s stomach and intestines can provide vital information to a veterinarian. These are the sounds that a horse’s gut makes while digesting feed. Gut sounds are always present on both sides of the abdomen. You will need to listen to several horses so you can begin to assess what is “normal”, what no gut sounds sound like, low level sounds, and overactive gut sounds, as you might hear with diarrhoea.
Gut sounds should always be present. In fact, the absence of gut sounds is more indicative of a serious problem than excessive gut sounds. Usually, an absence of gut sounds indicates a colic. If you don’t hear any sounds in the gut after you know you are listening properly, call the vet.

How To Listen For Normal Gut Sounds

This can be done by using a cheap stethoscope, or by placing your ear against the horse’s abdomen just behind the last rib on both sides. If you hear gurgling sounds, its likely that the horse is OK. If you hear no sounds over one minute, the horse will be in trouble, and will almost certainly have some other vital signs abnormal as well. Its then time to call the vet to find out more.
Typically, the absence of gut sounds is potentially a serious problem, particularly colic and shock.

The gut sounds will be different on both sides of the abdomen - you will hear rhythmic sounds once or twice a minute on the left (near) side abdomen, and a higher frequency ‘tinkling” sound on the off side abdomen, indicating the ileo-caecal valve operation in the large intestine. The presence or absence of these sounds is highly important in diagnosing colics, and in monitoring response to therapy.

Exercise:

How many times a minute do you hear gut sounds on the left side, and the right side of your resting horse? Record the results. Are the sounds different on either side?

Do gut sounds increase or decrease in the hours after a meal?

Do gut sounds alter if the feed varies significantly?

Do you ever notice that the horse has no gut sounds?

Other Really Useful Information You Should Note

Sweating

Sweat evaporation is one of the main mechanisms that help the body cool. When the weather becomes hot and/or humid, evaporation doesn’t work as well, and horses can become very distressed or heat stressed.

There is tremendous variation between horses regarding how much they sweat - just like humans - and it is very important that you recognise just how much your horse sweats, and when.
Of interest, sweat is only useful at cooling a horse down if it evaporates from the body. It has no cooling effect if it just runs down off the body.

Equally, it is highly important that you understand how much your horse drinks normally (this is how the horse replaces its fluid losses, obviously).

Many nervous or excitable horses sweat profusely prior to any event such as an event or a race; others sweat heavily when travelling, and endurance horses can lose huge amounts of fluid during a long ride.

A thoroughbred or standardbred in training may lose up to 11 litres of fluid and electrolytes (sweat) during the pre-race, race, and cool down period, while an endurance horse can lose 40-50 litres of sweat

during a 160km ride, depending on climatic conditions. Drinking, and the replacement of electrolyte salts through supplements, are the way that horses rehydrate.

Learn to understand when your horse requires water, how much it drinks (measure a water container so you have a real idea of daily consumption - how often do you fill the normal water trough daily?), and also observe when it will not drink. Many horses won’t drink readily from strange water troughs when travelling, for example, and you may need to have some remedy for that, such as molasses flavoured drinking water, etc, etc, which you can use anywhere, at any time.

Heat Stress

A horse with mild heat stress will usually breathe 30-40 times per minute, and have a heart rate of about 50-60 beats per minute. The body will be covered in a film of sweat, and the surface veins on the skin will be quite prominent. The horse will probably be reluctant to do further work, and he will usually hold his head down and be relatively uninterested in his surroundings. The gums will be a darker pink than usual, and the rectal temperature will be about 38.9C to 39.4C (102.1 to 103 degrees F)
Vital signs should be monitored every 10 minutes or so, and veterinary advice should be sought if the horse shows no signs of recovery in 20-30 minutes.

Moderate heat stress usually elevates respiratory rate to about 40-50 breaths per minute, with a heart rate of 60-80 per minute at rest. Sweat will be dripping from the body, and the skin veins will begin to bulge obviously. The horse will have little to no interest in food, and the gums will be dark pink. Rectal temperature will be about 39.4C to 40.5C (103 to 105 degrees F.)

Severe heat stress shows a horse breathing more than 50 times a minute, with a heart rate of over 80 per minute in many cases, and sweat pouring from all parts of the body (until the horse loses too much body fluid and stops sweating totally). The gums will be dark red or purple and the temperature could be over 40.5C (105 degrees F). These horses are in serious danger, and veterinary assistance is imperative. Monitor and record vital signs every 10 minutes until help arrives.

Exercise:

How much does your horse drink on a daily basis? How often do you fill the water bin? How much water is in the water bin?

Does this vary from summer to winter? Does it change in hot, humid weather?

Does amount drunk vary when the horse exercises or works a lot?

How many times a day does your horse urinate? What colour is the urine? Does urine colour change at any time? How does the horse stand when it urinates normally?

RECOVERY RATES

Heart rate during exercise is an invaluable monitor of the cardiovascular system, fitness and performance potential. All horse activities can benefit from monitoring the basic vital signs.

The speed at which the heart rate recovers after work also reflects cardiovascular fitness. During any exercise session the heart rate can be useful to assess when the horse is sufficiently recovered to work again. The higher the heart rate the more rapidly horses will fatigue, in general terms.

Endurance riding groups use vital signs measurement and recovery rates to scientifically assess the ability of their horses to continue on in work. Anyone involved in endurance riding, more than any other equine activity, becomes very good at measuring and assessing vital signs. Ride veterinarians follow a strict protocol of measuring and assessing heart rate (over a full minute), respiration, gut sounds, and, if necessary, rectal temperature, as well as a lameness evaluation at a trot.

Heart rate is the major essential criterion of fitness in endurance riding. It is so important it must be taken before any other observations, with appropriate allowance for anxious or nervous horses. Remember that pain often increases heart rates. Remember that body temperature is closely associated with heart rates as well. Hot horses invariably have elevated heart rates.
Endurance riding heart rate criteria are, at the first vet check, 55bpm or below,; at all other vet checks 60bpm or below, and at all training rides, 55bpm or lower.

Body temperature is significant related to infections, as well as heart rate, respiratory rate, ambient temperature and humidity, and is always raised to some degree during and immediately following exertion. Horses with a resting rectal temperature at final endurance vet checks of 40 degrees C or higher are usually not fit to go on. At final vet checks a horse whose rectal temperature is high will usually fail the heart rate test.

The heart rate criteria could be safely used by all equine activities, as it is safe, and does not endanger the horse, yet allows rapid identification of any problem which may be of concern by elevating the resting heart rate.

Recovery rates are simply based on how the horse recovers in a set time, (usually 10 or 30 minutes) after exercise. They are an excellent indication of fitness and well-being.

Exercise:

Now that you know how to take vital signs, take them every day for a few weeks, then take them after exercise. Is there much difference?

Donkeys

There is little information available for donkey owners, but published data shows the following vital signs;

Temperature: 98.8F is the median, with a range from 97.2 to 100F. Young donkeys tend to be a little higher

Pulse: Adult median 44, range 36-68 beats per minute

Respiration: Adult median 20, range 12-44 per minute

Dr. Grahame Best
Ranvet Pty Ltd