Basic Horse Health & Disease Prevention

1. Basic Horse Health & Disease Prevention Kristen M. Wilson Regional Extension Horse Specialist “Maryland Cooperative Extension provides equal access programs”

2. 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 (Horse Industry Handbook & Cherry Hill)

3. Daily Observation

4. Recognizing Problems Learn to Recognize Abnormal Behavior

5. Vital Signs Vital Signs Measurements of a horse’s body function and are good indicators of the horse’s overall health (Cherry Hill)

6. Vital Signs • Common vital signs: • Temperature • Pulse • Respiration • Gut Sounds • Mucosal Color/Capillary Refill Time • Skin Pliability (Horse Industry Handbook)

7. Vital Signs: Temperature • Normal: 100°F or 38°C • Varies: 99.5 – 101.5°F • Exercise, excitement, hot weather, illness and pain will raise the temperature • Shock and very cold weather will decrease temperature • Mercury vs. Digital (Horse Industry Handbook & Cherry Hill)

8. Temperature (Hill, 1997. Horse Health Care)

9. 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 – 40 (Cherry Hill)

10. Heart Rate (Hayes, 1997. Hands-On Horse Care)

11. Digital Pulse A good indicator of foot problems (Hill, 1997. Horse Health Care)

12. 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 (Horse Industry Handbook)

13. Respiration (Hill, 1997. Horse Health Care)

14. Pulse/Respiration Ratio • Normal Ratio – 4:2 or 2:1 • 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!!! (Cherry Hill)

15. 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! (Cherry Hill)

16. Gut Sounds (Rose and Hodgson, 2000. Manual of Equine Practice)

17. 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 horse’s gum and then releasing it • It should take ~2 seconds for the blood and normal color to return to the area (Horse Industry Handbook; Cherry Hill)

18. Capillary Refill Time (Hayes, 1997. Hands-On Horse Care)

19. Mucous Membranes-Sick Horse

20. Vital Signs: Skin Pliability • Test for dehydration • Pinch a fold of skin on your horse’s 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 (Cherry Hill)

21. Skin Pliability Test (Hill, 1997. Horse Health Care)

22. Other Factors to Consider • Bodily fluids (feces, urine, saliva & sweat) • Body condition and weight • Movement • Hair coat • Hoof condition • Feeding habits • Behaviors (Horse Industry Handbook)

23. Body Fluids

24. Hair Coat Normally shiny and generally healthy looking

25. Body Condition & Weight BCS - 1 BCS - 5 BCS - 9

26. Henneke Body Scoring System

27. Hoof Condition

28. Hoof Care

29. Pick Out Hoofs Daily

30. Feeding Habits & Behavior • Know what your horse’s 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

31. 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

32. How Do Diseases Spread? • Air • Living animals of the same species • Living animals of other species • Dead or sick animals • Feed • Water • Movement of contaminated personnel, equipment and vehicles • Movement of effluent between properties

33. Equine Disease Control Program • Optimize health and nutrition plans for animals • Use rodent, parasite and vector control programs throughout the year • Do not allow horse access to streams and waterways • Contract with a veterinarian and clearly post their contact information

34. 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

35. Equine Disease Control Program • Become familiar with common diseases that affect horses • Identify symptoms with the onset of a disease • Vaccination Plan • Deworming Plan

36. 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)

37. Identifying Symptoms

38. Identifying Symptoms

39. Identifying Symptoms

40. 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

41. 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

42. Parasite Control & Management • Management plans should consider internal and external parasites • Consult your veterinarian when establishing a program • Types – • Rotational • Daily

43. Sample Deworming Schedule

44. 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 horse’s overall health and prevent diseases from spreading

45. Kristen M. Wilson kswilson@umd.edu 301-596-9478