How often do you wish horses could talk to you? Well, you know they can’t, but nevertheless your horse will give you signs when something is wrong.
Here is an overview of common symptoms and what they can mean:
To check the condition of the lymph nodes, gently press on the areas around the head marked in the diagram above. You should be able to feel them well here.
If the lymph nodes are swollen, this can have various causes. Most often it is a viral or bacterial infection, more rarely it is caused by cancer.
Appetite and thirst also say a lot about your horse’s well-being.
If your horse has little appetite, dental problems or stress are often the culprits. Excessive appetite can indicate malnutrition, EMS or PPID.
If your horse drinks a lot, this can also be a symptom of PPID, but also kidney failure.
Stress, diarrhoea or other illnesses often manifest themselves in low thirst.
Your horse’s urine and droppings often give you clues about the health of your horse.
If the urine is dark yellow, it may be caused by dehydration or profuse sweating. Bloody urine is often caused by urinary tract infections, trauma, kidney stones or growths. Large amounts of mucus in the urine often make it foam.
Dark urine can be a sign of kidney failure, dehydration or cross-contamination.
When checking the condition of your horse’s droppings, look for dry, hard, diarrhoea or constipation. You can also recognise a parasite infestation by worms in the droppings.
If the capillary refill time is longer than two seconds, it may be a symptom of heart problems, poor circulation or dehydration.
The skin fold test is an easy way to check your horse for possible dehydration. Gently pinch your horse’s skin between thumb and forefinger. If the skin flattens only slowly (after two to four seconds) or not at all, this indicates dehydration!
Everything About Symptoms on the Horse Body II Chart on Symptoms on the Horse Body How often do you wish horses could talk to you? Well, you know they can’t, but nevertheless your horse will give you signs when something
It is nothing new that horses are very agile animals. But did you know that a horse’s skeleton consists of 252 individual bones? This means that a horse has 46 more bones than a human. However, horses do not have
For a healthy foundation Hoof care is an important part of equine health care. The hooves are the foundation of the horse and bear the entire body weight of the animal. Regular hoof care is therefore essential to maintain healthy
Watery eyes, discharge from the ears, swelling or gum colour give you information about possible infections or injuries. In this blog post you can read how to interpret these symptoms. What You Need to Know About the Horse Head Discharge
Are you over-rugging your horse out of concern? There are key factors you should keep in mind when using blankets for your horse during winter. During the winter season, most people automatically throw a rug on their horse, or so
Constant Free Movement in Herds Can Help Against Obesity We always talk about how feed can affect a horse’s weight but feed is not the only thing that can and should be considered when helping a horse lose weight sustainably.
