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*HORSE NORMAL PHYSIOLOGICAL VALUES
*DE-WORMING
*VACCINATIONS / COGGINS
*COLIC INFORMATION
*BEDDING / SHAVINGS PRECAUTION (BLACK WALNUT)
*EMERGENCY EUTHANASIA (UC DAVIS & UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA WEBSITES)
HORSE NORMAL PHYSIOLOGICAL VALUES:
Being able to tell if your horse feels bad is essential in knowing how to treat him or when to call the
veterinarian. If you own a horse, you should take the time daily to observe him in normal settings. How
does he eat? Is he a voracious eater, cleaning up his bucket without ever looking around? Or is he a
finicky eater, taking his time, eating the grains as they fall? When he is turned out does he graze
happily, keeping up with the herd, lying down only when the sunshine beckons and the others invite
him? How does he stand when he is resting? How much water does he usually drink? Are his eyes
bright, his gums pink? Have you ever listened to his gut sounds or taken his vital signs? These are
things that can help you determine a well horse from a sick horse.
What you notice by looking should be the first clue to how your horse feels. Take the time to visually
analyze your horse. You can do this as you feed, don’t be in such a hurry. Run your eyes up every leg,
over his back along his body. Do you see any bumps that don’t belong? Are there any cuts or swellings?
Is he eating normally or barely eating? Is his behavior normal, such as, pleasant verses lethargic?
These are all clues to how your horse is feeling. If you notice that something “just ain't right,” you may
be on to something. Keep a careful watch on your horse until you know something for a surety. It is up
to you to see the differences in his physical appearance, behavior and vital signs: know them!
*DE-WORMING
*VACCINATIONS / COGGINS
*COLIC INFORMATION
*BEDDING / SHAVINGS PRECAUTION (BLACK WALNUT)
*EMERGENCY EUTHANASIA (UC DAVIS & UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA WEBSITES)
HORSE NORMAL PHYSIOLOGICAL VALUES:
Being able to tell if your horse feels bad is essential in knowing how to treat him or when to call the
veterinarian. If you own a horse, you should take the time daily to observe him in normal settings. How
does he eat? Is he a voracious eater, cleaning up his bucket without ever looking around? Or is he a
finicky eater, taking his time, eating the grains as they fall? When he is turned out does he graze
happily, keeping up with the herd, lying down only when the sunshine beckons and the others invite
him? How does he stand when he is resting? How much water does he usually drink? Are his eyes
bright, his gums pink? Have you ever listened to his gut sounds or taken his vital signs? These are
things that can help you determine a well horse from a sick horse.
What you notice by looking should be the first clue to how your horse feels. Take the time to visually
analyze your horse. You can do this as you feed, don’t be in such a hurry. Run your eyes up every leg,
over his back along his body. Do you see any bumps that don’t belong? Are there any cuts or swellings?
Is he eating normally or barely eating? Is his behavior normal, such as, pleasant verses lethargic?
These are all clues to how your horse is feeling. If you notice that something “just ain't right,” you may
be on to something. Keep a careful watch on your horse until you know something for a surety. It is up
to you to see the differences in his physical appearance, behavior and vital signs: know them!
| HORSE CARE, HEALTH AND MANAGEMENT TIPS |
| STURGELL'S EQUESTRIAN CENTER, LLC Where The Colts You Adore, Become The Horses You Love! |
DE-WORMING AND VACCINATIONS:
This is not meant to be a replacement for your veterinarian’s care, your own good judgment or common sense on your part.
Ideally, a horse should be de-wormed every 3 months. Every 60 days is even better. A horse is never totally free from internal
parasites, so keeping a constant regimen of de-wormer going is your only force against them.
Keep in mind if you have a horse, or acquire a horse that is in really poor health, wait a while before administering a de-wormer.
Build him up slowly for a few weeks first, then use a low dose de-wormer at first, like Safeguard or Panicure. You can do this
again a month later. A few weeks to a month or more later you can use one of the better ones like Ivermectin. Dewormers are a
poison intended to kill internal parasites; not only could the poison affect a weak horse, but if he has worms really bad, colic could
occur from having too many parasites killed at once. That is a reason to use one of the milder dewormers first. Ivermectin is said
to kill external parasites also. So if you are having an infestation of ticks on your horse in the summer, use Ivermectin.
The label on the de-wormers will tell you which if not all of the parasites it will kill. Rotating the de-wormers, that is, using a
different kind each time is thought to keep the parasites from becoming immune to one kind. Sometimes you may notice that you
de-wormed your horse and it seems like nothing happened. This is not uncommon and the de-wormer can be given again the next
month, usually with much better results.
Signs that your horse is parasite infested may be a dull haircoat, losing weight or being already thin, lethargic, poor looking eyes,
tail rubbing, and bot eggs on his legs and body.
Oral de-wormers are available in paste, powder, pellet and liquid form. Your veterinarian can recommend which type may be best
for you to use.
Some ways to make your de-worming process better is to rotate de-wormers, use a schedule, rotate pastures, don’t feed on the
ground, and de-worm all your horses at the same time.
VACCINATIONS:
Horses, like children, are required to have vaccinations to help ward off terrible and life threatening diseases. I have come up with
a simple acronym to help you remember what vaccinations your horse should have. It is: FRR-STEW (say “fur stew,” it is silly and
easy to remember!). It stands for: Flu-Rhino-Rabies-Strangles-Tetanus-Encephalomyelitis-West Nile. The Encephalomyelitis can
include three types: Eastern, Western and Venezuelan. Your veterinarian can help you decide which ones to include in your
vaccination regimen.
There are two types of Tetanus shots: Tetanus Toxoid and Tetanus Antitoxin. You should vaccinate against tetanus using the
tetanus toxoid to induce active immunity. The Antitoxin is used for short term quick protection on a horse that has been cut or
punctured. Your veterinarian will advise you of how often to give your horse his Tetanus vaccination, as some say once or twice a
year, some give it monthly.
West Nile is a disease that is transmitted by mosquitoes. Here in Oklahoma there are reported outbreaks, as well as in other
places of the United States. The original vaccine requires a booster.
Another thing that is often included in the category of Vaccinations is the Coggins test. Though it is not a vaccination, but a blood
test, it is done annually and usually along with all the other annual vaccinations. The name Coggins is actually referring to Equine
Infectious Anemia, or "swamp fever." It is incurable, contagious and only confirmed with a blood test. Horse shows, Rodeos and
traveling require that you have your Coggins documentation papers with you.
Your veterinarian can help you decide which of, if not all of these your horse may need. As a precaution, if you are giving
vaccinations and de-wormers all on the same day, always give your shots before you give your oral medications. You don’t want
to accidentally contaminate your hands or needle with an oral medication before inserting it into your horse.
COLIC INFORMATION:
Discovering your horse has colic can be one of the scariest moments you can go through. You have no way to know if it will be
mild colic and it will be over in an hour, or if it is serious enough to cause death. Never take for granted that it is not serious.
Contact your veterinarian as soon as you suspect colic, so that he/she can be ready to see your horse if need be. Here is some
general information about horse colic.
Signs of colic can be, but are not limited to, biting at the belly, kicking at the belly, looking at the belly; lying down and getting up
again over and over, rolling, sweating and spasms, a nervous look, a braced stance, lack of interest in food and water, no bowel
movements, increase in temperature and respiration; no gut sounds, or varied gut sounds. It is important to know your horse in
his normal state so that you can recognize when he is in distress.
There are different reasons a horse may colic. Some reasons may be over eating, switching feeds, eating bad feed/hay, not
drinking enough (like on very cold days), worms, atmospheric pressure, cold weather, twisted gut or compaction.
Call your veterinarian for colic treatments, but in the meantime, walk your horse and do not let it lie down and roll. Rolling could
cause a twisted gut and walking may encourage the bowels to work. An alternative to walking is to load your horse into a horse
trailer and take him for a short ride. There is not a horse anywhere that under normal conditions will not have a bowel movement
very shortly after entering a trailer! This may be all he needs, and I can tell you from personal experience, it works!
Your veterinarian may decide to administer Banimine, which is an anesthetic, anti-inflammatory drug. He/she may give your horse
oil through a nose tube to encourage bowel movement also. His gut sounds will be listened to, probably a rectal palpation check,
the blood checked, vital signs taken and numerous other things. If your horse’s gut is twisted, then colic surgery is a last option.
This is a tough decision to make for a lot of horse owners because it is very expensive. Not all vet’s can do this type of surgery,
which means traveling with your sick horse, and often, the surgery is without good results.
As a horse owner, we have to weigh the price of a treatment to the value of the horse. It is cold to say that I realize, but it is a
reality you may have to face someday. As much as you may love your horse, he is a huge commodity, a luxury, if you will. Only you
can determine if your $700 horse is worth the $5000-$10,000 surgery and all the expense of recovery, while knowing that he may
not even make it through the surgery? Your choice may have to be to put the horse down. It is best to have that sort of decision in
the back of your mind before hand, before emotions take over, should the occasion ever arise. You may have to love him to death.
Bedding/Shavings:
When bedding your stalls down with shavings you can’t be careful enough. I learned this lesson the hard way 25 years ago. My
brother-in-law worked at a sawmill and brought me a truckload of fresh shavings for my stalls. Now remember, 25 years ago
there was not the information highway we have today. I avidly read magazines on horses and horse keeping, but the articles on
bedding precautions were not in there.
I had a mare that was in her last month of gestation. I put the bedding in her stall and by the next day she was suffering enough
that she didn’t want to walk. She would lie down and I could not get her back up for anything. What was in my shavings? Black
Walnut. Even my veterinarian was clueless. His diagnosis was that the foal was lying on a nerve and making her unable to walk. It
took a good week of my searching out the advice of other veterinarians before I stumbled on the real cause of her lameness. I felt
horrible. The very thing I was doing to give her comfort was killing her. My mare recovered, though her hooves showed the tell-tale
signs of trauma. She had rings around her hoof walls for the next year. And thank God for Blessings, the foal was un-harmed.
After that incident I started writing to as many equine magazines as I could find to tell them to please put that information in their
publications. Surely, if I didn’t know that information, then others didn’t either. Black walnut shavings can cause laminitis, colic
and even death to horses, and it happens FAST.
As a rule to follow, hardwoods do not make safe bedding for your horses, Black Walnut most especially. Though pine is
considered safest, cedar is on the watch list for unsafe also.
If you aren’t 100% sure what is in your bedding, then don’t use it. Even just 20% of Black Walnut found in horse bedding has been
known to cause laminitis and colic. Don’t risk it.
This information just relates to bedding. These and other trees and plants can be harmful if just found in your pastures. There are
many other plants that are poisonous to your equine friends also. Do some research and find out what is in your area and make
the necessary precautions. Don’t make the mistake I did, there is too much information out there now that you can get your hands
on. Do the research and be safe.
This is not meant to be a replacement for your veterinarian’s care, your own good judgment or common sense on your part.
Ideally, a horse should be de-wormed every 3 months. Every 60 days is even better. A horse is never totally free from internal
parasites, so keeping a constant regimen of de-wormer going is your only force against them.
Keep in mind if you have a horse, or acquire a horse that is in really poor health, wait a while before administering a de-wormer.
Build him up slowly for a few weeks first, then use a low dose de-wormer at first, like Safeguard or Panicure. You can do this
again a month later. A few weeks to a month or more later you can use one of the better ones like Ivermectin. Dewormers are a
poison intended to kill internal parasites; not only could the poison affect a weak horse, but if he has worms really bad, colic could
occur from having too many parasites killed at once. That is a reason to use one of the milder dewormers first. Ivermectin is said
to kill external parasites also. So if you are having an infestation of ticks on your horse in the summer, use Ivermectin.
The label on the de-wormers will tell you which if not all of the parasites it will kill. Rotating the de-wormers, that is, using a
different kind each time is thought to keep the parasites from becoming immune to one kind. Sometimes you may notice that you
de-wormed your horse and it seems like nothing happened. This is not uncommon and the de-wormer can be given again the next
month, usually with much better results.
Signs that your horse is parasite infested may be a dull haircoat, losing weight or being already thin, lethargic, poor looking eyes,
tail rubbing, and bot eggs on his legs and body.
Oral de-wormers are available in paste, powder, pellet and liquid form. Your veterinarian can recommend which type may be best
for you to use.
Some ways to make your de-worming process better is to rotate de-wormers, use a schedule, rotate pastures, don’t feed on the
ground, and de-worm all your horses at the same time.
VACCINATIONS:
Horses, like children, are required to have vaccinations to help ward off terrible and life threatening diseases. I have come up with
a simple acronym to help you remember what vaccinations your horse should have. It is: FRR-STEW (say “fur stew,” it is silly and
easy to remember!). It stands for: Flu-Rhino-Rabies-Strangles-Tetanus-Encephalomyelitis-West Nile. The Encephalomyelitis can
include three types: Eastern, Western and Venezuelan. Your veterinarian can help you decide which ones to include in your
vaccination regimen.
There are two types of Tetanus shots: Tetanus Toxoid and Tetanus Antitoxin. You should vaccinate against tetanus using the
tetanus toxoid to induce active immunity. The Antitoxin is used for short term quick protection on a horse that has been cut or
punctured. Your veterinarian will advise you of how often to give your horse his Tetanus vaccination, as some say once or twice a
year, some give it monthly.
West Nile is a disease that is transmitted by mosquitoes. Here in Oklahoma there are reported outbreaks, as well as in other
places of the United States. The original vaccine requires a booster.
Another thing that is often included in the category of Vaccinations is the Coggins test. Though it is not a vaccination, but a blood
test, it is done annually and usually along with all the other annual vaccinations. The name Coggins is actually referring to Equine
Infectious Anemia, or "swamp fever." It is incurable, contagious and only confirmed with a blood test. Horse shows, Rodeos and
traveling require that you have your Coggins documentation papers with you.
Your veterinarian can help you decide which of, if not all of these your horse may need. As a precaution, if you are giving
vaccinations and de-wormers all on the same day, always give your shots before you give your oral medications. You don’t want
to accidentally contaminate your hands or needle with an oral medication before inserting it into your horse.
COLIC INFORMATION:
Discovering your horse has colic can be one of the scariest moments you can go through. You have no way to know if it will be
mild colic and it will be over in an hour, or if it is serious enough to cause death. Never take for granted that it is not serious.
Contact your veterinarian as soon as you suspect colic, so that he/she can be ready to see your horse if need be. Here is some
general information about horse colic.
Signs of colic can be, but are not limited to, biting at the belly, kicking at the belly, looking at the belly; lying down and getting up
again over and over, rolling, sweating and spasms, a nervous look, a braced stance, lack of interest in food and water, no bowel
movements, increase in temperature and respiration; no gut sounds, or varied gut sounds. It is important to know your horse in
his normal state so that you can recognize when he is in distress.
There are different reasons a horse may colic. Some reasons may be over eating, switching feeds, eating bad feed/hay, not
drinking enough (like on very cold days), worms, atmospheric pressure, cold weather, twisted gut or compaction.
Call your veterinarian for colic treatments, but in the meantime, walk your horse and do not let it lie down and roll. Rolling could
cause a twisted gut and walking may encourage the bowels to work. An alternative to walking is to load your horse into a horse
trailer and take him for a short ride. There is not a horse anywhere that under normal conditions will not have a bowel movement
very shortly after entering a trailer! This may be all he needs, and I can tell you from personal experience, it works!
Your veterinarian may decide to administer Banimine, which is an anesthetic, anti-inflammatory drug. He/she may give your horse
oil through a nose tube to encourage bowel movement also. His gut sounds will be listened to, probably a rectal palpation check,
the blood checked, vital signs taken and numerous other things. If your horse’s gut is twisted, then colic surgery is a last option.
This is a tough decision to make for a lot of horse owners because it is very expensive. Not all vet’s can do this type of surgery,
which means traveling with your sick horse, and often, the surgery is without good results.
As a horse owner, we have to weigh the price of a treatment to the value of the horse. It is cold to say that I realize, but it is a
reality you may have to face someday. As much as you may love your horse, he is a huge commodity, a luxury, if you will. Only you
can determine if your $700 horse is worth the $5000-$10,000 surgery and all the expense of recovery, while knowing that he may
not even make it through the surgery? Your choice may have to be to put the horse down. It is best to have that sort of decision in
the back of your mind before hand, before emotions take over, should the occasion ever arise. You may have to love him to death.
Bedding/Shavings:
When bedding your stalls down with shavings you can’t be careful enough. I learned this lesson the hard way 25 years ago. My
brother-in-law worked at a sawmill and brought me a truckload of fresh shavings for my stalls. Now remember, 25 years ago
there was not the information highway we have today. I avidly read magazines on horses and horse keeping, but the articles on
bedding precautions were not in there.
I had a mare that was in her last month of gestation. I put the bedding in her stall and by the next day she was suffering enough
that she didn’t want to walk. She would lie down and I could not get her back up for anything. What was in my shavings? Black
Walnut. Even my veterinarian was clueless. His diagnosis was that the foal was lying on a nerve and making her unable to walk. It
took a good week of my searching out the advice of other veterinarians before I stumbled on the real cause of her lameness. I felt
horrible. The very thing I was doing to give her comfort was killing her. My mare recovered, though her hooves showed the tell-tale
signs of trauma. She had rings around her hoof walls for the next year. And thank God for Blessings, the foal was un-harmed.
After that incident I started writing to as many equine magazines as I could find to tell them to please put that information in their
publications. Surely, if I didn’t know that information, then others didn’t either. Black walnut shavings can cause laminitis, colic
and even death to horses, and it happens FAST.
As a rule to follow, hardwoods do not make safe bedding for your horses, Black Walnut most especially. Though pine is
considered safest, cedar is on the watch list for unsafe also.
If you aren’t 100% sure what is in your bedding, then don’t use it. Even just 20% of Black Walnut found in horse bedding has been
known to cause laminitis and colic. Don’t risk it.
This information just relates to bedding. These and other trees and plants can be harmful if just found in your pastures. There are
many other plants that are poisonous to your equine friends also. Do some research and find out what is in your area and make
the necessary precautions. Don’t make the mistake I did, there is too much information out there now that you can get your hands
on. Do the research and be safe.
TEMPERATURE: ADULTS: 99.5-100.5F FOALS: 100-102.5F
PULSE: ADULTS 30-40/min FOALS: 60-100/min
RESPIRATORY RATE: ADULTS 8-16/min FOALS:25-60/min
COPY THESE DOWN AND PLACE THEM ON YOUR REFRIGERATOR WHERE YOU CAN SEE THEM!
The mucous membranes on a healthy horse are bright pink. Pale gums, or bright red gums means the horse is having trouble. If
you press your finger on the gums, the refill time (white to normal pink again) is two seconds. If it takes longer, the horse may be
dehydrated, or have other problems, call your veterinarian.
PULSE: ADULTS 30-40/min FOALS: 60-100/min
RESPIRATORY RATE: ADULTS 8-16/min FOALS:25-60/min
COPY THESE DOWN AND PLACE THEM ON YOUR REFRIGERATOR WHERE YOU CAN SEE THEM!
The mucous membranes on a healthy horse are bright pink. Pale gums, or bright red gums means the horse is having trouble. If
you press your finger on the gums, the refill time (white to normal pink again) is two seconds. If it takes longer, the horse may be
dehydrated, or have other problems, call your veterinarian.
| Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3 John 2 |
| CONTACT US: suzi@sturgellshorsetraining.com |
| This page is not meant in any way to be a substitution for your veterinarian, or your own good judgement. It is only meant to be helpful and informative. |
| STURGELL'S EQUESTRIAN CENTER, LLC PORUM/WEBBERS FALLS, OK 74455 Located in Eastern Ok Colt Starting, Horse Training, Re-Schooling, Boarding, Lessons, Sales and more! |
UC DAVIS AND UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA WEBSITES ON EMERGENCY EUTHANASIA:
(keep in mind state laws may apply)
This isn't meant to be cold hearted. As both articles state, there may be a time in an emergency situation that you need to know
this information. Diagrams of the animals are included in these articles.
http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/vetext/INF-AN/INF-AN_EMERGEUTH-HORSES.HTML
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/VM114
(keep in mind state laws may apply)
This isn't meant to be cold hearted. As both articles state, there may be a time in an emergency situation that you need to know
this information. Diagrams of the animals are included in these articles.
http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/vetext/INF-AN/INF-AN_EMERGEUTH-HORSES.HTML
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/VM114