Horse vitals Bathing your horse How hot is too hot? Sheath and udder cleaning

Equine Vital Signs. What's Normal?

Vital Signs
Every horse owner should now what the normal temperature, heart rate, and respiratory rate (TPR) for their horse and know how to obtain these numbers. In addition, you should also know some other basic "normal" such as borborygmi (gut sounds), mucus membrane color, and capillary refill time. Knowing what is normal will help you when things aren't so normal. This is important and useful information that you can convey to your veterinarian if you suspect your horse is having a problem.

Temperature (T)
A horse's normal body temperature ranges from 99-101° F. Your horse's normal body temperature can vary up to three degrees depending on environmental factors such as the weather, stress, and exercise. It will be higher in warmer weather, if he is excited, if he has just exercised, and often times, in the early evening. You should take your horse's temperature at different times of the day to get a baseline for what is normal for your horse.

How to take your horse's temperature
Currently, the most accurate way of taking a horse's temperature is rectally. Today's plastic digital thermometers have made this much quicker and easier. No matter what type of thermometer you use, digital or mercury, it is a good idea to tie a string with a clip onto it in order to keep from losing it if it should drop on the stall or, heaven forbid, get sucked in. Lubricate the thermometer with Vaseline, KY jelly, or spit. Stand next to your horse, not directly behind him, and gently insert the thermometer into the rectum. Wait for a digital thermometer to beep or 2-3 minutes for a mercury one. Clean your thermometer thoroughly with soap and water or alcohol after each use to prevent spreading disease.

Any temperature about 102° F or higher should prompt a call to your veterinarian. A fever does not always indicate an infection, but any condition that increases normal body temperature should be looked at.

Heart Rate (HR)
The normal heart rate of an adult horse at rest is 30-40 beats per minute (bpm). Foals have a higher resting heart rate that averages 70-120 bpm. Your horse's heart rate will be higher if he is excited, in pain, has certain diseases, or has just exercised.

How to take your horse's heart rate
To take your horse's heart rate you can either use a stehoscope to listen to his heart or feel his pulse on his facial artery or digital artery. These tow arteries are easy to find for most people. The facial artery runs along the outside of the bottom of his jawbone. The digital artery runs on the outside of his leg at the level of his fetlock. Press down gently over the artery to feel the pulse. to use a stethoscope, place it on your horse's chest just behind the elbow. You can count the number of beats in fifteen seconds and multiply by four.

Heart rates no associated with exercise, especially if combined with abnormal behavior should be taken seriously. Any heart rate over 40 bpm warrants a call to your veterinarian. A heart rate over 60 bpm indicates a severe condition and should be treated as an emergency.

Respiratory Rate (RR)
A normal respiratory rate for an adult horse is 8-15 breaths per minute (bpm). Respiration should consist of inhalation and exhalation, which should be of equal length. Heat, humidity, exercise, fever, and pain can cause increase in the respiratory rate.

How to take your horse's respiration rate
Watch as your horse's chest moves in and out, or place your hand on his chest to feel it move in and out. You can also use your stethoscope to listen to the breaths either on his lungs or on his trachea. Again, count the number of breaths for fifteen seconds, and multiply by four.

A high respiratory rate, increased effort when inhaling or exhaling, or noise when breathing should prompt a call to your veterinarian.

Borborygmi (Gut Sounds)
Horse's intestines are in almost constant motion and that results in constant noise from them. Sometimes the sounds may be quieter than others, but they are always there. Excessive sounds may indicate irritation or inflammation of the intestines, as in the case of diarrhea. The absence of borborymi can indicate a serious problem, such as colic.

How to listen for Gut Sounds
You can place your stethoscope on either side of your horse's flank and listen for gurgling, gassy, and "fluidy" sounds. You should be able to hear these on both sides. You can also place your ear to your horse's flank and listen if you don't have a stethoscope. Most horse's have loud enough gut sounds that you can hear them even without a stethoscope.

If your horse has no borborygmi and any other signs such as loss of appetite, fever, pawing, or laying down, contact your veterinarian.

Capillary Refill Time (CRT)
Capillary Refill Time (CRT) is the time it takes for blood to return to blanched tissues in the gums. This is an indicator of blood circulation. Normal refill time is one to two seconds.

How to check your horse's capillary refill
To check your horse's CRT, lift his upper lip and press on his gums. Count how long it takes for the normal pink to come back to the area you pressed. If your horse's CRT is three seconds or more it can indicate poor circulation, dehydration, or illness. Contact your veterinarian.

Mucus Membrane Color
Mucus membranes are the tissues that line the eyelids, lips, gums, nostrils, and vulva. The color of the mucus membranes is another indicator of blood circulation. Healthy mucus membranes are a moist pink. They can sometimes have a pale yellow tinge to them as well. Dry mucus membranes may signal dehydration.

Download Equine Vital Signs form

Color can indicate various conditions:

If your horse's mucus membranes are any of the above, contact your veterinarian immediately

Knowing what is normal for your horse will help you determine when thing are NOT normal, and provide a wealth of information for your veterinarian.

Bathing Your Horse

Helpful Hints for Bath Time
At my last horse show, as my large, mostly white, five year old Gypsy gelding walked into the warm-up ring, someone asked me, "How long does it take you to get him that white?" With a chuckle I replied, "Five years!"
Bottom line, you cannot get a white horse, or a horse with a white tail, or white feathers, clean and sparkling white by just bathing him a day before the horse show. The key to a clean horse is commitment and consistency. Get dirty hair clean before it becomes stained hair!

Start with the Tail
Wet the tail well with warm water, then wash it with your favorite shampoo. The secret to getting tails clean is to wet every hair, which is not as easy as it sounds, especially with thick tails. I find that Horse Spa Tail Buckets are a fantastic tool for getting tails really clean. For a white tail, after shampooing and dumping the dirty water out of the tail bag, try putting some whitener back into the bag with a little more water and tying it back up. Let it soak while you work on the rest of the horse.

Move on to the Mane
The soaking each hair applies to the mane as well. I like to use a mounting block to get up and over the top of the neck. This allows you to wash the mane right down to the roots.

Time for the Body
When bathing the body, I choose a shampoo that is safe to use often. Lucky Braids and Vetrolin are two brands that I find work well. Wet the body with warm water, and use them as directed. For especially dirty spots on the body, like grass stains or manure stains, try putting shampoo directly onto a Grooma Soft Touch Massage Brush and work the lather into the stain. Let it sit while you work on the rest of the body. This works well with general problem areas as well, like hocks and knees.

Don't forget to check the sheath or teat area!

Many horses have white legs, and in my case, feathers! For the sake of your back, train your horse to stand quietly while you pull up a stool and sit to work on his legs. I have one of those little garden stools with wheels that works great. Be VERY CAREFUL when you do this, even the most well trained horses can surprise you with a sudden move.

After you thoroughly rinse the body and legs, be sure to scrape off the excess water with a scraper. This is important because leaving water on the horse's body creates insulation and will not allow heat to escape. If you don't scrap off excess water your horse can overheat quickly in hot summer weather. Rinse and scrape both sides several times until you feel sure that all the soap has been rinsed out.

And Back to the Tail
Now back to the tail, which has been soaking. After taking off the tail bag and dumping the whitener, you can leave the tail to dry if the whitener you use allows for that. Be sure to check the label to be sure the product you use does not need to be rinsed out. You can also condition the mane and tail at this time if you like. Again, check the labels for directions

Finally, the Face
The face is the last thing. Be very, very careful! Some horses just won't stand for hosing the face; it can be a very dangerous thing for both horse and human. Use a shampoo that's safe for the eyes, even human baby shampoo is a good choice. If the horse will not tolerate hosing the face, don't push the issue. Wash his face with a washcloth and towel instead.

Remember, the most important part of keeping a horse clean is that he has a healthy hair coat! Shiny coats come from the inside. Clean ones come from consistent work and elbow grease!

How Hot is too Hot?

When is it too hot to safely ride my horse?
Knowing how your horse thermo-regulates will help you better understand how to keep him cool. Horses' bodies produce heat when they work. They have several mechanisms that get rid of this heat.

The most important mechanism is evaporation. Most heat is generated from a horse's large muscle mass. The cardiovascular system (the heart and blood vessels) move the heat from the muscles and organs to the skin. As your horse works, he produces sweat in glands in his skin. This sweat is composed of water and electrolytes (sodium, chloride, potassium, and calcium). As the sweat evaporates, it dissipates large amounts of heat, thus cooling your horse. To give you an idea of how much a horse needs to sweat to keep cool, the amount of heat dissipated by one liter of sweat equals just one to two minutes of maximal exercise, or five to six minutes of sub maximal exercise!

Other mechanisms include breathing out some of the heat through respiration. As your horse exercises, his respiration increases, thus releasing heat. Additionally, some heat is lost through convection/radiation where heat is moved directly from the skin to the environment.

Keeping these mechanisms in mind, there are several things you can do to help your equine partner stay cool:

  1. Provide plenty of clean water. Your horse needs to replace that sweat! Make sure the water is clean and not too warm. Some horses are particular about water temperature.
  2. Get your horse fit. An overweight horse has a harder time moving the heat through all that fat.
  3. Hose or sponge your horse with COLD water over the large vessels on the inside of the hind legs, belly, and neck. These vessels bring the heat to the surface, so you want to cool those areas. Be sure to scrape off the water as it will warm quickly. There are many Icing and Cooling products that can help.
  4. Work in the morning or early evening when it is cooler
  5. Provide shade. A run-in or trees are just fine!
  6. Clip any horse with a heavy hair coat
  7. Replace electrolytes lost in sweat. Summer Games Electrolytes, Farnam Apple Dex, or Finish Line Electrolytes are all good choices.
  8. Keep your horse in a well ventilated stall with a fan. Remember that evaporative cooling? The fan will help! (Be sure cords are out of reach and plugged into a ground fault interrupter)
  9. Put sunscreen or zinc oxide on any pink or white noses. Quic Shade is a good option.
  10. Provide a water misting system if possible (again .. it helps with evaporative cooling!)

Sometimes we can't avoid the heat. On those days, keep an eye on the Heat Stress Index. The Heat Stress Index is the sum of the temperature plus the humidity. For example: if the temperature is 80 degrees Fahrenheit and the humidity is 20%, then the Heat Index is 100 (80+20=100). If the Heat Stress Index is less than 120, it is ok to ride. Start watching it as it rises above 120, at 150 your horse's cooling system won't work effectively. If it is greater than 180, your horse will be unable to thermo-regulate. (Please note: This index of how hot it feels should not be confused with the Heat Index used by NOAA's National Weather Service. This is a rough estimate of how to gauge when it is safe to exercise.)

Signs of Heatstroke:

If you see ANY of these problems, cool your horse with plenty of cold water, allow him to drink if he wants, and call your veterinarian! You can give paste electrolytes orally as well, such as Neogen Stress Dex Gel or Summer Games Electrolyte Paste. Your veterinarian will decide if IV fluids and electrolytes are needed.

Horses who do experience heatstroke should be rested for ten days and given a few days of light work before being brought back to normal work. Keep in mind that horses that experience overheating are more prone to do so again, so best to prevent it in the first place!

How Long Should I Cool Out My Horse?
Cooling out until your horse is no longer blowing hard is sufficient. Having a normal heart rate and respiratory rate by the time you are done with their bath is what we're aiming for.

Sheath and Udder Cleaning - Yes, you gotta do it!

Any one who owns a gelding or a stallion should be aware that they have some special hygiene requirements. The equine penis secretes smegma to clean and lubricate the penis. The origin of the secretions is still disputed. However, it is know that smegma is composed of exfoliated skin cells, oils, and moisture. The equine penis, when retracted is contained with the sheath. Therefore, the inside of the sheath will also become coated with smegma. A feature unique to the equine penis is the urethral diverticulum and fossa. This cleft like area around the urethral opening becomes an ideal location for smegma to accumulate. This accumulation is often referred to as a bean due to its oval shape.

So if Smegma is naturally occurring, why do we have to clean it?!
Some horses produce large amounts of smegma. Over time, the accumulation can begin to coat the sheath and ventral abdomen, making the hair gummy. This can become a minor grooming annoyance. More significantly, the smegma can take on an extremely unpleasant odor. It is one of those smells that once you have experienced it, you never forget it! Most significantly, an over-accumulation of smegma in the urethral diverticulum can put pressure on the urethra, causing pain or obstructing the flow of urine. Some horses will manifest their discomfort by rubbing their tails, trying to scratch their sheath on whatever is convenient, such as shrubs and fences, not dropping their penis to urinate, or straining to urinate.

How often should I clean my horse's sheath?
How often you clean your horse's sheath and penis will depend on how much smegma he produces. Just as not cleaning your horse's sheath can result in problems, so, too, can cleaning it too much. The penis has beneficial bacteria on its surface. The skin in this area is also very thin and sensitive. If you clean it too often or with harsh cleaners you can kill off the good bacteria or cause the skin to become dried out, inflamed, or cracked. This will allow bad bacteria to flourish and cause a skin infection.

Most horses should have a thorough sheath cleaning every 6-12 months. A thorough cleaning will also allow you to examine the sheath and penis for any signs of neoplasia such as sarcoids, melanomas, and squamous cell carcinoma, habronemiasis or infections.

Ok, I need to clean his sheath. How do I go about doing it?
The cleaning process can be a challenge in some horse. Many find the whole experience quite unpleasant (as do many horse owners!). If your horse is upset by the procedure, it is best to have your veterinarian come out to sedate him. This will relax him and make him drop his penis out of the sheath. It will then be easier to clean the entire penis and check for a bean. Only mild products should be used for cleaning. Ivory Soap has been a staple for many years. More recently sheath cleaning products containing gentle ingredients such as mineral oil have become available that help to soften the smegma to facilitate its removal. Plenty of warm water should be used to rinse away any soap or product you use. Avoid using betadine or chlorhexadine products unless directed by your veterinarian, as they are too harsh for routine cleaning.

So none of this applies to the mares, right?!
Wrong! Let's not forget the mares when it comes to cleaning those personal parts. Although mares don't product smegma in between their teats, they do accumulate dirt, sweat, and dead cells there. This accumulation can become flaky, itchy, and a place for bad bacteria to fester. Mares will often cause self-trauma trying to scratch their udder on shrubs or fences, much like their male counterparts. you can use the same products on mares to soften and remove the debris between their teats. Use the same caution in approaching the procedure as you would with cleaning a gelding or stallion's sheath. Some mares are very sensitive and will not tolerate the procedure. Call your veterinarian to come sedate her. Safety for all is priority number one.