Eyes and Ears
Horses’ eyes should be bright, fully open and clear, without discharge of any kind. Eyes should not be glazed or have a dull appearance. Horses can see very well at a distance but are primarily monocular in that they see with one eye at a time and often have trouble focusing on and seeing objects directly in front or behind them. If a horse allows your hand to move close to an eye or the horse bumps into objects, be suspicious of its vision in that eye. If the horse squints in the light, or if there is swelling or discharge around the eye socket, the eye should be evaluated by a veterinarian.
The horse’s ears and facial expressions indicate its mood or disposition toward others. The horse’s ears should be erect and forward if it's in a curious or content mood. If the ears are relaxed and somewhat off to the side of the head, it generally means that the horse is bored, sleeping, resting or in a state of relaxation. When approaching a horse with this body posture, make sure it is aware that you are coming because it is in an inattentive state and can be startled. When a horse has its ears pinned back to its neck, the horse is angry, irritated or aggressive. Take extra precautions when approaching a horse that displays this body language, as the horse could try to hurt anyone who comes around it. Often horses that are not healthy are not bright and alert in their ear expression.
Hydration and Mucous Membranes
Adequate water intake is essential to horse health – especially in performance horses and during extremely hot or cold weather. Horses can dehydrate quickly if they do not drink enough water. Dehydration can lead to serious problems, including colic. It can be a problem in winter as well in warmer seasons. If the water is too cold for the horse to drink comfortably, or is frozen, the horse can become dehydrated quickly. Snow is not an efficient water source for horses and should not be depended upon.
There is an easy test that can be done to see if a horse is well-hydrated. The “skin fold test” is done by pinching a fold of skin on the horse’s neck, pulling it out and releasing it. Count how many seconds it takes for the skin to go back to its original position. One-half to one second is normal. If the skin remains in the “tented” position, the horse is dehydrated.
The mucous membranes of the horse’s gums and lips should be a healthy pink color and slightly moist. Mucous membranes that are a pale, white, yellow or deep purple color are indicators of a problem. The circulation of a horse can be tested by gently pressing the thumb against the horse's gums, releasing the thumb and counting the number of seconds it takes for the gums to go from white back to their original color. This is called "capillary refill" and should take one to two seconds.
Manure and Urine
The manure and urine can be assessed as well. Horses generally have firm manure balls that are not loose and watery and do not show undigested grains. The presence of whole grains may indicate dental and chewing problems. Loose manure can indicate nervousness, a change of diet or more serious digestive tract infections. Urine is normally wheat-straw colored and not brown or dark red in color.
Normal Vital Signs
A horse’s pulse can be taken on the inside of the jaw or on the ankle. The heart rate can also be measured using a stethoscope behind the elbow. The resting pulse/heart rate should be between 32 to 48 beats per minute in a 50 to 80 degree Fahrenheit climate. Age (younger horses have a higher heart rate than older horses), ambient temperatures, humidity, exercise and excitement levels can all cause elevations in heart rates.
The horse’s respiratory rate is measured by watching the nostrils or flanks and counting the number of times the horse breaths out. On average, this number should be 12-16 breaths per minute. As with the heart rate, the respiration rate can be influenced by environmental factors and excitement. If the horse’s respiration rate exceeds the heart rate, the horse is in physiological distress, and a veterinarian should be contacted immediately.
The horse’s temperature can be taken rectally, using a digital or fluid thermometer and should be between 99 to 101 degrees Fahrenheit. It may increase by two to three degrees due to environmental temperatures, exercise and changes in hydration.
Physiological Measurements
Cortisol is a hormone that is released into the blood by the adrenal gland in response to distress or excitement, and it helps prepare the body to cope when it has to make an effort. Cortisol levels in a horse are not necessarily a measure of pain, but rather an indication of the overall level of excitement -- both physical and emotional -- caused by an experience. Thus, they are not particularly helpful in assessing well-being. The horse’s response to stress takes a while to elevate the blood cortisol levels. In order to be of any value, the amount of cortisol in repeated samples must be compared. There is a lot of variation in cortisol levels in individual animals, so numerous samples are necessary to make an accurate assessment of the animal’s state. Many horse owners think that if they record high levels of this hormone, the animal is suffering. However, cortisol increases when animals are performing pleasurable behavior as well. For example, this hormone goes up in the same way in a stallion when he is mating as when he is severely injured. Cortisol is not an adequate measurement of horse well-being by itself.
In addition, scientists and veterinarians can measure the white blood cell count and red blood cell volume in a blood sample as a way of assessing an animal’s health. These measures can be hard to interpret because there may be no symptoms of poor welfare, and the measures can be affected by many factors. Horses that are not healthy can also have lower immunoglobulins and suppressed immune systems that then fail to protect the animal from disease. Veterinarians can test for immune status and determine the horse’s health status and prognosis. This can be very useful in young, newborn foals as well as in older horses.
Stereotypies
Stereotypies -- sometimes called vices or bad habits -- are repetitive behaviors that do not have an obvious function or purpose (McDonnell, 1999). These abnormal behaviors are common in 5-20 percent of horses kept in captivity but are not seen in the wild. These behaviors can be the result of training difficulties, frustration, boredom or a symptom of pain or disease. Treatment involves addressing all the causal factors, but there is no recipe for success in every case. Oral, locomotor and self-mutilation are different kinds of stereotypies. Oral stereotypies are cribbing, tongue movements, wind sucking and lip movements. Locomotor stereotypies include head movements like bobbing, tossing, shaking, swinging, nodding, throat rubbing, pacing, weaving, fence or stall walking, circling, stomping, kicking, pawing and digging. Self-mutilation is self-biting on the flank, chest and shoulder; wall-kicking and lunging into objects.
Soundness/Lameness
The horse’s way of moving about is a good indicator of its condition. Horses should not show any form of lameness or injury when they are moving. A horse that appears stiff, uneven or uncomfortable is not healthy. According to the American Association of Equine Practitioners, there are degrees of lameness, with a horse being considered obviously lame when the lameness is consistently observable at a trot under all circumstances; there is marked nodding, hitching or shortening of the stride; or there is minimal weight-bearing in motion and/or at rest and inability to move. In most competitions, a horse that is obviously lame is disqualified, and its rider must be asked by the officials to leave the arena or competition.
Soundness is a term meaning that the animal is physically fit and showing no signs of weakness or illness. Many veterinarians are asked to do pre-purchase soundness exams that include examination of the legs for absence of lameness as well as soundness in sight, respiration and possibly reproduction. Experienced horsemen can determine the presence or absence of obvious lameness, but a more complete pre-purchase soundness exam should be conducted by an equine veterinarian prior to buying a horse. It is important to remember that the veterinarian makes a judgment based on that examination, and it is not a guarantee of future soundness.
Neglect
Occasionally, horse owners fail to provide what horses need in order to maintain health and well-being. This frequently stems from an ignorance of the horse’s needs rather than a conscious unwillingness to meet those needs. According to Indiana law a “person having a vertebrate animal in the person’s custody who recklessly, knowingly, or intentionally abandons or neglects the animal commits cruelty to the animal,” a class B misdemeanor. The public most commonly suspects neglect when they see thin horses outside in a paddock or overgrazed pasture without feed, water or shelter.
Conclusion
The majority of horse owners (...) keep horses for recreation, family enjoyment and/or sport. It is important that owners are able to assess the well-being of their horses as a guide to ensuring proper care and management. On occasion, someone else is needed to assist in this process, and it is best that it be an experienced horse manager or equine veterinarian. It has been the intent of this paper to provide horse owners and others concerned with assessing the well-being of horses the tools and considerations with which to knowledgeably conduct the evaluation.
References: Colleen Brady, Ed Pajor, Janice Sojka, Nicole Buck, John Berends, Mark Russell Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University; Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Purdue University; and Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University