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  • Writer's pictureKoen Matthijs

Assessing the Health and Well-being of Horses (Part 1 of 2)

Every equestrian and horse owner should be able to determine if a horse is healthy. A horse's health is based on physical, emotional and physiological factors. This article gives a brief introduction to assessing your horse's health. It was previously published by researchers at Purdue University and the Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University.


Introduction

Equine well-being is a very important issue to the public as well as the goal of good horse management. It is also an extremely important ethical issue. A horse’s well-being is based on its physical, emotional and physiological states. Equestrians and observers of horses should be able to determine if a horse is healthy and in a good condition. There are many ways to assess an animal’s well-being, and it is the purpose of this paper to inform people about the different kinds of assessment. Assessment is critical to determining the humane care and treatment of horses. It serves as a barometer for horse training, exhibiting and management practices.


Behavior

Natural behavior of horses dictates that they normally desire to eat and live in groups. They are herd animals who are, in general, healthier when allowed to be outside grazing continuously with each other. When grazing, horses tend to stay in their herd. If, for some reason, there is a horse that is by itself, this could be the first sign that the animal is not feeling normal. At feeding time, horses should be in an excited state and should hurry toward the feed. Horses will demonstrate aggressive behaviors toward each other when competing for feed. Submissive ones may not get enough feed to maintain their condition, which may necessitate supplementary management measures. Horses with teeth problems will often tilt their heads to one side and may slobber or dribble feed out of their mouths. If horses are not interested in their feed, or are eating and losing weight, your veterinarian should be consulted.

Horses are prey animals, and the instincts developed over generations of surviving in the wild are still present in the domesticated horses of today. Horses are easily frightened, and their first reaction to fear is to run away. Most horses will fight back only if flight is not an alternative, or if they have learned aggressive behaviors from interactions with humans. Horses notice new environments and can be easily startled, especially in unusual or unfamiliar surroundings. This is completely natural behavior and should be expected. Trained horses will be obedient and attentive but should still appear bright, alert and aware of their surroundings.

As prey animals, horses were also forced to make physiological adaptations for survival. They have a tremendous capacity for exercise and activity for long periods of time and quickly recover from exercise when they are healthy and fit. The spleen of the horse can hold new red blood cells, and the horse can increase its heart rate five to six times its resting levels -- both advantages for emergency situations. When excessive sweating, muscle stiffness, stiffness of gait, dehydration, overall dullness, depression or lethargy are evident, the horse is fatigued and exercise should cease until the horse recovers.


Body Condition Scoring

Body condition scoring is one effective assessment of a horse’s physiological well-being. This test is a visual and tactile test that evaluates the physical appearance of the horse and assesses body fat (Henneke et al, 1988). Body condition scoring determines whether the horse is too fat, too skinny, or malnourished; and it is usually a good indicator of their general health. The horse is scored on a scale of 1-9.

A horse that has scored a 1-3 would be very poor to thin. He is skinny and malnourished with bones visible throughout its body and no palpable fatty tissue. Horses in this category are not considered healthy. Horses with scores between 4 (can see ribs with vertebra ridge evident), 5 (back flat, can’t see ribs, but can feel them), and 6 (crease down back, fat deposits) are normal, healthy animals. They show moderate fat and are not obviously thin.

A horse with a body condition score of 7-9 is fleshy to extremely fat, with fatty deposits on the body appearing at the flank, tail head, withers, over the ribs, behind the shoulders and along the neck. These horses are too fat and are prone to metabolic diseases such as laminitis and to muscle problems. It is important to note that, although the extremely thin horses are often identified as having their health compromised, the health of obese horses is compromised as well, and obesity is seldom addressed as a well-being issue.

For more information on body condition scoring horses, check out the Equine Body Condition Scoring Learning Lesson.


Hair Coat and Hooves

There are other physical signs that are equally useful to assess the horses’ well-being. Hair coat is a good indicator of a healthy horse. It should be shiny and glossy. Hair coat is reflective of good nutrition and health but could certainly be improved with regular grooming (Russell and Sojka, 1993). The quality of the horse’s hair coat does depend on the season. In the summer, the horse

’s hair coat should be short, sleek and shiny.

In the winter, the horse should have longer, thicker hair to keep itself warm for protection from colder weather. Springtime is when the horse will lose its winter coat, to be replaced by its summer coat. The long winter hair should shed out completely and somewhat uniformly in the spring. If the winter hair coat stays on into the spring, or the horse stops shedding, the horse may be having health problems. The hair coat quality and texture also depends on the horse’s age. Older horses generally have longer hair all year long, while younger horses shed out more in the springtime and keep this short hair all summer long. If the hair coat also appears curlier or wavier than normal, it may be an indicator of a health problem. (A notable exception is a breed such as the Bashkir Curly which is characterized by a curly hair coat).

A horse’s hooves should be round and smooth, with minimal chips and no cracks or sections missing. The hoof wall should grow approximately one-fourth to one-half an inch per month, and it should form a straight line with the front of the pastern when viewed from the side. The heels should be wide, and the frog should be supple and flexible. Horses that are shod must be re-shod and trimmed regularly to maintain this shape. Excessively long toes and toes curving upward in front are evidence of need for attention by a competent farrier.


Part 2 of this article in our next blog post.

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