Horse Physiology Knowledge Helps Protect Animal Health

Owners have a better chance of detecting disease and stress in a horse if they’re familiar with what’s normal.
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Owners have a better chance of detecting disease and stress in a horse if they are familiar with the normal behavior and physiological parameters of the animal. Familiarity with what constitutes "normal" for a horse allows equine managers to respond quickly to abrupt or sizable changes, said Dave Freeman, PhD, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension equine specialist.

"Some horses are naturally calm, others extremely active; some are aggressive eaters, others are slow and picky," he said. "Horse behavior can be expected to change during certain times, such as foaling, weaning, or when horses are moved to new environments or are placed with new horses."

If a horse manager knows the individual behavior for each horse, changes from that normal behavior can be followed up with more quantitative measurements.

A horse’s heart rate will vary from resting rates of 30 beats to 40 beats per minute to highs of more than 200 beats per minute during extreme stress or intense exercise. Heart rate can be estimated by taking the horse’s pulse from arteries which traverse the jaw or from those arteries located in the lower leg

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