Farm & Country Online Knowing Your Horse's Vital Signs

Checking your horse’s vital signs regularly will help you establish a benchmark for monitoring their health. We bring you a handy guide on what is considered 'normal', but it's important to understand every horse is different - which is why it is so important to know what is normal for the individual horse! 

Respiratory Rate should be 10-20 breaths per minute, either watch how many times their belly moves in and out, or feel how many breaths come from their nostrils in a minute

Gums should be moist and salmon pink - press on their gum with your thumb for a couple of seconds, it should go pale but return to its normal colour within 2 seconds

Gut Sounds- a healthy gut makes noises and a silent one is concerning, press your ear gently to your horse's stomach for around 15 seconds and listen for noises

Heart-rate should be 28-44 beats per minute, although you can count beats from the mandibular artery, a stethoscope helps get the most accurate reading

Temperature should be between 37.2–38.3°C – taking it regularly will help you establish what’s average for your horse. Order a thermometer here.

Eyes and Nose - Your horse's eyes should be clear, fully open and clean, not cloudy or discoloured. The nostrils should be clean, besides a small trickle of clear odourless liquid.

Knowing your horse's healthy vital signs can alert you to any problems before they become potentially serious. In the case of any abnormalities a Veterinarian should be consulted. Keep a note of your horse's base-line respiratory rate, temperature and heart-rate so you are able to quickly identify if there is anything abnormal.

Ensure you always have a well-stocked first aid kit on hand to sort out any minor injuries; restock yours here. 

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