General

Grooming

Grooming of the horses coat and mane and tail keeps it free of dirt and matting, which could become a site for parasite infestation and skin disease, or cause chaffing when the horse is tacked up and ridden. It allows the owner to check the general health and condition of the horse and also develops the trust and affection essential between horse and rider. Horses ridden regularly should be groomed daily before being ridden and brushed after riding, after the sweat has dried. Horses that are not being ridden or working should be groomed at least weekly.

Hooves

Hooves should be checked before and after each ride, or at least once a week (daily is ideal) for hoof disease or injury and to ensure that shoes are fitting properly. A hoof pick should be used to remove stones, mud, dirt and dead horn constituents. As horses hooves continue to grow they need to be checked by a qualified farrier every  4-6 weeks.

Teeth

Horses’ teeth grow throughout life, but once worn away or broken the horse is no longer able to eat properly, and in the wild would die. Commercial horse rations help to maintain tooth health, but teeth should be checked annually by your veterinarian, who may have to rasp sharp edges.

Exercise and Companionship

It is essential that horses are exercised and stimulated. They are social animals,  enjoying the company of humans or other horses, and may form attachments with a cat or dog if there is no other companionship.

Nutrition

Horses are natural grazers and a large portion of their daily diet is made up of forage such as grazing or hay, of which they will consume 1 – 2% of their body weight daily. They will spend 16 – 18 hours a day eating and require small and frequent meals of concentrate feed. The type and amount of concentrate or grain fed will depend on factors such as age, pregnancy,  body condition and work or exercise that the horse is required to do. Improper feeding such as over-feeding, spoilt food or a sudden change in diet can lead to complications such as colic or laminitis. Overfeeding young horses can result in growth disorders or osteochondrosis – a defect in the formation of cartilage.   Ideally a horse should have access to pasture (1-3 acres/horse) with good pole fencing (NEVER barbed wire) which has been cleared of all potentially poisonous plants (eg lantana), debris and rubbish and checked for holes or large stones. Good quality roughage is vital in a horse’s diet. It should be available at all times.  Water  Horses will drink between 40 – 50 litres of water a day, more if exercising and must have constant access to clean fresh water.  Bedding Horses should not be required to stand on very hard surfaces for extended periods of time, so the stable must be bedded with clean straw or dust-free wood shavings. These should be ‘mucked out’ at least once a day and all manure removed and disposed of by composting or burning. This helps to control internal parasites and flies by breaking the life cycle.  Shelter Horses on pasture require shelter from wind, rain and sun. If natural shelter such as trees are not available a three sided shelter can be constructed. Horse blankets should be used in very cold weather, particularly for animals that are sick or very old.

Parasites

Although horses do pick up ticks, these should be quickly seen during regularly grooming and removed by hand or with tweezers. Some acaricides are registered for use on horses but read warning labels carefully.
NEVER USE AMITRAZ-BASED ACARICIDES ON HORSES.
EKTOBAN (cypermethrin) will kill ticks on horse and also help control flies and lice.
SUPADIP (Chlorfenvinphos) is also suitable for tick control. It is essential to control flies around the stable and the yard, particularly the bot fly. (See Fly Control)

Internal parasites such as strongyles (large and small), ascarids, pinworm and tapeworm can effect the health of your horse and a regular deworming programme with an approved anthelmintic such as DECTOMAX INJECTABLE is essential (See Endoparasites of Horses)

Vaccinations

All horses must be vaccinated for horse-sickness, tetanus and rabies. Depending on whether your horse will be traveling and racing or competing, there are other vaccinations required eg South Africa requires Equine Flu vaccination. Consult your veterinarian.

Colic is a serious condition in horses occurring mainly in stabled horses with scarce grazing. It is the most common cause of death in horses. Colic is not a single disease; it is used to describe any disease of the abdominal organs accompanied by severe pain.

Colic can be caused by any one of a number of conditions. Sometimes one condition will lead to another, e.g. obstruction causing bloat.

•    Over-eating, particularly of concentrate feed.
•    Fermentation of feed in the stomach, for whatever reason, with the resulting production of excess gas.
•    Inflammation of the digestive tract, especially the small intestine. This is usually accompanied by purging. This may be caused by internal parasites. (See Endoparasites of horses)
•    Obstruction in the digestive tract, usually the large intestine and often caused by sand eaten while grazing.
•    Twist in the intestine.
•    Bloat of the intestine (usually after an obstruction)
•    Disease of liver, kidneys or urethras.
•    Drinking extremely cold water, especially after working hard.
•    Horses that eat their bedding are often affected.

SYMPTOMS

•    Restlessness
•    Head back, looking at hind-quarters
•    Kicking at the belly
•    Stamping of the fore-legs
•    Teeth grinding
•    Pulse rate rises
•    Shivering
•    Lying down and rolling
•    Lying on the back with the legs in the air
•    Attempting to urinate unsuccessfully, with a wide-legged stance.
•    When the colic becomes severe – the horse will go down, throw its head around and may injure itself without appearing to feel the pain of the injury. It will break into a cold sweat and the mucous membranes of the eye and mouth will turn a dirty dark purple. At this stage the horse is very close to death. The colour of the mucous membranes is a good indicator of the severity of the condition. If they are still a clean-looking dark pink or red colour, it is not too severe. Once they turn dark red or purple, the situation is very serious. If the colic is caused by over-eating or an obstruction the symptoms are usually not so severe. The animal is uncomfortable and listless, lying down and getting up frequently. If the colic is caused by bloat the colic is severe. The animal is restless, walking, rolling and showing signs of extreme pain.

TREATMENT

Colic is a very serious, potentially fatal condition with severe pain and really needs the expertise of a veterinarian to deal with it. If the vet is not available or while waiting, there are some things the horse owner can do.
•     Remove any feed from your horse’s stall
•    If your horse is lying down and quiet it’s OK to leave them there
•    If they are repeatedly getting up and down, quietly walk your horse around until your veterinarian gets there
•    The vet will probably use an injectable narcotic to ease the severe pain.
•    Purgatives such as liquid paraffin or raw linseed oil to encourage purging may be given. If the horse is bloated – turpentine or liquid phenol may be added. This is best given by stomach tube.
•    The vet may give a purgative injection, but not in cases where the colic is caused by over-eating or inflammation of intestines.
•    If the horse is constipated, manual removal of faeces and enema will relieve constipation.
•    If colic is caused by twisting of intestines, or if the intestine has burst from bloat, there is no remedy.

Ref:    Handbook of Stock Diseases; Monnig and Veldman        http://horse-rehab.com/the-signs-of-colic-in-horses/ 

Drenching – giving a medicine or liquid preparation by mouth into the stomach of an animal.Most worm remedies (anthelmintics) are administered by drenching (dosing), as are preparations such as bloat treatments, treatment for diarhhoea and constipation and other medicines. Incorrect drenching can cause inhalation pneumonia, which is difficult to treat and can prove fatal. It is essential that the owner always follows manufacturers’ directions when administering any treatment by mouth. Always use the correct dose for the age and size of the horse. If a horse is weak or undernourished smaller doses should be used. Some horses will tolerate being drenched with a syringe and if so this method should be used. (See opposite.) This is a suitable method of giving oral medication and worm remedies. The syringe is pushed up against the side of the horse’s mouth, avoiding the teeth and the plunger slowly depressed to allow the liquid into the mouth. Many horses will not allow drenching with a syringe or bottle and in these cases a stomach tube will have to be used. This is a skilled procedure requiring expertise and should never be undertaken by inexperienced personnel. Usually the procedure will be done by a veterinarian. The stomach tube is a 3m long stiff, smooth tube with a 10-20cm outside diameter. The front end is rounded and a funnel is inserted for poring liquids at the back end. The tube is softer and more flexible than that used for cattle. Unlike with cattle, in horses the tube in inserted through the nasal cavity. Method The nostril (usually the left) is cleaned and a twitch applied to the upper lip. The point of the tube is inserted into the nostril. With the right forefinger and thumb the tube is held down on the floor of the nasal passage, while gently pushing the tube in with the right hand. The tube will travel through the nasal cavity for about 25cm before reaching the larynx and oesophagus. When the tube reaches the larynx the horse will swallow. By gently pushing the tube at exactly the same moment as swallowing it will pass through the pharynx into the oesphagus, another 7-100mm. If the horse does not make the reflex swallowing motion when the tube touches the larynx, it should be gently moved up and down against the larynx until the horse swallows. When the tube is pushed in it can be seen on the left side of the neck moving down the gullet in the groove just above the windpipe. If the horse coughs or chokes, or if the tube moves easily with no obstruction, it may have entered the windpipe by mistake. The tube should be gently withdrawn into the mouth and the procedure started again. Once the tube has reached the stomach, the end should be raised to a level above the horse’s throat and the liquid poured into the funnel. When all the liquid has drained into the stomach, the funnel end should be lowered to below the horse’s throat and the tube slowly withdrawn. There may be some bleeding from the nostril but this should be minimal and transitory and stop soon after the tube is removed.                REF:    Handbook of Stock Diseases; Monnig and Veldman    www.equidblog.com 

Prevention and Control

Equipment required

• Rubber boots, protective clothing, rubber apron or lab coat, rubber gloves.
• Knives – large and small, with sharpening steel.
• Scissors (various sizes) and saws; bone cutters
• A number of sterile, open-mouthed screw top jars of different sizes for specimen collection
• Formalin (40% formaldehyde)
• Sterile swabs in test tubes
• Alcohol cleaned slides for smears, preferably in a rack or box
• Spatula
• Plastic bags for specimens
• Petri dishes
• Labels
• Soap, water, disinfectant and towel.

Procedure

• Carefully note external abnormalities. Check orifices, genitals and mammary glands. Make note of any injuries, wounds, parasites.
• Unless you suspect anthrax or rabies lay back the skin
• Remove the udder in females and the genitals in males. Cut away the front leg by incision under the shoulder blade. Open the abdominal cavity by incision from sternum to pubes.
• Check and note whether there is peritoneal fluid in the cavity. Make note of amount and colour. Check absence or presence of fat and intestinal gas.
• Open the thoracic cavity along the diaphragm. Cut through the sternum at the centre point and saw through the upper ribs. Note whether there is fluid in the thoracic cavity and pericardial sack.
• Remove the 4 parts of the stomach in ruminants, or the stomach in non-ruminants and the spleen by cutting the oesphagus and small intestine. Before cutting, tie off the gullet and small intestine in 2 places and cut between them. This prevents gut contents from spilling into the area. Remove the rest of the alimentary canal, tying off at the rectum.
• Examine the liver in position. Make note of size, colour, shape, presence of cysts, texture etc. Note gall bladder and contents. Remove the liver and take tissue section for laboratory analysis.
• Remove and examine the kidneys. Note the amount of fat, size, consistency and colour.
• Examine the bladder and note amount and colour of urine.
• Remove the thoracic organs. The heart is removed by cutting through the large blood vessels suspending it. The lungs are removed by cutting the trachea. The heart sack is now cut open and any abnormalities noted. The lungs are examined for elasticity, colour, and texture, presence of froth or solidification.
• All other organs – tongue, pharynx, larynx, and oesophagus are removed and examined. Tissue sections may be taken for lab analysis.
• The head is sawed open and the brain and cavities of the head examined.
• Lymph nodes are examined throughout and abnormalities noted.
• The organs receiving the most attention will be those related to the disease symptoms of the animal or the disease suspected.