How to Check Vital Signs On Your Horse
Summary
TLDRDr. Erica Latcher from Spring Hill Equine educates horse owners on measuring vital signs, including heart rate, respiratory rate, and temperature, with a bonus section on gut sounds, digital pulses, and gum color. She emphasizes the importance of these signs for early detection of health issues like colic and provides practical tips for taking accurate readings, ensuring better communication with veterinarians.
Takeaways
- 🙌 Dr. Erica Latcher emphasizes the importance of knowing how to take vital signs for horse owners.
- 📊 Vital signs include heart rate, respiratory rate, and temperature, which are crucial for assessing a horse's health.
- 🎧 A stethoscope is essential for accurately measuring heart rate, with the Littman brand recommended for its quality.
- 👂 The correct way to wear a stethoscope is with the earpieces angling forward to align with the ear canal.
- 🐎 The heart rate should be taken on the left side of the horse, just above the elbow, with the stethoscope's bell pressed firmly.
- 🔍 A normal horse heart rate ranges from 28 to 48 beats per minute, with over 60 being a significant concern.
- 🌀 Respiratory rate is measured by listening behind the elbow and along the flank, with normal horses often showing no distinct lung sounds.
- 🌡️ Temperature is taken rectally using a pediatric digital thermometer, with a normal range between 99 and 100.9 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 🌊 Gut sounds should be a mix of gurgles, rumbles, and pings, indicating proper digestive function.
- 🏃♀️ Digital pulses can indicate lameness or other issues, with the pulse felt on the widest part of the horse's fetlock.
- 👅 Gum color and capillary refill time are important indicators of a horse's hydration and health status.
Q & A
What is the normal heart rate range for a horse?
-The normal heart rate range for a horse is between 28 and 48 beats per minute.
Why is it important to know a horse's vital signs?
-Knowing a horse's vital signs is important because it can help identify health issues such as colic or other illnesses, and provide crucial information to veterinarians for diagnosis and treatment.
What is the significance of a heart rate over 60 beats per minute in a horse?
-A heart rate over 60 beats per minute in a horse, especially when not post-exercise, is a red flag indicating potential illness or distress.
How can you accurately measure a horse's heart rate?
-To measure a horse's heart rate accurately, use a stethoscope on the left side of the horse, about a hand's length up from the bottom of the body wall, and count the beats for 15 seconds, then multiply by four to get the beats per minute.
What is the normal respiratory rate for a horse?
-The normal respiratory rate for a horse is not explicitly stated in the script, but it is suggested that listening for crackles, wheezes, or abnormal sounds is more important than a specific number.
How do you check for respiratory issues in a horse?
-To check for respiratory issues, listen to the horse's flank area for normal breath sounds and watch for any unusual noises like crackles (like Rice Krispies) or wheezes, which can indicate asthma.
What is the normal temperature range for a horse?
-The normal temperature range for a horse is between 99 and 100.9 degrees Fahrenheit.
How should you take a horse's temperature?
-To take a horse's temperature, use a pediatric digital thermometer and insert it about an inch into the rectum, then wait for the beep indicating the temperature reading.
Why is it beneficial to teach a horse to be calm during temperature taking?
-Teaching a horse to be calm during temperature taking is beneficial for the safety of the handler and to ensure accurate and stress-free temperature readings.
What additional vital signs does Dr. Erica Latcher discuss in the bonus section?
-In the bonus section, Dr. Erica Latcher discusses gut sounds, digital pulses, and gum color as additional vital signs to monitor in horses.
How can you tell if a horse is dehydrated by checking its gums?
-A horse is likely dehydrated if its gums appear dry and lack moisture, and if the gum feels tacky when touched, rather than moist and glistening.
Outlines
🐎 Introduction to Horse Vital Signs
Dr. Erica Latcher from Spring Hill Equine begins the video by expressing gratitude to patrons for their support. She emphasizes the importance of knowing how to take vital signs of a horse, such as heart rate, respiratory rate, and temperature, especially in cases like colic. She introduces a bonus section at the end of the video and uses a Littman stethoscope to demonstrate how to accurately measure a horse's heart rate, highlighting the importance of proper stethoscope positioning and the significance of a heart rate over 60 beats per minute as a red flag in a sick horse.
👂 Measuring Respiratory Rate
Dr. Latcher proceeds to explain how to measure a horse's respiratory rate, focusing on listening for lung sounds in a triangular area behind the elbow. She clarifies that while gut sounds are common and expected, lung sounds are what should be listened for, particularly for signs of issues like asthma or pneumonia. She advises on how to elicit a deep breath from the horse using a trash bag or by blocking the nostrils temporarily. The video also covers how to count respiratory rate by observing the flank movement and the importance of listening for abnormal sounds like crackles or wheezes.
🌡 Taking a Horse's Temperature
The third paragraph delves into the process of taking a horse's temperature, recommending the use of a pediatric digital thermometer for its speed and ease of use. Dr. Latcher advises standing close to the horse for safety and demonstrates how to properly insert the thermometer into the rectum. She notes the normal temperature range for a horse and mentions that elevated temperatures can indicate illness. The paragraph also touches on the importance of teaching a horse to tolerate temperature taking for the safety of both the horse and the handler.
🔍 Advanced Monitoring: Gut Sounds, Digital Pulses, and Gum Color
In the bonus section, Dr. Latcher discusses additional vital signs such as gut sounds, digital pulses, and gum color. She explains how to listen for gut sounds to assess a horse's digestive health, noting the significance of different sound types and their implications. For digital pulses, she demonstrates how to feel for them at the widest part of the fetlock and what variations might indicate, such as abscesses or laminitis. Lastly, she covers gum color and capillary refill time as indicators of a horse's hydration and health status, warning against signs of dehydration or toxicosis.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Vital Signs
💡Heart Rate
💡Respiratory Rate
💡Temperature
💡Stethoscope
💡Colic
💡Gut Sounds
💡Digital Pulses
💡Gum Color
💡Hydrometer
Highlights
Introduction to the importance of knowing how to take vital signs for horse owners.
Explanation of the three vital signs to be covered: heart rate, respiratory rate, and temperature.
Discussion on the use of a stethoscope for taking heart rate and the importance of its quality.
Correct positioning of the stethoscope earpieces for optimal sound transmission.
Technique for finding the best location on a horse to take the heart rate.
Instructions on how to properly use a stethoscope to listen to a horse's heart.
Method for counting the heart rate and the normal range for a horse.
Significance of a heart rate over 60 as a potential indicator of illness in a horse.
The importance of listening to both sides of a horse for respiratory rate.
Technique for finding the optimal location to listen for respiratory sounds.
Description of normal and abnormal respiratory sounds in horses.
Methods to encourage a horse to take a deep breath for better respiratory sound assessment.
Introduction to the process of taking a horse's temperature and the equipment used.
Technique for safely and effectively taking a horse's temperature.
Normal temperature range for a horse and signs of concern.
Bonus section on additional vital signs: gut sounds, digital pulses, and gum color.
Technique for assessing gut sounds and what to listen for in a healthy horse.
How to take digital pulses and what they indicate about a horse's health.
Importance of gum color and capillary refill time in assessing a horse's health.
Conclusion and encouragement for horse owners to learn these vital sign techniques.
Transcripts
hi i'm dr erica latcher with spring hill
equine i want to give a huge shout out
to all our patrons out there you guys
are the reasons we can do what we do
so today we're going to do a video on
something i think every horse owner
should know and that is how to get vital
signs this is information i wish i could
get from everyone when they call me with
a colic
never mind pretty much any reason that
they call me for their horse i would
love to know heart rate respiratory rate
and temperature so today we're going to
go over those three things with a bonus
section at the end so stay tuned
[Music]
do
[Music]
all right let's start with heart rate so
i'm going to be using a littman
stethoscope it's a really nice brand of
stethoscope i would say it's the
probably the cadillac but they have
varying different models in there you
can get your economy cadillac your full
luxury cadillac but any stethoscope will
do
the biggest difference between quality
stethoscopes is the tubing how thick the
tubing is which insulates the sound
better as it comes to your ear
and the quality of the earpiece the
cheaper the stethoscope the harder this
rubber is and the worse it feels on your
poor ears so a five dollar stethoscope
will work it's not the most comfortable
but it'll definitely do the job
the other thing you guys get to hear dr
latcher stethoscope pet peeve and that
is that when you see the stethoscope see
how these angle forward when you put
them in you want to put them in just
like that so that that is angling
forward because your ear canal actually
angles forward into your head
if you put them in this way
like they do in every medical tv show
out there you will now notice this too
it actually makes it harder for the
sound to travel down your ear canal so
remember
forward
not
backward all right so i'm going to take
the the ear pieces put them in my ears
and then
where we take the the heart rate
we're doing this on the right side for
filming purposes
you actually want to do it on the left
side of the horse but it's in the same
location
so come up
from the bottom of the body wall kind of
a good hand length i have tiny hands so
kind of a good hand length up the other
thing you can look for is the point of
the elbow and you're going to go a
couple fingers above that
so
there's usually a bit of a depression
here
and it's a right in front of where your
girth ends up on the saddle
you want to take the the bell of your
stethoscope this end you want to place
it
firmly this helps you get better sound
quality
not pushing firmly enough is is one of
the biggest things i see novices do so
you're going to take the bell
press firmly
and then we're going to slide up under
the triceps muscle right here
so we're going to slide up under
and then we're going to listen
until we get the rhythm
and there's going to be a lob and a dub
so you're here sort of lub dub lub dub
lub dub
get the rhythm
then pull out your watch
count for 15 seconds you know watch your
watch for 15 seconds
counting that whole time
when you're done
multiply by four and you've got your
beats per minute
normal range in a horse is
28ish to 48ish
if they're excited i'll leave my
stethoscope on for a minute and see if
that heart rate comes down
not uncommon for me at all
to put that that stethoscope on
and hear a little jump in the heart rate
that's why i take a moment to listen to
the rhythm it'll come down and you'll
get the normal heart rate
big red flag for me on sick horses is a
heart rate over 60. not post exercise
but if a horse is standing here i've
pulled them out of the stall and you
think they're colicking or sick in some
way and the heart rate is over 60.
that's a really big deal so they have a
very narrow range of what's normal like
i said 28 to 48 higher than that and we
definitely start to get concerned
and again we're going to listen on the
left side
the reason we do that is the horse heart
actually sits a little tilted to the
left just like your heart does so it's
easier to hear from the other side it's
actually quite difficult to hear a heart
rate from here so that's heart rate
okay let's talk respiratory rate so this
one you are going to listen on both
sides in the exact same place
what i do is come back to that point of
the elbow that we found for the heart
rate
draw a line to the top of the flank
whirl so i go bloop
it's really easy on wet horses you leave
like a a mark it's really great so we're
going to go like this
then we're going to come straight up
from the elbow
until we get to about the top of the
flank whirl back there and then we're
going to draw a line back so this
triangle
is where we're going to listen for
respiratory sounds
so i'm going to take my stethoscope
again
and which way are we putting the ear
pieces that's right forward
i'm going to listen
in a couple of different places
and you want to try and go through a
couple of breath sounds
normal on horses in particular in the
area i'm at right now is that you don't
hear anything but gut sounds which is
what i'm getting off of vespa right now
so don't be surprised if you hear gut
sounds and not lung sounds
next i'm going to move up
same thing we're going to listen for a
few breath cycles
this is a really easy place to see if
they're breathing because i watch their
flank so
again listening for a few breath cycles
kind of go to the center of my triangle
listen and then i'm going to come here
we hear different things
in each of the different places
but on a normal horse you often don't
hear much of anything and that's you
know on vespa today i don't hear much of
anything and that's not a bad thing
what we don't want to hear
are crackles or wheezes and crackles
sound like rice krispies it really does
think about putting a stethoscope over a
bowl of rice krispies that's exactly
what it sounds like the other thing
we'll hear are wheezes and those can be
indicative of asthma and you will hear
those
long before you may necessarily see an
increase of respiratory rate or effort
so it's a good way to monitor those
horses for symptoms
the other thing that we'll hear
and really this is uncommon on a normal
horse obviously but um we tend to hear
the pneumonias we hear down here we hear
a lot of um
and almost i describe it as sewer sounds
because that's what it sounds like you
get just these horrible awful sounds
that come from down here that don't
sound like gut sounds no gurgling
so again we're going to listen on both
sides in this triangle
and then we're going to do the same
thing we did for heart rate we're going
to
pull out our watch we're going to count
for 15 seconds we're going to watch for
15 seconds while counting sorry you
can't do both
so i like to stand here and just watch
the flank
rise
and fall
and rise and fall it's the easiest way
to see it the other way you can get it
sometimes if you've got a particularly
jittery horse
is i'll just put my hand in front of
their nostril and let he feel for when
the the air comes in or out and again
usually i have to give that a second for
the horse to settle into
what we're doing to allow me to do that
but that can be a great way on some that
are being just jittery and not standing
still for you
the next trick on
respiratory rate is how to get a horse
to take a deep breath
and we have two ways that we do that i'm
always a little bit jealous of human
doctors when they say take a deep breath
now
because we can't do that
but the way that we hear really good
lung sounds is to ask a horse to take a
really deep breath
so the way that i'll do that is by
taking a small like think like bathroom
trash can size trash bag you're going to
put it over their nose
hold it on there and make them basically
hyperventilate into that so as they do
that they're increasing the carbon
dioxide in the system when you take the
bag off you get a really big deep breath
that's really nice
the other way you can do it
is simply by blocking the nostrils
this is a two-person job so the way that
i'll do that is i just have my helper
come and basically just hold their hand
over the nostrils it doesn't take long
maybe about 10 or 15 seconds or so i'll
hold when they start to fidget i let go
and i get a really nice deep breath and
again that's a great way to listen to
those lung sounds up high here when
you're listening for some crackles or
wheezes on a horse that maybe has asthma
so there you go that's all you need to
know about respiratory rate
all right let's talk temperature
first thing you're going to notice is
i'm standing really close
because if you're going to get kicked by
a horse you want to get it done from
really close or too far away for them to
reach you so we have to be close for
this so we're going to start really
close
next thing let's talk about equipment
we just use a pediatric digital
thermometer from cvs walgreens amazon
wherever you'd like to get your
pediatric digital thermometer
why do we use pediatric you ask because
they take the temperature faster and
sometimes that is a key component to
getting a temperature on a horse
you can use the old school old school
mercury kind but you want to make sure
that you tie a string to them and use a
clothespin to attach it to the tail
because they have been known to suck
them in and then you're hoping and
staring at a lot of poop piles waiting
for a thermometer to come back out so we
go pediatric digital it's way easier
the other thing i'd like to make note of
on this is if you get nothing else out
of this video
please please please teach your horse to
be good about getting their temperature
taken this is probably the most common
thing that i almost lose my life over on
a daily basis there are horses who do
not like this but taking just a few
minutes to teach them that this is a
process that we're going to do is super
easy and very helpful for your
veterinarian that you have a great
relationship with so again notice i'm
standing very close
i'm going to start by taking a hold of
the tail and pulling it towards me
this pushes her weight onto this side
just a little bit so that if she does
want to pick up that leg and take a
swipe at me i'm going to feel her come
off the leg
and then go to kick so i have more time
to respond and do what needs to be done
so again
take that tail pull it to the side if
she was being bad or upset about this i
would give her just a moment to to get
over what we're doing
i'm going to turn on my thermometer by
pressing the button
and then we are going to insert into the
rectum
approximately an inch
now we're going to stand here
and wait
and usually that happens where they pass
a little gas it's very nice very nice
so we're going to wait for that that
beep that tells us what her temperature
is
there we go
all right so this tells us that her
temperature today is about 100.2 which
is normal normal temperature range for a
horse is somewhere between 99 and about
100.9 we get concerned when we got temps
in the 102 range but it's not uncommon
for us to see some of our
mildly sick viral respiratory horses
have temperature range in the range of
103 to low 104s so there you go
temperature
all right the bonus episode we're going
to talk about gut sounds
digital pulses and gum color so let's
talk gut sounds
the nice thing about vespa today is i
can hear her standing right here and
that's not uncommon in horses and we
would consider that normal
but we also want to see how they sound
with the stethoscope to get a better
idea of how many she's having and how
frequently
so i like the flank whirl as a guideline
so we're going to go one hand below
one hand above
and listen in these two places and then
we're also going to listen a couple
places down below so again which way are
we putting our stethoscope in forward
so we're going to go forward
place the stethoscope firmly and a lot
of times you'll see i'll take this hand
i'll put on the other side just to help
them kind of stay where i want them to
and then i'm going to listen
20 to 30 seconds each spot that gives me
an idea of kind of frequency intensity
do i have gas do i have
fluid sounds and then i'm going to
switch
not uncommon up here to hear really high
pitched pings and that's because this is
where the cecum lives and it almost
always has a gas cap
so then i'm going to come down listen
lots of gurgles here
next thing i'm going to do is bring my
stethoscope and listen right behind the
solar plexus
if i hear the sound of the beach
she's got sand
if i don't it doesn't mean she doesn't
have sand but if i do she definitely has
sand
and then i'll usually listen in the
middle of the abdomen somewhere
and then i'm going to repeat on the
other side
their horses and as as we all know no
gut sounds as bad in horses we want to
hear
nearly continuous
gurgles rumbles pings some sort of gut
sound going on
you should not get the impression that
it's water running through a hose that
that means you've probably got diarrhea
coming at you
nor should you hear nothing but pings
when we hear only pings and they're like
these
hunt for red october high-pitched dings
that go on when you hear nothing but
that you've got a lot of gas going on so
you want to hear a nice combination of
rumbles grumbles and pinks
all right let's talk digital pulses this
is super useful information on any horse
that you think is lame
it can tell us if we have more of a
laminitic episode going on or if we've
got an abscess
can usually tell me which side an
abscess is on in the foot
so again lots of useful information
one of the things you want to know is
what's normal for your horse
so where we take digital pulses is right
on the widest part of the fetlock
the the artery runs right here what you
want to be sure you do is use your
finger your pointer finger and maybe
your middle finger don't use your thumb
you've got an artery that runs in your
thumb kind of right here
and you'll get a bound with it
if you are touching their artery and
your pulse lines up to their pulse so
what i do is take two fingers
slide down till i'm at the widest part
you'll feel sort of a little
water balloon type structure
push a little bit and then let off until
you can feel the pulse
each horse is different vespa here for
example i can't really feel a pulse on
her that's normal good to know that
that's normal on her but i'm going to do
the same thing on the inside so you'll
see i have my fingers on inside and
outside feeling them at the same time
not really feeling anything because
that's normal for a vespa i get an
occasional pulse that i can feel on her
if for instance she had an abscess that
was on the outside of this foot usually
the outside digital pulse will be higher
if she was laminitic we would feel that
all of a sudden we have these really
strong pulses
that were coming against my finger and
they'd be bilateral so great information
you can give your veterinarian if you've
got a lameness going on
all right and finally let's talk gum
color
especially for colics this is
information that i really like to have
if possible
one things we're going to look at
is gum color is normally
pale pink
not not dark red like you or i
it's actually a pale pink and that's
very very normal
the next thing we're going to look at is
you can see that there is there's
moisture there right like there's
there's a glistening to her gums because
there's moisture that's one indication
of hydration status just like us they
get sort of cotton mouthy and if they're
dehydrated which is frequently a problem
with colics then we'll see that they
just don't have that moisture and when
you run your finger on the gum you'll
feel it's tacky like your your finger
sticks to it as opposed to sliding
across it
the other thing that we can get from
gums
is what we call capillary refill time
and the way we do that is we're going to
take our finger
and we're going to press
we're going to press
and see how it's white and then come the
color comes back
that's normal and that should happen in
one to two seconds normal horses are
often one second or less and again
that's a good indication of hydration
status for us what we shouldn't see is
brick red mucous membranes or a line
right above the teeth sometimes we'll
see a red line that comes right above
the teeth we call that a toxic line and
it's an indication that there's bacteria
running about on the bloodstream that
shouldn't be there
definitely shouldn't see purple either
those are all bad indications but
getting
uh an idea of what the gum color is and
getting that to your veterinarian again
great information for them to have
all right there you go the easy and
quick way to get a set of vital signs
for your veterinarian this is sure to
make your relationship with your
veterinarian even better than i'm sure
it already is and again we want to thank
our patrons without you guys we can't do
what we do as always if you've got
questions drop them down below and we'll
get to them as fast as we can
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
you
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