Articles
5 posts tagged with "vet-views"
Right Dorsal Colitis in Horses
Horses occasionally develop inflammation and ulceration of the gut lining, most commonly in the stomach (gastric ulcers). Colitis, or inflammation of the colon, is rarer, but can be very serious. For some reason, this problem tends to occur more in the right dorsal colon.
The Significance Of Gut Sounds
As we continue to explore basic vital signs that help you and your veterinarian assess a horse’s health, let’s examine another critical parameter: intestinal activity. This is evaluated by listening to gut sounds using a stethoscope placed in the flank area on both sides of a horse, in each of four quadrants.
Mucous Membranes
It seems fitting to walk you through some basic evaluations you can do on your horse when you think he may be out of sorts. This provides you and your veterinarian with specific information that may need to be acted on immediately. In this first installment, let’s focus on mucous membranes.
Hives
There are times when a horse suddenly develops hives for no specific reason. Such a hypersensitivity response to a non-infectious cause is referred to as an allergy, which can range from a serious, life‑threatening systemic reaction
(anaphylaxis), to a mild, but disagreeable, skin reaction, such as hives or itching.
Heat Stress
A horse demonstrating signs of heat stress – either subtle or obvious – could signal impending metabolic collapse. If any of these signs are seen, then it is necessary to stop the horse’s exercise immediately and begin implementing cooling strategies, described below. If the horse’s rectal temperature does not begin to return to normal within 15 minutes or so, a veterinarian should be contacted immediately.