Taking Care of Your Horse; Equine Husbandry, Vital Signs & Medical Kit
There’s nothing more rewarding as a horse owner and rider, than having a happy and healthy horse as your equine partner. While there’s a large combination of factors that contribute to this, every owner should maintain staple equine husbandry routines, be aware of vital signs and have a well-stocked medical kit on hand to help care for their horses.
Maintaining regular routines for key equine husbandry items like farrier visits, dental care, vaccinations and de-worming is important to your horse’s general health and comfort. The relevant professional for each of these items will discuss with you the appropriate interval and method of treatment for your horse. Following the advice of these professionals, can help to ensure an optimum performance of your horse as well as their ongoing health. Serious health implications may result, if one of these items goes unchecked for an extended period of time.
While our equine partners can’t communicate verbally about how they are feeling, we can educate ourselves on their body language, vital signs and typical behaviours to gauge their health. Being aware of what is normal for horses as well as your individual horse is a great way to monitor their health and determine whether they are unwell. No matter what we do to ensure our horse’s safety, from time to time, injuries can and do occur. In these times of need it is helpful to have a well-stocked medical kit on hand. This should contain items essential for initial wound cleaning and dressing, removing hazards (wire, fencing, etc.) and monitoring vital signs. It is always advisable to contact your vet if you are unsure of how to manage an injury or if the injury requires veterinary treatment.
Off the Track WA in collaboration with Racing and Wagering WA’s Veterinarians have create three handy documents on Horse Husbandry, Vital Signs, and Medical Kits for you to download and use as a reference.
Please note that the suggestions in these documents are to be used as a general guide only. Advice from a qualified veterinarian should always be sought if you have any questions or concerns regarding your horse and its welfare.
Want to keep this information on hand? Download the handy PDFs below!
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Equine Vitals
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