Horse care and Management

Explore how horses mature around four years old, with skeletal development to six, influenced by breed size, sex, and care quality, and learn life stages from foal to gelding.

Explore the variety of horse colors, black, bay, chestnut, dun, buckskin, golden-bodied with white mane and tail, Appaloosa patterns, roan, grey, and skewbald coats.

Explore horse conformation and anatomy by examining skull bones, vertebrae sections, and major limb bones and joints from forelimb to hind limb, including the coffin, the fetlock, and hip joints.

Assess horse conformation by examining bone structure, musculature, and how these elements relate to each other to ensure balance, soundness, and efficient movement.

Evaluate horse conformation to understand movement, lameness, and breeding implications, balancing overall structure with shoulder slope and body proportions to predict performance.

Explore horse conformation and common faults, from head and neck to hindquarters and legs, and learn how structure shapes balance, performance, and risk of lameness.

Explore conformation faults as deviations from an ideal horse body and their impact on movement, soundness, and athletic ability. Learn examples like leg and body folds.

Explore the bones and anatomy of the horse, highlighting major points such as head, neck, torso, hindquarters, and legs, and connect gait, collection, symmetry, straightness, and movement to horsemanship.

Explore the origins of horses from Central Asia steppes, the domestication and use as pack and harness animals, and a survey of diverse breeds like Abyssinian, Akhal-tekes, Andalusian, and Appaloosa.

Understand horse behavior by reading body language and vocalizations, recognizing social herd dynamics and mood cues from ears, tails, and facial expressions to improve communication and bonding.

Approach horses safely by speaking softly and approaching from the front left to avoid blind spots, read body language, and use calm voice.

Groom horses regularly to support health by brushing with a brush, detergent, disinfectant, or water and soap to clean skin and coat and keep them comfortable and healthy.

Gather your tools, clean and check the horse's hooves, trim the hoof and sole, and work slowly and carefully to ensure proper hoof care.

Prioritize hoof care by regularly removing bristles with a special tool every four to six weeks, helping the horse walk and run more easily.

Colic in horses presents as abdominal pain from diverse etiologies; veterinarians diagnose by understanding equine anatomy and the gastrointestinal tract movement of ingesta and fluids, and manage endotoxin risk.

Explore the horse git, a hindgut fermenter, detailing foregut and hindgut structure. Learn how microbes ferment fiber in the cecum and colon to produce energy.

Examine the horse small intestine anatomy—duodenum, jejunum, ileum—and key landmarks such as the ileocecal junction and ileum–cecum junction, with mesenteric attachments and implications for proximal enteritis and volvulus.

Describe the horse's cecum on the right side as a 4–5 ft fermentation vat where ingesta mixes with micro-organisms to digest cellulose.

The celiac and cranial mesenteric arteries supply the horse’s GI tract, feeding stomach, liver, spleen, pancreas, and duodenum, with cranial arteries nourishing the rest of the small intestine and colon.

Assess the history of the current and past colic episodes to determine if this is isolated or recurrent, and note treatment response, de-worming history, and dietary changes.

Learn to perform a definitive rectal examination and systematic palpation of key abdominal structures in horses, evaluate peritoneal fluid via paracentesis, and recognize age-related colic conditions.

Describe a standardized rectal exam and palpation in horses, assessing organs from cranial mesenteric artery to left kidney, including cecal base and mare ovaries/uterus; use paracentesis to evaluate peritoneal fluid.

Explain colonic motility in horses, including peristalsis from left ventral colon to left dorsal colon. Describe retrograde contractions from ingesta at pelvic flexure, toward sternal flexure, driven by pacemaker region.

Diagnose colic through thorough exam and history to identify the affected intestinal tract and distinguish gas, obstruction, ischemia, and inflammation as causes, guiding treatment.

Diagnose colic in horses with a multi-step approach that emphasizes early, accurate detection through history, physical exam, and targeted tests such as nasogastric reflux checks and ultrasonography.

Explains Strongylus vulgaris larval migration causing colic and thromboembolism, and how intensified larvicidal deworming, addressing encysted larvae, prevents chronic disease in horses with ivermectin or moxidectin.

Explore medical versus surgical treatment for equine colic, using rectal exams and ultrasonography to guide hydration, pain relief, perfusion, and parasite elimination.

Relieve pain with analgesia and remove gastric fluid via a nasogastric tube to relieve distension, while IV fluids—guided by labs and including hypertonic options—manage shock and obstruction.

Examine how enteric gram-negative endotoxin enters the bloodstream after mucosal damage, triggering inflammation; explore early anti-endotoxin therapies, antibody-based approaches, and cautious use of polymyxin B with fluid management.

Apply lubricants and laxatives to treat large-colon impaction in horses, using mineral oil or dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate with IV fluids, followed by hydrophilic mucilage or psyllium to soften ingesta.

Choose surgery for equine colic when mechanical obstruction threatens blood supply or resists medical therapy, with possible exploratory procedures, displacement corrections, or resection of devitalized intestine.

Assess prognosis for horses with colic, noting survival rates by condition and surgery, and identify key prognostic indicators such as pain, distension, mucous membranes, lactate, and anion gap.