Taking care of a sick horse entails more than simply administering prescribed medicines: it’s a holistic approach that covers all aspects of horse management. Optimal care can significantly influence both the speed of recovery and the ultimate restoration of the horse’s health and fitness. Implementing a clean environment, regular health monitoring, and a well-maintained diet goes a long way in facilitating a smooth and efficient healing process for your horse.
Stabling, Exercise, and Horse Health
Proper care and management of sick horses includes certain essentials, like stabling, exercise, and maintaining hygiene.
Importance of Outdoor Space
In agreeable weather, the paddock serves as an excellent sick-care area. Providing the horse unrestricted access to fresh air, natural food, and sunlight is beneficial. Moreover, gentle exercise, which the horse can adjust according to its comfort, grants another advantage.
Considerations for Indoor Stabling
However, if the weather is unsuitable or the horse’s condition necessitates indoor care, stabling becomes the alternative. Successful stabling emphasises sufficient ventilation without draughts. The horse’s bedding must be amply supplied, clean, dry, and even, promoting proper rest. Peace is crucial, specifically in cases of nervous diseases where darkening the windows might be helpful. For severe illnesses, only the person caring for the horse should be permitted near the stable. This protocol minimises unnecessary disturbance and noise.
Hygiene and Stable Maintenance
Intense cleaning of the stable, feeding, and water bowls, as well as any tack, clothing or grooming kit used on an infectious horse is fundamental. Diseases such as strangles can be transmitted by mild contacts, while skin conditions like ringworm can spread through contaminated rugs, tack or grooming kits.
The Role of an Isolation Stable
If feasible, a dedicated ‘sick box’ should be available for infectious horses, ensuring they are isolated and cared for by a single individual. Ideally, this box would have concrete walls for easier post-care cleaning and disinfection, compared to wooden walls. Though steam cleaning is preferred, a thorough wash with a potent disinfectant can also suffice, particularly if the box remains vacant for a period.
Food, Water, and Health Maintenance of Horses
A vital aspect of horse care, particularly during illness, is nutrition and hydration management.
Balancing Nutrition and Maintaining Condition
While the horse’s regular diet may need to be cut down during illness, it’s crucial to maintain their condition. High-quality hay forms the bulk of their diet, supplemented by bran, where needed. The importance of fresh green fodder and roots shouldn’t be underestimated. They not only aid digestion but are considerably palatable, even for those horses with weaker appetites.
Linseed and bran mashes, gruel, and similar food items can be beneficial.
Key Principles in Feeding
Feeding practices during sickness should adhere to certain principles:
- Serve small quantities of easy-to-digest food at regular intervals.
- Don’t leave uneaten food in the stable, hoping the horse might eat it later. The food may become tainted and can dampen the horse’s appetite.
- Forced feeding is a no-go. If the horse lacks appetite, trying variety in their diet or adding a sweetener like molasses could help stimulate their taste buds.
- In cases of digestive disturbances, withholding food for several hours could yield positive results.
Hydration Needs
Clean water should always be accessible to horses. However, it should be frequently changed to prevent tainting. In cooler weather, providing lukewarm water can encourage consumption.
Clothing, Bandages, and Horse Health
Maintaining a balanced body temperature is crucial in horse care, particularly during periods of illness or injury.
Considerations for Clothing
Clothing serves a dual purpose: keeping horses warm in cold weather and protecting them from flies in the summer. The amount of clothing should be adjusted according to the horse’s needs and weather conditions.
Over-clothing can cause fatigue and induce unnecessary sweating in horses that are already weak. Ensure clothing fits comfortably, doesn’t interfere with movement or breathing, and doesn’t chafe the horse.
In the warmer seasons, lightweight linen “summer sheets” provide excellent protection from pesky flies.
Bandaging Guidelines
Bandages may be employed for warmth or other purposes. Principles for bandaging include:
- Avoid tight bandages as they can impede circulation and movement.
- Bandages should be applied evenly.
- It’s advised to remove and reapply bandages at intervals during the day, massaging the limbs to boost circulation.
- Woolen bandages are the top choice. If using less elastic material, a layer of cotton wool should be incorporated, especially around joints and swollen areas.
Wound Management and Bandaging
Whether to bandage a wound depends on various factors. Early on, a bandage can keep the wound clean and prevent swelling. Later, a pressure bandage may limit the formation of excessive granulation tissue, also known as “proud flesh”.
Alternatively, when the wound is clean and dry without swelling or “proud flesh”, leaving it exposed to the air aids healing. Bandages can also be applied over ointments, keeping them securely in place.
In cases of emergency, such as severe bleeding, a cotton wool pad firmly held by a bandage can serve as a temporary measure until veterinary help arrives. It’s important not to use tourniquets or to clean wounds with disinfectant before a vet arrives, as these actions can cause further damage.
Consulting the Vet
Your vet will guide you on when and how to bandage wounds. For initial stages or serious cases, they will typically do it themselves, and instruct you on continuing care. During wound treatment, it’s advisable to use a mild anti-bacterial disinfectant that won’t harm tissues, as opposed to stronger disinfectants meant for surfaces or buildings.
Managing Injuries and Lameness in Horses
Addressing injuries or lameness in horses requires a keen understanding of the animal’s symptoms and a quick, efficient response.
Bandaging for Support
When a horse experiences lameness or injury in one limb, it frequently compensates by leaning more on the opposite, sound limb. Bandaging this sound limb provides extra support, helping prevent overuse or additional injury.
Reducing Swelling
Swelling resulting from sprains can be effectively reduced with cold water hosing, performed two or three times a day for about 15 minutes each time. An additional approach is using re-freezable ice packs. Secured against the affected area by bandages, these packs help to minimize swelling but should be changed frequently to maintain their effectiveness.
Treatments for Infection
If infection is evident near a wound, applying heat can be very beneficial. The warmth helps to draw out toxins and promote healing.
Dealing with Lower Limb Problems
If problems are detected in the foot or lower limbs such as swelling of the pastern, implementing a “hot tubbing” method, where the horse stands with the affected foot in a bucket of hot water, can be beneficial. For wounds higher on the leg, a hot “Animalintex” poultice is a solid choice.
Applying Heat to Challenging Areas
In areas where bandages or poultices are impractical, like on the back or jaw, heat can be applied through hot fomentation. A cloth or flannel is immersed in hot water, wrung out, and then held against the affected area. Using two cloths alternately can ensure continuous heat application—while one is being reheated, the other maintains contact with the skin.
Importance of Grooming During Sickness
Maintaining skin and coat cleanliness in horses comprehensively becomes even more crucial during periods of illness.
Grooming for Cleanliness and Comfort
Regular grooming serves multiple purposes. It effectively removes dirt and helps maintain a healthy skin and coat, which is particularly significant when horses are unwell. In addition, grooming provides comfort and promotes a feeling of well-being in horses.
Unless the specific illness makes grooming uncomfortable or impossible for the horse, it is an activity that should not be skipped. Always remember to take special care to avoid causing unnecessary distress or irritation for the horse during grooming sessions.
Focusing on the Feet
Often, the importance of foot care can be overlooked in focus on the overall grooming regimen. Nonetheless, attending to the feet is equally vital. Maintaining clean, healthy hooves is key to preventing further complications, especially when the horse is already under the weather.
Regardless of the grooming task at hand, the implementation should be quick, quiet, and efficient. Now is not the time for excess fuss—instead, aim for calm, comforting care that reassures the horse during its recovery period.
Proper Administration of Medicines to Horses
Much like children, horses need gentle and considerate care, especially when it comes to giving them medicine.
Maneuvering Powdered Medicines
Horses can be surprisingly perceptive and may refuse to consume their food if they suspect it’s been mixed with medication. To overcome this, combine powdered medicine thoroughly with the horse’s favourite food items. Ingredients like grated carrots, or any other delicacy your horse enjoys, work well to disguise the foreign substance.
Another successful strategy is creating a medicated sandwich using two slices of bread and the powdered medicine. Many horses readily consume this without much ado, solving your problem neatly.
Syringe Medications
Many modern medicines, such as wormers and some antibiotics, come conveniently prepared in syringe form, which is ideal for giving cough medicines to horses. For right-handed individuals, it’s easier to administer these treatments from the horse’s right or “off” side.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to administer syringe medication:
- Have someone hold the horse’s head collar on the near side.
- Stand on the horse’s right side and place your left hand on the bridge of its nose.
- Gently insert your thumb into the space between the horse’s front teeth and cheek teeth and press against the roof of the mouth. The horse should open its mouth.
- Once open, the syringe’s tip is inserted towards the back of the mouth, and its contents squeezed onto the tongue.
- Quickly remove the syringe, and keep the horse’s head lifted to ensure it swallows the medication.
Hazards of “Drenching”
“Drenching,” or administering liquid medicines to horses using a long-necked bottle or “drenching horn” is an outdated procedure. It potentially poses a risk of liquid entering the horse’s lungs, leading to life-threatening consequences like pneumonia. Therefore, it’s not advisable to administer medicines using this method.
Liquid Medications for Digestive Disorders
In the past, various makeshift remedies, particularly for colic, were employed. Most proved relatively ineffective due to the small volumes given, which were generally insufficient for the large content of the equine bowels.
In the case of digestive disorders like colic, large volumes of liquid (two or more litres) are often necessary. Such quantities should only be administered by a professional vet using a stomach tube to ensure safety and effectiveness.
Conclusion
Successful horse care requires patience and understanding. It’s important to administer medicines to horses properly—not only for effective treatment but also to ensure their comfort and wellbeing. Whether delivering powdered medications or using a syringe, the primary approach should be one of gentleness and tact to keep the process smooth and stress-free for our equine friends.
Knowing how to manage a horse’s health includes understanding ailments that can impact them, including those affecting the legs and feet.
