Horse diseases – Symptoms, treatment, prevention

Horses are very sensitive and delicate animals. Like people, they have their needs. When these needs are not satisfied, diseases appear.

See what are the most common health problems of Equidae, what symptoms should worry and how to take care of our friends.

Horses disease symptoms

The most common diseases of the horses are, among other things, laminates, ulcer, colic or flu. Interestingly, they get sick both because of negligence and excessive care by their owners. The cause of health problems is, in many cases, ignorance. Here are some symptoms of horses’ diseases:

• Lack of appetite
• lethargy
• Cardiac rhythm and accelerated breathing
• weight loss
• Intense sweating
• temperature
• Pain in some parts of the body (abdomen, hooves)
• skin problems
• In some cases, rolling
• adoption of a specific position (laminate)
• diarrhea
• Urine conservation
• Excessive urinary excretion
• nervousness

In the diagnosis of a disease, the constant observation of the animal is extremely important. You have to know that any change of behavior means something. Therefore, it is important to spend time with it not only during training, because you focus more on the execution of tasks. Also, don’t forget to take walks and look at the horses carefully while grazing.

In addition, each disease has its own phases. Some diseases do not produce clinical signs in the first phase, but do their job and weaken the horse’s body. Horses are also more difficult to diagnose because they do not show pain, such as, for example, a dog, who complains when he has something acute in his paw. It is assumed that these animals suffer in silence. Only when the pain is unbearable and the disease progresses in a more advanced phase, the horse gives us a clear sign that something is wrong.

Causes of horses’ diseases

The cause of most of the diseases consists in the absence of knowledge, attention and domestication of these wonderful animals. The natural house of horses is nature, not the farmer. Horses in nature retain their energy, do not practice competition sports or train. They spend hours grabbing the grass on the pasture, move constantly and gather in the herds where harmony reigns.

Those who have had the good fortune to observe the free horses agree that there is no aggressive behavior among wild flocks, the horses have not shaken their ears and do not show their teeth. There is peace and order in the palls. But wild horses do not form random praise and have their most important needs satisfied. Among these we distinguish the need to:

• walk
• More hours of grazing
• the need to play and socialize
• the need to establish connections that are not random

The most common causes of horses’ disease are:

• an incorrect diet (e.g. a diet that is not adapted to lifestyle, age or temperament)
• Too little movement (in nature, horses go many miles a day)
• Stress (any change of place, unclear signals by a man who does not play a leading role, strong emotions during competition or frustration by the athlete interrupt the horse’s body and, sooner or later, lead to health and behavioral problems)
• RDDOW or Cavallo of the wrong horse
• Isolation (Horses are Hergery’s animals, communication and social bonds are very important for them. Horses don’t like random companions)
• bacteria and parasites

Horses suffer from a variety of diseases. However, among the conditions we distinguish the conditions that occur quite frequently. We take a brief look at the ulcer, the laminity and the colic now. This will protect our friends from pain and ensure that they are well cared for.

A healthy diet – a healthy horse

Food is one of the most important things in the life of a horse. And we do not refer only to the type of food, but also to the way it is ingested. Food errors are one of the main causes of illness. Horses are supercharged or underweight: their diet is poorly balanced, so that animals do not receive the necessary nutrients so that the body works correctly. In prevention, it is therefore very important to guarantee large feed (hay) and concentrated forage. The hay that is old contains a lot of dust, is less precious from a nutritional point of view and there are great possibilities that the development of mold will develop, which are the cause of the allergies on horseback. It is worth spending a little more money for good food than spending a thousand times later to treat your horse, not to mention the fact that he exempt him, your pain and your pain.

The base of food is the coarse forage with the addition of concentrates, but there is no unique recipe for an ideal diet for each animal, because the diet depends, among others, on the lifestyle, on the intensity of training, on the age, temperament or the health of the horse.

The most common diseases of horses:

Ulcer in horses

Ulcers are a plague disease. Up to 90% of racing horses suffer from this condition. Among the sports hinges, 80% of animals are struggling with ulcers. Ulcers are less common in leisure horses, but even the figures can be frightening, because up to 56% of leisure horses have been diagnosed with ulcer. Improper diet and equestrian stress are mentioned as the main causes of ulcers. Horses produce very large quantities of gastric acid, so they must always have something in the stomach, so that acids do not irritate the walls of the stomach. It is a big mistake to feed your horse rarely and in large portions. In addition, hay and feed must not be replaced with coarse diet, because coarse fibrosis feed are the basis of the horse diet and satisfy its natural needs.

The second main cause of the horses ulcer is stress. Cervix horses and sports horses are the most prone to this condition. There is a lot of stress in their lives: competitions, emotions, transport, local changes, nerves during training. Stress is not good for horses, which hold a lot on the routine. In addition, the horse needs a conscious leader, who is able to build a relationship with him and will listen to the needs of the animal. Any action in force, tension in the pilot’s muscles, its stress, uncontrollable emotions are taken from the horse at a time and causes a lot of tension.

The symptoms with which we should resort to the vet are: colic, lack of appetite, pain in the abdominal area: the horse is not left, diarrhea, liar, apathy, nervousness and Jerk.

Gastroduodenal ulcer diagnosis is made by gastroscopy. In some cases, tablets are used during treatment to reduce gastric juice secretion. It is important to make sure the animal is calm so that it can rest and return to mental and physical balance. When the cause of the disease is an inadequate diet, it must be changed and, above all, oat must be given up.

Clogs of clogs in horses – laminity

It is a severe disease that causes inflammation of the base of the clover and leads to the deformation of the base. Laminite symptoms include:

• Deformation and pain of the hoof (advanced form of illness)
• High body temperature
• Specific body position: previous arts extended forward
• Increase the temperature in the base of the base (warm clogs)
• Growth of the wrist in the arteries of the fingers

The signs of the disease are found faster and faced, the greater the chances of healing the horse. Radiographs for diagnosis must be performed and remedies are applied. Not all treatments have the desired effect, which is why it is important to prevent disease, that is, prevention.

Support can occur following:

• improper nutrition (inappropriate choice of nutrients, too much sugar, excessive nutrition, unexpected pastures)
• Mechanical damage during rowing of the horse or horseshoe
• Too much overload – movement, hard ground
• small movement, too much concentrated food

Osteoporosis requires specialized treatment. The first thing to do is to cool the base. In the early stages of the disease, it is advisable to pour cold water into the area concerned. Pharmacological treatment is also used.

Colic diseases in horses

Colic is a common disease. If not treated, it can lead to the death of the animal. Even the smaller symptoms that can indicate the presence of colic require the intervention of a doctor. The signs of health problems that should worry are:

• Lack of appetite
• apathy
• extends and rolls
• Sudatory: light to very strong
• Halta heart rate at rest and accelerated breathing
• swelling of the chest

Colic are pains that have their origin in the abdominal cavity. Therefore, unlike the Colica, it is not limited to the organs of the digestive system. A horse can suffer from ovarian, kidney or intestinal colic.

Horses that feel pain are often anxious or, on the contrary, apathetic. Often, these two types of symptoms alternate. A sick horse has no desire to eat. At the same time, in the initial stages of the disease, the animal can eat normally and even have a greater appetite, so that, in the subsequent stages of the disease, to refuse food.

The poisoning of horses

In the end, we want to attract your attention to plants that grow near the stables and in the gardens of the house. You have to know that not all plants are good for the horse. Therefore, before letting it graze a little in the garden, make a study in the garden and remove poisonous plants for horses. The haircuts of the living fence and the cutting scissors will help you do it.

Poisonous plants for horses

One of the most dangerous horses plants is Tisa. You don’t necessarily have to allow your horse to grind the branches, because even the ingestion of small quantities from this plant, endanger your horse.

Do not forget to bring the branches of this shrub in a safe place immediately after cutting them. Tuia is also poisonous. Horses have good instincts and will prevent them from harmful plants, but there have been cases of fatal poisoning, so it is better to adopt security measures.

The juicy grass in the Garden of the Horses

Some horses owners allow their animal friends to enter the garden to grind the grass. The grass is a natural food for the horse, but if you treat your animal with it, forget the artificial fertilizers. You can take care of the grass by spraying: it will be lush and juicy.

On the other hand, if you don’t want to invite your horse in the garden, cut the grass and give it to pets. For smaller gardens, an ecological manual trimmer will be perfect when cutting to facilitate your work. If you have oaks near the garden or pasture, it has the leaves and acorns that are harmful to the horses and take them to a safe place. Also, don’t forget to inspect your pastures. Plants that are dangerous for horses can grow there.

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Horse diseases – Summary

Horses are wonderful companions on our earthly journey. They inspire us to grow, give us the power of joy and excite us. In their company we can learn conscious leadership. At the same time, horses, like humans, get sick. Very often the disease occurs due to disorders in the natural functioning of the horses, for example in a scarcely made diet
It is an inappropriate diet that does not take into account the anatomy and needs of the horse.

The key to our horses’ health is the knowledge, observation and approach of these sensitive animals with empathy and with an open heart.

Dominika Tarnacka