Having your horses around might be one of the best moments you consider. But it comes with a great responsibility.

By the moment you have your horses, you should seek for an equine veterinarian to have a constant guide in taking care of their health. This would help you have an idea on how to deal with Horse Health Problems.

Of course, it’s also beneficial if you know some of these common horse health problems. At least, you already have the knowledge on the nature of the illness that your horse may possibly encounter.

Laminitis

This is the swelling of the foot’s laminae. The infection to the laminae causes extreme agony to your horse and eventually leads to instability of the hoof’s coffin bone. In more serious cases, it can lead to complete breakage and rotation of the hoof wall’s pedal bone. That’s why, whenever any horse would experience this health problem, it would suffer from too much discomfort, causing it to behave differently.

Moreover, this has many causes from which mostly are related to some type of whole-body stress such as trauma and hormonal disorders. Another common reason of acquiring laminitis is consumption of too much grain.

If this health problem is taken for granted, the horse may become lame for life. Treatment may include cryotherapy or cold packs, and anti-inflammatory drugs.

Colic

Technically, colic refers to the pain in a horse’s abdomen, but it is a clinical sign rather than a diagnosis. This can include all forms of gastrointestinal conditions as well as other causes of abdominal pain not involving the gastrointestinal tract. Most of the forms of colic are gastrointestinal in nature and are often related to colonic disorder.

Colic is the number one medical cause of death among horses.

Surgeries for severe cases are expensive, and not all horses survive. Therefore, it is very important to seek help at the first signs of colic.

Heaves

Heaves is the commonly used medical word for recurrent airway obstruction or RAO. This is a chronic respiratory infection brought about by an allergic reaction to airborne particles.

The symptoms of heaves include shortness of breath, wheezing, and moist coughing. Horses that suffer from this for a long period of time will develop “heave lines” or a bulge of muscle along the ribs). In alarming cases, affected horses struggle to breathe and if this happens, it’s a veterinary emergency.

Treatment involves prevention of exposure to allergens through reducing the inflammation by use of corticosteroids, providing relief of airway obstruction by way of bronchodilator drugs and environmental management. There is no cure for heaves, thus, treatments need to be maintained for life.

Horse health problems are inevitable. What matters most is how you handle your horse whenever it encounters any illness. Always make sure you give your horses the best possible health care they need, especially when they’re suffering from different health disorders.