askHELTIE HELTIEhorse® Is your horse acting normal?

Is your horse acting normal?

Do you ever observe your horse in the pasture, paddock, or in the stable? What do you look for? And what stands out to you? Do you know what is 'normal' for your horse? Small deviations in a horse's behavior can be signs of early discomfort, illness, or social issues. Therefore, make it a habit to regularly observe your horse.

Behaviour

Stress

Feeding

12 January '23 • 3 min reading time

As a horse owner, you want the best for your animal. Therefore, it is important to have an idea of what behavior is 'normal' for your horse. Is the animal dominant or lower in rank? Does it like to play, have friends, sleep often in the paddock or stable? Eating behavior and how often your horse drinks are also interesting facts to know. And of course, it is important to see if your horse eats sand or digs holes.

Herd Behavior

How a horse behaves within the herd is a crucial indication of how it feels. If a horse has friends and often engages in activities like grazing or playing with others, these are signs of healthy social relationships. If your horse suddenly isolates itself from other animals, this could be a sign of discomfort or pain. Fatigue, sluggish behavior, or conversely hyperactivity and overstimulated behavior are signals you need to watch out for.

Estrus Cycle

When your horse is in the herd, you can also observe the hormone levels. Especially in early spring, many horses experience fluctuations in sex hormones such as testosterone and estrogen. This can often be seen in mixed herds. Not only in mares, but also in geldings, especially if they have been castrated at a later age. Intense estrus cycles in mares can cause not only irritability or affection but also abdominal pain, cramps, and stiffness when walking. It is important to know if estrus is occurring. Hormones can be obtained from a veterinarian to alleviate severe symptoms and pain, but there are also herbs like chaste tree that have a regulatory effect on hormone levels. Additionally, omega-3 fatty acids play an important role in the hormone balance of horses and humans. Adequate unsaturated fatty acids in the feed support a healthy hormone function, as shown in multiple scientific studies. For horses, salmon oil is a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA). Also, Vitamin E is important for a healthy hormone cycle.

Eating Behavior

Another interesting point to keep an eye on is your horse's eating behavior. A horse that eagerly devours its roughage and always appears to be gulping it down may not be getting enough belly-filling fiber throughout the day. It is wise to offer such a horse more and/or more frequent - preferably unlimited - roughage. A horse that eats little or slowly may have a dental problem. Aging horses often have less powerful chewing muscles and therefore take longer to eat. If a horse suddenly stops eating, it could indicate a problem in the mouth, but it could also be related to issues in the gastrointestinal tract, such as mild colic. Look out for other signs pointing in this direction, like restlessness, tail swishing, biting at the belly, rolling, or sweating.

Feces

It is always good practice to take a look at your horse's feces. It should consist of firm, but not too dried-out, balls. Loose stools, worms in the feces, sand in the feces, or watery feces indicate problems in the intestines.

Sand Consumption

A horse that licks sand or digs holes in a sand paddock may indicate boredom, but there could be more going on. A deficiency in minerals like trace elements or silicon, for example. Or painful gastric ulcers.

Water Requirement and Drinking Behavior

It can be tricky to know if your horse is drinking enough water, or suddenly drinking more or less. If your horse urinates while you're around, always check the color of the urine. It should be light yellow. Dark urine or even brown urine can indicate dehydration, liver problems, and kidney diseases. When it's hot, or during heavy exercise, you can offer extra water with a tasty flavor and/or electrolytes to encourage your horse to drink more and replenish lost salts. It's also fun and smart to let your horse choose what to drink regularly. You can create a minerals buffet with buckets of water containing various add-ins, such as rosehip extract (vitamin C), liquid silicon, trace elements and minerals from the Bering Sea, and nettle extract (gentle waste elimination).

Sources:

Stanhiser J, Jukic AMZ, McConnaughey DR, Steiner AZ. Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation and fecundability. Hum Reprod. 2022 May 3;37(5):1037-1046.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9308390/

Also interesting:

Nettle

Detox

Organs

You may not always pay attention to it, but your horse's urine can say a lot about its health. Are the kidneys and bladder functioning properly and are they actually removing what needs to be expelled from the body? Do you see or smell strange things in the urine that could indicate problems in other organs? It's not strange at all to take a look occasionally when your horse needs to urinate!

What does urine say about the health of your horse?

You may not always pay attention to it, but your horse's urine can say a lot about its health. Are the kidneys and bladder functioning properly and are they actually removing what needs to be expelled from the body? Do you see or smell strange things in the urine that could indicate problems in other organs? It's not strange at all to take a look occasionally when your horse needs to urinate!. Urine, you probably don't think about it very often... But it is very important that all waste products from the body find their way out in a proper manner. Healthy kidneys and a healthy bladder are essential for your horse. How much does a horse urinate? How much a horse urinates and the color of the urine mainly depends on how much it drinks. A healthy horse that receives enough fresh drinking water from a clean trough drinks about 35 liters of water per day. On hot days, this can increase to...

First Aid

Others

Feeding

How well do you know your horse? Every horse has its own 'normal' values. For example, how much he eats and how much he defecates, but also what his body temperature, resting heart rate, and respiration rate are. As an owner, it is useful to know these basic values. This way, you can more easily determine if something is wrong

What are the basic values of your horse?

How well do you know your horse? Every horse has its own 'normal' values. For example, how much he eats and how much he defecates, but also what his body temperature, resting heart rate, and respiration rate are. As an owner, it is useful to know these basic values. This way, you can more easily determine if something is wrong. Because horses cannot speak, as owners, we sometimes have to guess if something is wrong with them, if they are sick or experiencing discomfort. It is important not to dismiss abnormal behavior as 'trying it out', 'not in the mood', 'rebellious' or 'messing around'. A horse does not make plans to annoy you. If it exhibits abnormal behavior, there is probably something wrong somewhere. In its body, its head, or its environment. Measuring and writing down basic values To get to know the basic valu...

Digestion

Feeding

Horses have much more stomach problems than people. Stress, heavy work, and a less adequate feed policy can contribute to this. But also, for example, after a move or illness, stomach problems can occur. What can you do about this and how do you keep the pH of the horse's stomach under control?

How do you keep the pH value of the horse's stomach balanced?

Horses have much more stomach problems than people. Stress, heavy work, and a less adequate feed policy can contribute to this. But also, for example, after a move or illness, stomach problems can occur. What can you do about this and how do you keep the pH of the horse's stomach under control?. In the lower part of the horse's stomach, gastric juice is released, which contains a lot of hydrochloric acid. This acid kills harmful bacteria, fungi, and yeasts that may be present in the feed. If the stomach is too empty or if there are other disruptions, the acid can 'splash' up to the upper half of the stomach and damage the gastric mucosa there. Many stomach problems A 2000 American study showed that about 60% of the horses in the study had stomach problems. This increased to as much as 9...

Questions? AskHELTIE!

Are you looking for advice about your dog or horse? Or do you want to know more about conditions or ingredients? Feel free to contact AskHELTIE, and we will be happy to assist you! .