To Know If Your Horse Has A Breathing Problem, You Must First Know This
If you’ve been around horses as long as I have, you can pretty much tell when he has a problem. Even for something as elementary as breathing. If he’s “off,” you can tell. But trying to explain respiratory “offness” to an equine vet might not be as easy. He’s going to ask you over the phone why you feel this way. So in order to convince your vet that your horse’s breathing is abnormal, you must first know what “normal” is. Here’s how you know…
In order to establish what normal breathing is for your horse, you must first examine his breathing patterns while he’s at rest. Do this several times at different times of the day. That way, you can tell what his average respiration rate is. We call this process “establishing a baseline.”
So how do you take your horse’s respiratory rate in order to establish this baseline? Glad you asked…
The Three Ways To Take Your Horse’s Respiration
There are three ways to measure a horse’s respiratory rate. The first way is the easiest. All you do is watch his nostrils. They’ll flare slightly when he inhales and relax when he exhales. Count the number of inhale/exhale combinations for 15 seconds. Then multiply by 4. That will give you the number of breaths per minute.
This is not the most accurate way, but it doesn’t require any special veterinary equipment, either. You can also observe his chest cavity and count the number of times it rises and falls.
The second way is to use a stethoscope, if you have one. You want to place the bell of the stethoscope on the underside of his neck, some 6-8 inches below the throatlatch. Listen to the inhale/exhale combinations. Again, multiply by 4 and you’ll have the number of breaths per minute.
Don’t feel like you need to get a super-expensive horse stethoscope (unless you’re on your way to vet school). Any of the Litman-type stethoscopes will do. You can find them in most vet supply catalogs and in your higher-end tack shops for around $10-$15.
The third way is to use a respiration monitor, but now you’re talking about some pretty big dollars. I wouldn’t consider this for the one or two-horse families. I’ve seen them used at vet schools and by equine hospitals. But for you and I, the average horse owners, it would be overkill. I’d definitely go the stethoscope route first.
So now that you know how to take a horse’s respiratory rate, …
How Can You Tell If It’s Normal?
A healthy horse at rest normally breathes 8-15 times per minute. But again, every horse is a little different. Those numbers may vary depending on build, size, emotional state, and degree of physical fitness. That’s why you need to take a baseline respiratory rate. It’s not a one-size-fits-all measurement.
And make sure you take his baseline at rest. Don’t bother taking his respiration while he’s still breathing hard and covered with sweat and then try to compare it to his baseline. It won’t be a good measure.
But after he’s had a chance to cool down and you’ve done your regular post-ride maintenance (brushing, picking, or whatever your regular routine is), you can take his respiration and be fairly sure it’ll be accurate.
And if it is, indeed, significantly higher than his baseline, that should give you a heads-up. Wait a half-hour or so and take it again. If it’s still higher than normal, he may, indeed, have a respiratory issue.
The Payoff: Early Detection And Early Cure
The big payoff is early detection. If you can catch airway issues early, you and your equine vet can solve them before they become major horse health problems.
Knowing your horse’s respiration - or any of his other vital signs, for that matter - can help you determine if your horse has a medical problem serious enough to call a vet. And if that happens, knowing his baseline respiratory rate can help you communicate to the vet what the problem might be.
And the better you communicate with your vet, the better chance your horse has of a complete recovery to whatever ails him.
Yours for Better Horse Health,
Sierra Lynch
baseline respiration horse horse health horse respirationTags: Horse Health
Very interesting reading. I know it’s good to know your horse’s baseline teimperature but hadn’t occurred to me respiration.
I have a 7 year old mare paint. She sometimes exhales and it sounds like a trumpet not long a short breath. She is stalled at night and when it rains otherwise she is outside. We have alittle trouble getting good coastal hay in winter months very dusty. The past month we let her graze rye for horses it has just recently matured enough for them to eat. The seed store said it is for horses. Should we be concerned and call the vet? Otherwise she acts fine eating, excercise,we also give her alfapha not much, rolled oats and safe choice, fresh water twice a day, bran mash with flax seed once a week. It has been about a week now that we noticed it.