Article From SubmitYOURArticle.com: Tips to Find Out Lameness in a Horse

Copyright (c) 2010 Rod Hoss

Pet animals like dogs express the pain or
discomfort they suffer during illness or when
they are hurt by whining or whimpering. But prey
animals like horse do not do so because in the
wild if they exhibit their lameness or weakness,
they would be easy targets for predators. The
horses on their part express their lameness in
their movement. How to find out whether the
horse is lame?

Normally, the lameness of horses can be found out
by observing their movement; movement of their
legs and movement of their head. For example, the
movement of the horse becomes uneven because the
horse puts weight on one foot. The next indicator
is the movement of the head. The head touches the
ground or the horse keeps its head up depending
on which leg he has hurt. In resting position,
the horse will take the weight with the toe
touching the ground. The veterinarians suggest
that a lame horse should not be used for riding
and immediate medical attention should be
provided for such horses.

Identify the problem:

The first step in identifying the problem is
examining the feet. A stone or some other objects
could have wedged in the cervices of the horse.
The hoofs might have been trimmed too short or
the nail could be hurting sensitive skin around
the foot. If the horse is hot, then feel the
pulse at the fetlock area and find out if it is
pounding. If the pounding is fast, then it is an
indication that the horse is suffering from an
injury. The lameness could be due to injury to
the ligament in the lower leg or due to a worn
out joint. This could be due to overwork when the
horse was young. The other cause for lameness is
injury on the back caused due to saddling
apparatus.

According to veterinarians, horses normally
suffer from certain diseases like Founder or
Laminitis which affect the foot and cause severe
pain. These diseases are caused due to
overeating. The other common disease among horses
is the Navicular disease which is caused due to
degeneration of Navicular bones. In this
condition, the horse may even stumble. He will
stand with stretched feet. Azoturia is a serious
disease affecting the horses. In this condition,
the movement becomes stiff. This requires
immediate medical attention.

Veterinarians suggest that a horse which is not
working should be fed with oats. Further, before
it starts work, there should be a gradual warming
up and after work, it should be cooled gradually.

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Rod Hoss has 7 years of online marketing driving
targeted traffic for increases in website sales.
Learn more at http://www.authorityseo.com/ .

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