b'Arizona Ask the VetREAL COUNTRY NORMAL VITAL the magazine Health ParametersMike Barna E very horse owner should learn how to check law enforcement agencies as an objective method of their horse\'s vital health parameters.scoring a horses body condition in horse cruelty cases. Publisher The chart is accepted in a court of law.ArizonaRealCountryMagazine@gmail.com TEMPERATUREUse a thermometer that you would find at any localSix parts of a horse are checked in this systemthe pharmacy. Use a small amount of lubricant and insertneck, withers (where the neck ends and the back Erika Smith Royal the thermometer into your horse\'s anus approximatelybegins), shoulder, ribs, loin, and tail head. When using Editor 1 to 2 inches so that it rests against the rectal wall.the Henneke system, you should always make physical erika963realcountry@gmail.com Hold the thermometer in place for 1 minute or until itcontact with these parts, and the kind of touch you use beeps for digital thermometers. A temperature aboveis important. Simply stroking the animal lightly wont 101.5F in an adult horse is considered a fever.provide an accurate idea of the horses condition; you Misty Voitovski have to apply pressure to each part in turn. The pressure Normal Temperature Ranges you apply should be much like that of a massage. If you Creative Director Adult Horses and Donkeys98F - 101Fpress a horses side with your hand, youll be able to feel Newborn Foals99F - 102F the fat covering his ribs, and get an idea of how much fat is present. Likewise, when checking the withers, feel Contributing Writers HEART RATE all around the area, like you were squeezing firm clay. It Lee Anderson, Hannah Hanson If you own a stethoscope place the bell of theis possible to be firm and gentle at the same time, and Justin Legler, Mark Melkowski,stethoscope on the horse\'s left side, behind his elbow.both traits are necessary to properly score a horse.Betsy Nunn, Jim Olson,Listen for the heart sounds "lub-dub, lub-dub." Each "lub-dub" sound is counted as one beat. Count the Bill Roberts, Alan Rockman,total beats over one minute. This is the horse\'s heart Bob Roloff, John Samsill,rate. If you do not have a stethoscope, sometimes you Hank Sheffer, Buddy Uldrikson,can feel the horse\'s heart beat with your hand held in Michele Wilson the same position. Normal Heart RateAdult Horses and Donkeys28 - 44 beats/ 801 W. Wickenburg Way minute Wickenburg, AZ 85390 Newborn Foals 80 - 100 beats/ minute (602) 254-6644 RESPIRATORY RATE Knowing your horse\'s Body Condition Score (BCS) is ArizonaRealCountry.com Watch your horse\'s ribcage move in and out. You canimportant. It will dictate what he is fed and how much also look at his nostrils flare open and shut. Count theexercise he requires to maintain the appropriate BCS. number of breaths he takes over one minute.The ideal BCS is 5. Where does your horse score?Normal Respiratory Rate 1 POORAdult Horses and Donkeys 8 - 16 breaths/Animal is minuteextremely Newborn Foals 20 - 40 breaths/emaciated. No minutefatty tissue can be felt. Bone Follow Arizona RealMUCOUS MEMBRANES structure is Look at your horse\'s gums. Note the color and thevery noticeable.Country for news, events,moisture. Press your finger against the gums andRibs are giveaways and more! count how many seconds it takes to return to a pinkprojecting prominently. Shoulder is sharp and color. This is called the capillary refill time and is anprotruding. The tail head, point of hip and point of important parameter to check. Normal capillary refillbuttock project prominently. Arizona Real Country is owned andtime should be less than 2 seconds.2 VERY THINpublished by Barna BroadcastingBODY CONDITION SCORE OF THE HORSE Animal is emaciated. Ribs are prominent. Noticeable LLC. No person, organization or partyDon Henneke, PhD, developed the Henneke Bodybone structure. Vertebrae are prominent. Neck is can copy or reproduce the contentCondition Scoring System. It is based on both visualobviously thin. Shoulder is noticeable. Ribs are easily on our website and/or magazine orappraisal and palpable fat cover of the six major pointsdiscernible. Points of hip and buttock are prominent. any part of this publication withoutof the horse that are most responsive to changes inTail head is very prominent.a written consent from the editorsbody fat. The Henneke Chart is a standardized scoring panel and the author of the content, assystem, whereas the terms, skinny, thin, or fat are3 THINapplicable. The publisher, authors andall subjective terms that have different meanings toSlight fat cover over ribs. Ribs are easily discernible. different people. Neck, withers and shoulder accentuated. Hip is contributors reserve their rights withrounded with some filling, but easily discernible.regards to copyright of their work. The Henneke System is a scientific method ofPoint of buttock is slightly distinguishable. Tailevaluating a horses body condition regardless ofhead prominent, but individual vertebrae cannot be breed, body type, sex or age. It is now widely used byvisually identified. continued on page 7ArizonaRealCountry.com March 2020 5'