Tuesday Trivia Answer

Here are 3 things you can check on your horse to estimate if they are hydrated our not.  Keep in mind that these are not always 100% foolproof and if you think your horse is ill you should always contact your veterinarian.

1) Check your horse's gums.  Normally they should be a nice light pink and slippery to the touch.  If your horse is dehydrated they may feel dry or tacky.

2) Press your thumb against your horse's gums where the gum line meets the tooth.  This will blanch out the color and when you remove your finger you want to count how many seconds it takes for the color to come back (think one-one thousand, two-one thousand...).  This is called Capillary Refill Time [CRT] and should be around 2 seconds or less.  A dehydrated horse will have a prolonged CRT (greater than 2 seconds).

3) Jugular Fill Time can be measured by holding of your horse's jugular vein low in the neck and counting how many seconds it takes for it fill up close to the throat latch.  This should be around 2 seconds, same as CRT.

Feel free to email us at legacyequinehospital@gmail.com if you have any other questions.

Be sure to check out next week's trivia question!  It's the last Tuesday of the month so it's prize time!