Check your horses eyes, ensure they are clear and bright and don`t contain any mucus around the edges. Check the nostrils, are they dry? Make sure it is not runny and is not snotty. If your horse has any drool out the side of your horse`s mouth, this could indicate your horse may have a problem with there teeth.
You also want to look out at their hind legs making sure that everything is good there. That they are having the runs as a horse that may be colicky may have the runs. So you look at the hind legs. Is there any discharge there? All this area should be clean and free of any discharge from either urine or manure to indicate that the horse is healthy on the inside as well. So as you check your horse daily, just give it a good general inspection making all the legs clean from lumps, cuts or any kind of wound and the body itself. Build a good relationship up with your horse so you can spot changes in your horses attitude, if your horse seems more lethargic or does not feel itself, this could show signs of a problem with your horse.
The Top Five Horse Health Problems
Pet Plan Equestrian insurance is a leading provider paying out millions of pounds each year to horse owners for sick and injured horses the top five horse health problems in previous year is arthritis, colic, laminitis, cushing`s disease and desmitis (inflamed ligaments), these five health problems resulted in insurance payouts of £2,474,854 from Pet Plan.
2) Colic (£672,000) - Severity of colic can range from a mild stomach ache through to a twisted gut. Signs of colic include pawing the ground, rolling and increased temperature. In severe cases of colic costly surgery may be required removing the parts of intestine that has been twisted. Colic can be avoided by an appropriate diet, and not feeding to soon after work, although some horses are more prone to colic than others.
3) Desmitis (Inflamed Ligaments) (£569,000) - Not a commonly known health problem by horse owners cases of desmitis is surprisingly high, inflamed suspensory, check and collateral ligaments can result in lameness and performance problems when being ridden. Chances of your horse getting desmitis can be reduced by strengthening your horse ligaments with working on hard surface`s and straight line excersises. If your horse has problem`s with the ligaments there are number of treatments from box rest with structed rehabilitation, walking the horse`s out. In some cases an operation may be needed to repair ligament damage.
4) Laminitis (£325,000) - Laminitis is the inflammation of the horses soft tissue in the hoof, resulting in severe pain, signs of laminitis include the hoof being warm to the touch and lameness. Laminitis can be cause by a rich diet to a horse that may be susceptible to it, treatments include special shoeing and reducing the amount of calorie`s your horse is consuming.
5) Cushing`s Disease (£177,000) - A hormonal condition often found in older horse`s, cushing`s disease is a result of an increase in steroids in your horse that affects the pituitary gland in the brain. Cushing disease is still not fully understood, but some vets believe that weight problems in the horse life may be a contributing factor. There are a number of drugs available that can help alleviate the symptoms of cushing`s disease that include, weight loss, muscle wasting, laminitis and low immune system.