SHS VETERINARY CENTER The Pride of Al Wathba

SHS Veterinary Center: It offers a comprehensive and specialized care for horses, the clinical service for equines covers all pathologies related to the horse, in the same place 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

We offer the mobile clinic service, equipped with mobile units equipped to provide services that do not require hospitalization. Everything with attention 24h.

Additional offers the training service for students of Veterinary Medicine and practicing veterinarians oriented in equine medicine, as well as training courses.



يتم توفير رعاية خاصة وشاملة للخيول، كما تغطي الخدمة السريرية جميع الأمراض المتعلقة بالخيل في نفس المكان لمدة 24 ساعة في اليوم، 365 يوماً في السنة.

نحن نقدم خدمة العيادة المتنقلة المجهزة بوحدات متكاملة التي لا تتطلب حاجة الدخول للمستشفى مع الرعاية والاهتمام على مدار 24 ساعة.

بالإضافة إلى خدمة تدريب طلاب الطب البيطري والممارسين الأطباء المتخصصين في طب الخيل كما نقدم دورات تدريبية.

Exam Tools

To perform a basic physical examination, it will help to have a few supplies—a thermometer, a stethoscope, and a watch that allows you to count seconds. Most lay people like digital thermometers because the time for a reading is much less—about one minute—for a digital compared to three to five minutes for a traditional glass thermometer. In the case of foals, it is probably kinder and possibly safer to use the soft digital ones rather than the rigid glass types, especially if the foal is particularly rambunctious. The stethoscope, of course, is an instrument that magnifies sound. This will allow you to hear the heart beating clearly and better distinguish the sounds of breathing.

The Power of Observation

The good physical examination first involves observing. A great deal can be learned just by observing posture, attitude, and the environment. It is a skill that usually must be taught, or at least honed, as not all of us are naturally observant.

Most of the time learning to be more observant just entails learning what to watch for—patterns of lying down to rest, normal responses to exercise, normal appetite, etc. Observation from outside the stall or paddock can give valuable information.

The Basic Examination

After observing your horse, you determine that he is not well or is injured. If the injury/illness is mild (small wound, mild colic), you can perform your basic physical examination first before calling your veterinarian. Obviously if the horse is in severe pain (thrashing, rolling, or severely bleeding), you call your veterinarian first, then perform your physical examination. Or, you can perform your examination while waiting for your veterinarian to call you back if he/she must be paged.

Rectal Temperature

The rectal temperature can be taken easily on most horses. Approach the horse from the side—do not stand directly behind the horse in case he decides to kick—shake the thermometer down if using a mercury type. Place a small amount of lubrication (petroleum jelly or KY Jelly) on the thermometer; then insert it gently into the rectum. Make sure the thermometer is tied to a clip and attached to the tail to avoid losing it in the stall (or the horse). If using a glass thermometer, you can move on to the heart and respiratory rate at this time.

The normal rectal temperature of a horse is 99.5-101.5° (A neonatal foal’s normal temperature is between 100.0-102°F). 

Pulse and Respiration

The heart rate (pulse) and respiratory rate can be taken without a stethoscope, if one is unavailable. The stethoscope just makes it much easier. The pulse can be taken from the lingual artery, which is on the bottom side of the jaw, where it crosses over the bone. The pulse can be taken for 15 seconds, then multiplied by four to achieve the heart rate in beats/minute. If a stethoscope is available, then listening to the heart is easiest on the left side of the horse, just behind the elbow. Each “lub-dub” of the heart is considered one beat. The normal heart rate for a horse is 24-36 beats per minute (bpm). The heart rate for foals varies depending on age. Newborn foals have a heart rate of around 80 beats per minute (bpm). Foals within the first few weeks of life vary between 70-100 bpm. The respiratory rate can be taken by watching the horse breathe or feeling the air come out of his nostrils. The stethoscope can be used to listen to the breaths as they travel across the trachea or in the chest. The trachea should sound clear. The normal respiratory rate for adult horses is eight to 12 breaths/minute. Newborn foals have respiratory rates that are quite high, ranging from 60-80 breaths per minute. Foals within the first weeks of life have resting respiratory rates from 20-40 breaths per minute.

Mucous Membranes

Another indicator of wellness is the color of the mucous membranes or gums. Healthy horses have nice pink gums that are moist to the touch. Capillary refill time also can be performed while looking at your horse’s gums. Press your finger on the gum, then release—the time it takes for the area to turn from white (where you pressed out the blood) back to pink is the capillary refill time. It should be around two seconds. Gums that are dark red, bright or brick red, blue, or even white with a prolonged capillary refill time, usually indicate one of the various forms of shock. Your veterinarian should be summoned immediately.

Evaluation of the heart includes not just the rate, but also the rhythm and the presence or absence of a murmur. If a horse is displaying signs of colic, the abdomen will be ausculted for sounds of a healthy, moving gastrointestinal tract, or the more ominous silence of a GI tract in stasis. 

SHS VETERINARY CENTER

The Pride of Al Wathba