Basic Physical Examination of Horses Chapter #2 Pages 29-45 LACP

Auscultating the heart. A, Gently lift the triceps muscle away from the chest wall. B, Place stethoscope against the chest wall, deep to the triceps muscle.

Respiratory rate The number of respirations/minute can be counted in several ways: Using a stethoscope to listen to air movement in the trachea or chest Using a hand to feel movement of air in and out of a nostril Simply counting chest excursions (rise and fall of the thoracic wall)/minute

Landmarks for the lung. Borders of the left lung field for auscultation

Lung auscultation The stethoscope is placed in several locations within the lung field to listen to several breaths at each location

Abdominal Auscultation A stethoscope is used to listen to abdominal sounds, which are created by movements of the intestines This commonly referred to as gastrointestinal motility or GI motility Landmarks for abdominal auscultation in the flank area are the point of the hip (tuber coxae) and the last rib.

Standard four point auscultation A, Auscultation of the upper left abdominal quadrant. B, Auscultation of the lower left abdominal quadrant. C, Auscultation of the upper right upper abdominal quadrant. D, Auscultation of the lower right abdominal quadrant.

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Mucous membranes Mucous membranes are tissues that have the ability to make and secrete mucus. Mucus membranes’ color is helpful for disease diagnosis The color may change with abnormalities of blood perfusion and oxygen content of the blood and other diseases Cyanosis is bluish coloration Brick red coloration indicates septicemia or shock or both Purple gum line indicates endotoxic shock Yellowish coloration of the gum indicates icterus Pale mucus indicates anemia

Examination of mucous membranes .A, Examination of the gums. B, Examination of the conjunctiva

Examination of mucous membranes C, Examination of the mucosa of the nares. D, Examination of the vulva in the female.

Mucous membrane color. Normal gum color.

Capillary refill time. Assessing capillary refill time. Original color should return in less than 2.5 seconds Severe dehydration and shock prolong the capillary refill time from 5-8 seconds

Inspection and Assessment of Foot Conformation and Shoeing

HOOF WORK

Examination of the hoof using Hoof Tester

Examination of the hoof using Hoof Tester The hoof testers are being applied across the heels of the foot to localize pain to the palmar aspect of the foot

Examination of the hoof using Hoof Tester The hoof testers are applied over the middle third of the frog. Horses with pain in the navicular region may show pain on application over this area

Hoof hammer Tapping of the hoof wall with a hammer, whit the hoof on the ground. Sometimes this will reveal pain when the use of the hoof testers does not

Questions????