Susan McBane

THE FIVE FREEDOMS are standards originally devised for the well-being of farm animals. They have been extended to cover the welfare of all captive animals, including domestic animals and pets. This 5-part series discusses how they can be applied with best effect to horses and ponies.
Number 3: FREEDOM FROM PAIN, INJURY AND DISEASE by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment
THIS Freedom was intended originally for non-working animals but, in its application to horses and ponies, has acquired an expansion of its meaning and purpose that of preventing pain and injury due to their management and work. (The prevention of disease remains, as with non-working animals, largely a case of good care and basic hygiene, avoiding infected animals as far as possible and vaccination.)
Pain
There is no doubt that many horses experience discomfort and pain due to their work. Pain is a big subject and there are varying expert opinions about how horses deal with it and show by their behaviour that they are suffering from it. There is also the view that horses often tolerate pain and discomfort and try to disguise it: this may be because they are prey animals with a long history of being hunted. Predators try to pick out animals which will be easy to bring down and kill, such as the weak, the sick and the lame. A horses survival instinct may cause him to mask such signs as much as possible to stay alive.
This can result in our unknowingly working a horse in pain who just carries on as best he can. Again unknowingly, we may ride or drive him in a way and in circumstances which cause discomfort or pain and whereas some horses may make this known by means of what we call evasions or reactions such as rearing, bucking and bolting (although true, mindless bolting is rare) and head-tossing, going crookedly, pottering instead of moving freely, and squirming around under saddle, others may simply change their action, posture, attitude or apparently their temperament.
Horses and ponies would experience less pain and discomfort if they did not work, so there is obviously something we are doing, or missing, during their working time which causes it. Things to consider are:
Uncomfortable tack: Use the simplest and least tack or harness you can. Make sure you can easily slide a finger under all parts of the bridle and all around the noseband including over the bridge of the nose. The browband must be well clear of the base of the ears and the throatlatch should hang half way down the round jawbones. The bit of a snaffle bridle should create only one wrinkle, two at the most if the tushes are in the way. The saddle must show no signs, when it is removed, of uneven pressure or disturbed hair and must not touch the spine at all: it should be checked every six months or so by a fully-qualified saddle fitter. The saddle must not hamper the tops of the shoulders at the withers, press down at the back or bear unevenly on the horses back. The girth must not be too tight (just so you can slide your flat fingers under it when mounted without pulling it away from his side) or dig in behind the elbows when the horse moves.
Badly fitting clothing: even when the right size, many rugs are very restrictive in the front half, hampering the movement of the forelegs and shoulders. Really look at your horse in his rug. If there is any sign of pressure points (with folds or wrinkles of fabric radiating from a particular point most often the point of the shoulder), or the horse taking shorter than normal strides, there is a problem. If there are signs of rubbing or pressure when you remove the rug including worn or bald patches, disturbed hair, lines on the coat particularly around the shoulders, rubbed wither hair or even swollen areas, the rug does not fit and will be causing discomfort, at least, for many hours a day.
Headcollars left on for long periods can rub bare or raw spots, cause pressure or be so loose the horse can get a foot caught in them. Youngsters must not be left in headcollars without daily checking of their fit due to the animals rates of growth.
Riding and driving: Horses must not be worked in a way which forces them into an uncomfortable or unnatural posture, such as hyper-flexed, with a shortened neck, exaggerated action, made to perform too-difficult movements or tackle over-facing obstacles, worked when sick, tired or injured (including very slightly lame), or schooled for more than a very few minutes (certainly single figures) without being allowed to stretch their heads and necks right down on a completely free rein held only on the buckle.
Horses must be fit for the work asked of them. Riders of all ages must acquire a still, stable seat (to avoid banging about on the horses back) with independent, sensitive hands (to prevent jabbing the horse in the mouth) and only the most skilful riders with full control of their tempers and their legs should use whips or spurs. (This applies to very few, according to my observations and experience.) Neither riding nor driving horses must be overloaded. A healthy, fit riding horse should be able to carry a sixth of his own weight, cobs and ponies a bit more, and driving horses must not appear to strain to pull their load.
Injury
Vets services are very expensive but sometimes horses do need them. Any significant lameness must have prompt veterinary attention. Very slight lameness cases can be box rested for 24 hours then reassessed. Wounds which penetrate below the top layer of skin may need stitching (suturing) or securing in some other way by a vet or on a vets instructions and puncture wounds (mainly on the legs) very often need a vets skill as they can easily penetrate a joint capsule or the structures related to it and create serious infection.
Loose or spread shoes must be attended to very promptly by a farrier, or owners should learn how to remove them themselves, because they can bring horses down and/or damage the hoof if they are torn off by the horse or sucked off in mud. Risen clenches can rip open the adjacent leg. Needless to say, horses must not be worked with a loose shoe, and be turned loose only in very small areas where they cannot get up any speed.
Detecting lameness: Horses will try to save the painful leg, so will transfer weight to its sound partner (which, in turn, may become over-stressed and injured). Have the horse trotted towards you on a hard, level surface on a completely loose lead-rope. His head will drop lower as the sound foreleg lands. When trotting away from you, the hip on the lame leg will appear higher than the other as he shifts his weight over. Any uneven or short striding indicates pain or discomfort but remember that the horse could be lame in both legs of a pair and so appear sound. This is why you need to be familiar with your horses normal length of stride. Watch for unwillingness to move or difficulty in doing so, a distressed facial expression, stiff tail, short strides and generally being ill at ease.
Disease
Any sign that your horse is not himself should be regarded with suspicion. He should be interested in his surroundings, have bright eyes, ears which readily flick towards interesting things, easy movement, supple skin which you can easily move over his ribs with the flat of your hand, and a bright, even if muddy, coat. Be alert to any variation from this state.
There should be no abnormal lumps or bumps, scurf, itchiness, bald or raw patches, no discharges from the eyes or nostrils other than the normal slight mucous in the eyes or moist nostrils, no coughing or difficult, rough breathing, and the horse must not frequently bite or rub himself or stamp his feet, all of which indicate irritation. He must not be lethargic or dull, unco-ordinated, off his food or water or be unable or unwilling to rise when down.
Learn your horses individual vital signs: a horses normal temperature is very close to 38C or 100.4F, his pulse about 34 to 42 beats per minute (bpm) and his respiration about 8 to 14 breaths per minute, in and out counting as one. Check them every week and any time you suspect a problem.
To take the temperature: have a veterinary thermometer in your first aid kit, the kind with mercury being generally more accurate than the digital ones. (You can also buy non-contact thermometers which do not need inserting in the horses anus.) Shake the mercury well down with a snapping wrist movement, moisten the bulb by spitting on it or with Vaseline and, standing slightly to one side and holding the dock towards you, insert it in the anus with a gentle, twirling movement. Press it lightly against the side of the rectum (so it is not inside a ball of dung) and, keeping hold of it, keep it in place for the time given on the thermometer, then gently pull it out, wipe it clean on the horses tail and read off the temperature.
To take the pulse: use any point where an artery crosses a bone, such as under the jawbone, on the temple, inside the elbow a little way down, or under or on the side of the dock about a third of the way down. Feel around with your fingers, not your thumb which has a pulse of its own, and, using a watch with a second hand, count the beats for half a minute, double it and that is his rate per minute.
To take the respiration: on a cold day just count the steam exhalations from the nostrils. Otherwise, from the saddle look back and down at the horses flank when he is standing still and count each rise and fall of the flank as one breath. From the ground, stand behind and slightly to one side of the horse and watch his opposite flank rise and fall. In a very fit horse, it can be difficult to see this so hold a mirror up to a nostril and count the times it steams up.
What else can I do?
Become an expert on equine first aid by buying (not just borrowing) a really good, up-to-date veterinary and equine first aid book or two, and take the trouble to read them through: dont just save them to refer to in emergencies or when youve got a problem. The more you know the better prepared you will be. I find them fascinating, actually, but maybe Im just morbid!
Check in the front of a book when it was last revised, not just reprinted, or, if fairly new, when it was published. Veterinary science soon moves on and any book more than five years old, and certainly ten years, may not give you the best information. (I was once with a woman who proudly told me her veterinary bible, which she claimed to know inside out, was an old and famous text which has been revised many times, but her edition was over a hundred years old! When I suggested she get the latest edition, she said that hers had stood the test of time and the author knew far more than any present-day vet. Nothing I said would persuade her otherwise.)
Keep a clean, well-stocked first aid kit (containing a first aid book) on your yard and ask your vet what to put in it. Its tempting to keep it locked away but, in your absence, no one might then be able to attend to your horse. Youll have to discuss a safe procedure with whoever is around when you are not.
Keep your horses surroundings safe and clear of anything on which he could injure himself because if he can, he will. No barbed wire or sheep netting; no litter or rubbish; no equipment left lying or hanging around; no bogs or deep ponds with unsafe approaches; no accessible ditches; no protruding screws or nails; no splintered wood, weak doors or broken windows; no rickety buildings and so on. Develop an eye for safety and security.
Become thoroughly familiar with equine body language and behaviour so you know instantly when your horse is not feeling normal. Two books which cover these topics are my own 100 Ways To Improve Your Horses Behaviour and The Horse Behaviour Handbook by Abigail Hogg; also spend as much time as possible watching horses in a perceptive, enquiring way to develop a feel for how they are.
Budgeting for veterinary care, including regular vaccinations and an annual health check, plus dental and farriery attention, is vital to a horse's well-being and to enable owners to comply with the third Freedom. Although general economies can be made, keeping horses properly cannot be done on a shoestring.
SUSAN McBANE has been around horses and ponies all her life. She has an HNC in Equine Science and Management, holds the Classical Riding Club Gold Award and has written 50 books on horse care, management, behaviour and equitation. She gives lessons and clinics in Lancashire and surrounding counties and can be reached on (01254) 705487 or horses@susanmcbane.com.


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