This lesson will cover basic health care practices such as taking vital signs and determining Body Condition Score and discuss preventative health care, lameness, and dental issues. By understanding the diseases and parasites that affect horses, better decisions can be made for vaccinating a horse and adjusting a horse's deworming plan as necessary. Lameness is a serious concern to horse owners because it limits the use and potential future uses of horses either in the short term or permanently. By understanding how lameness affects horses, better decisions can be made for managing a lameness issue as soon as it becomes apparent. The majority of lameness diagnosed in a horse occurs in their lower limbs, more so in their hoof. Having a general knowledge of the hoof is a helpful aide when treating a problem. By understanding how dental health affects horses, better decisions can be made for managing issues as soon as they become apparent. Being familiar with the causes behind colic will also help sort out when and in what conditions a horse is most susceptible to colic.

For more information contact Kathy Anderson, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, at kanderson1@unl.edu

The fee for this course is $10. To purchase and enroll in the course, click the following button.

If you purchase at least $40 worth of courses from this category, you can receive a 20% discount by entering the voucher code of HorseQuest20.