How to Tell if Your Horse is Dehydrated

 

Dehydration in horses is very common during summer. It's very important to know how to tell if your horse is dehydrated. Horses can become very sick if left untreated while dehydrated, so you must know how to identify dehydration in horses, and what to do about it when you come across it. 

The first test you can do on your horse to find out if he/she is dehydrated is very simple, it's called the skin pinch test. The pinch test is also done on humans, but not in the same area you do it on a horse. 

All you have to do is, take a fold of skin on the horse's shoulder with your fingers, lift it up about an inch, then twist very slightly. 

Release the skin and take note of how long it takes for the horse's skin to flatten out normally. If the fold of skin stays in a "tent" position for over 2 seconds, that is a sign of dehydration. A delay of 5 seconds is serious. 

Now the next test you can do is the capillary refill test:

Lift the top lip up with one hand, with the other hand, use one of your fingers and press firmly on the gum above the front teeth, to determine the capillary refill time. As you release your finger, as you watch the colour of the gum come back, (the gum should be pink and shiny) count how long it takes for that colour to fully come back. Normal time is up to 1.5 seconds. Delays for 2 or 3 seconds are a sign of dehydration. Delays beyond 4 seconds are serious. 

Now that you know the 2 tests you can do on your horse to see if they are dehydrated, next is what to do if your horse is dehydrated. 

If your horse is dehydrated, the first thing your going to need to do is encourage your horse to drink more water. 

You can do this by;

-Give your horse some salt. 

-Exercising the horse a lot, then offer the water. Since the horse will be all sweaty and exhausted, he will probably go for the water. 

-Make sure your horse has easy access to water. 

-Lead your horse to their water source. 

-Add water to your horse's feed. (Concentrates/chaff/pellets in the bucket.)

-Put apples in your horse's water. 

-Use a syringe and put water into your horse's mouth. 

I hope you found this post helpful, and I hope that this information will help you in future times if you have a horse of your own. :) 

If your horse is suspected with a health issue, consult your vet straight away.