AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |
Back to Blog
Signs of head trauma in horses4/1/2024 ![]() Stall walking is related to weaving, but horses generally walk around in circles rather than bob side-to-side. They may take two steps to the right, two to the left, and continue for hours as if in a trance. Weaving and stall walking: This includes horses who weave-walk from side to side or sway.There are several common symptoms of horse anxiety that you can learn to watch for and address. They are forgiving, gentle, intelligent creatures whose behavior is often misunderstood or misinterpreted. With so many possible scenarios that increase anxiety and stress for horses, it’s a wonder we can ride them at all! This only proves just how wonderful horses are, both as companions and as trusted friends. Learn and Respond to Your Horse’s Behavior Anxiety and stress result from mixed signals. The horse, eager to please, becomes anxious at the strange signals and unanticipated corrections. If we are learners alongside our horses, we may give them mixed signals. Lastly, we have trained horses to be our companions and willing partners in all types of athletic competitions: show jumping, dressage, fox hunting, barrel racing, competitive trail and more. It’s anxiety and stress, but of a different kind than we humans experience. No wonder horses that are calm at home may spook in the show ring. We take horses to shows, with loudspeakers blaring at them, candy wrappers flapping in the arena, crowds cheering and air brakes hissing. That’s great for you and prevents vet bills, but your horse may be lonely. ![]() If he’s at a boarding stable, he may receive individual turnout to prevent accidents like bites or kicks from other horses. Pasture and turnout depend on where your horse is stabled. Instead, we put horses on our own schedules, feeding them grain or pellets in the morning and at night, and supplementing with hay a few times a day. His natural instinct is to walk all day long finding grazing areas and eating constant, small amounts so as not to stress his small stomach, yet fill his long, sensitive digestive tract. His natural instinct is to be with a herd, yet he spends most of his time in a 12’ x 12’ box stall. Think about your horse’s life from his perspective for a minute. Natural Instincts Conflict with Human NeedsĪmong horses, anxiety often occurs when their living circumstances don’t match their natural instincts. When wolves attack, the more herd members there are, the less likely you’ll be picked out from the herd and eaten. A “boss mare,” or alpha mare, leads the herd with a strong stallion as guardian. There is a clear pecking order in a herd - especially in a herd of horses. ![]() Herd animals seek companionship in order to feel safe. The result is an animal that is sensitive to certain things that remind him of predators creeping about, or other things that might threaten his well-being. Those horses with the best reaction times survived attacks and passed on those characteristics to their offspring. ![]() As horses evolved, the ones who ran faster, or who ran first, survived attacks by predators. Your horse is hard-wired to run first and ask questions later. That makes them by nature more prone to flight than fight when something scary appears. In the wild, they are a prey species - lunch for predators. That is because horses are herd animals and herbivores. What upsets your horse is quite different from what might upset you, your dog, or your cat. Brain trauma is relatively rare.To understand anxiety in horses, you must first understand the mind of a horse. Injuries that involve the brain often cause change in behavior or other signs related to the nervous system, including changes in gait, depressed attitude, seizures, or changes in eye position, among many others. Signs that there was significant concussion associated with the injury could include bleeding from the nose, eyes or mouth. Head and face injuries are common in horses and the wounds that result can be very dramatic but usually heal well. When wounds damage bone, there is a possibility of chronic bone or sinus infection. When major trauma accompanies a head wound, there is a concern of brain injury, damaged bone or even damaged teeth. Simple wounds to the face that do not involve bone and do not create a flap of loose tissues may not require much treatment, if any. The skin of the face has a rich blood supply, meaning that simple wounds tend to heal rapidly and well. Large, air-filled sinus compartments fill the front part of the skull, while the brain rests within the rear of the skull, between the ears. In the equine head, the bone of the skull lies right under the skin. ![]()
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |