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Poll evil is a traditional term for a painful condition in a horse or other equid, that starts as an inflamed bursa at the cranial end of the neck between vertebrae and the nuchal ligament, and swells until it presents as an acute swelling at the poll, on the top of the back of the animal's head.
In animals such as horses and other working animals, saddle sores often form on either side of the withers, which is the area where the front of a saddle rests, and also in the girth area behind the animal's elbow, where they are known as a girth gall. Saddle sores can occur over the loin, and occasionally in other locations.
Back pain in a horse may be related to movement in an unnatural and stressed position, not unlike those that cause back pain in humans. Back pain in a horse may be caused for a variety of reasons. Saddle fit, poor riding technique, lack of conditioning, overwork, accidents, or lameness can all contribute to back pain. A saddle that is not ...
A lameness exam is used to try to pinpoint the cause of lameness in the horse, which subsequently guides treatment. It is the first step to evaluate decreased performance in an equine athlete, even if the horse does not appear overtly lame, to rule out any pain-associated cause. Lameness exams are also a key component of the pre-purchase ...
Shivers, or equine shivering, is a rare, progressive neuromuscular disorder of horses. It is characterized by muscle tremors, difficulty holding up the hind limbs, and an unusual gait when the horse is asked to move backwards. Shivers is poorly understood and no effective treatment is available at this time.
Most horses have 18 thoracic vertebrae. The processes at the withers can be more than 30 centimetres (12 in) long. Since they do not move relative to the ground as the horse's head does, the withers are used as the measuring point for the height of a horse. Horses are sometimes measured in hands – one hand is 4 inches (10.2 cm). Horse heights ...
Horses naturally open their mouths to relieve the pain when a bit – a metal bar placed over the tongue – causes too much pressure, experts say. But dressage competitors lose points if their ...
First symptoms are usually muscular weakness, soreness and stiffness causing problems with walking and breathing. Within hours of first symptoms horse may be unable to stand and in 72 hours of the onset of signs mortalities may occur. [16] [13] [1] The mortality rate of atypical myopathy is high; only 30-40% of affected horses survive. [9]