Polo’s Powerhouse & their Health Checks
Horses are an indispensable part of Polo. Before selecting the pony, players consider their speed, stamina and compatibility. After the player gets the pony, it needs to be nurtured like a loving pet. This includes monitoring its health for any potential disease. For this, the Annual Wellness Exam for Horses is recommended.
https://www.ascotequinevets.com.au/Services/wellness-plans/
What is the Annual Wellness Exam?
The Annual Wellness Exam for horses determines their overall wellness. It helps in spotlighting any underlying problem so that the horse may be treated without delay.
Annual Wellness Exam detects ailments that may assail horses, such as obesity, joint disease, uveitis, cancerous growth, pregnancy, and laminitis.
The equine’s vet considers the following elements:
- Basic Assessment: To check personality and behaviour traits; useful for future comparison for examination.
- Body Conditioning Score (BCS): To calculate the weight, size, muscle tone, and projection of hips and ribs.
- Weight Tape: To calculate the weight of the horse, the tape is passed around the tack, and the results are noted.
- Temperature: Raised temperature is a sign of disease.
- Heart: Checking heart rate, sound and rhythm to ensure no abnormalities.
- Lungs: Sound and breathing shouldn’t be fast.
- Legs, Feet and Gait: Any abnormalities in feet, gait and legs should immediately be evaluated.
How Do you Check if the Horse is Unwell?
It is certain that you cannot know if your pony is doing well or not as horses can only express their condition, which makes it the duty of the caregiver to check up on them. Providentially, there are some symptoms, such as coughing, weight loss, excess thirst, and unusual behavior, that you may notice, to know in case the horse is unwell, and align care soonest.
Being a responsible player also means you need to be responsible towards your equine teammate by being gentle and mindful of their wellness too.