Fever in horses – symptoms, causes and treatment (1)

When does a horse have a fever?

If the horse's body temperature exceeds 38.3 degrees, it is counted as elevated. An adult horse normally has a body temperature of 37.5 -38.2 degrees. An elevated body temperature can be due to exertion, stress, pain or fever.

How to check your horse's breathing, temperature, pulse and mucous membranes

Causes of fever in horses

A horse getting a fever generally means that it has contracted some kind of infection. It can be anything from general infections by viruses such as equine flu to local bacterial infections in a wound or Infected Mug. Fever can be a sign that your horse has been affected by a contagious disease, which means that you should contact a veterinarian to advise on how your horse needs to be treated and possibly isolated from other horses. Therefore, it is important to find out what the underlying cause of the fever is in order to know if and how the horse should be treated.

Check the horse's normal body temperature

To find out what temperature is normal for your particular horse, you can temperature the horse morning and evening for a week. This should be done when the horse is completely healthy and preferably calm. Try to take the temperature around the same time these days. Remember that if you temp the horse close to being at work, it may have an elevated body temperature for a while.

How to check the horse's breathing, temperature, pulse and mucous membranes

How to take your horse's temperature - step by step

1. Stand the horse safely
2. Prepare the thermometer by turning it on, zeroing and lubricating the tip with petroleum jelly, for example
3. Stand diagonally behind and close to the horse
4. Lift the tail gently
5. Insert the thermometer 2-3 cm into the rectum, straight in (not upwards)
6. Wait for the signal, most digital thermometers will beep after 10-60 seconds.
7. Take out and read – note the temperature, time and date.
8. Clean the thermometer after use.

Treatment of fever depends on the cause

When a horse has a fever, the veterinarian starts by doing a clinical examination of the horse to find the cause instead of the virus. Depending on symptoms, further examinations may be needed, such as blood tests, rectalisation, endoscopy for respiratory symptoms or nasal swabs to find viruses. Horses that are otherwise healthy and that eat and drink normally often cope well with fever without treatment with fever reducers. You should only give fever reducers on direct prescription by the treating veterinarian, as these medications have side effects and can mask other important symptoms in case of e.g. colic.

Since fever can sometimes be due to infectious diseases, the horse may need to be isolated. How to protect your stable from the spread of infection.

When should I contact a vet?

• If the horse has a fever and shows signs of reduced appetite or thirst
• If the horse has changed stools
• If the horse is lethargic and generally affected
• If the horse also shows signs of colic, diarrhoea, lameness, wound injury, impaired breathing or persistent cough/nasal discharge
• If you are unsure how to isolate the horse to avoid Spread of infection to other horses