How much do you know about your horse’s heart? Could you tell if something went wrong? Vet Leona Bramall’s on hand to shed some light

Your horse’s heart is one of his most essential organs. It provides vital support to every single structure within his body and any problems that arise with it, or the cardiovascular system in which it’s situated, can have a dramatic affect on his overall health.

The cardiovascular system’s responsible for transporting blood, oxygen and glucose around your horse’s body, as well as removing waste products, such as carbon dioxide and lactic acid. This makes it vital not only for his survival, but his performance, too. That’s why it’s so important to understand it so you can keep your horse healthy.

DID YOU KNOW?

At rest, a horse’s heart will beat at a rate of 28-48 beats per minute and, in an average 500kg horse, pumps 35 litres of blood per minute.

Our expert

Leona Bramall MVB CertAVP(EM) MRCVS is an equine vet at Oakhill Veterinary Centre in Lancashire and is an Advanced Practitioner in Equine Internal Medicine. She has a particular interest in gastrointestinal, respiratory, dermatology and foal medicine cases.

Photos: Jon Stroud, SciePro/Shutterstock.com.With thanks to XL Vets practice,Oakhill Vets, for their help with this feature,oakhill-vets.comxlvets.co.uk

The heart

In order to understand problems that arise in the equine heart, a basic knowledge of anatomy is really helpful. The heart consists of four chambers and a series of valves that prevent the backflow of blood.