Intro to Vet Tech (Large Animal behavior and restraint)

Where are an equine’s blind spots located?

Directly behind them and below their nose

What are three common methods of equine communication listed in the presentation?

• Vocalization (Whinny/neigh (greeting or calling to companions), squeal (Pain, avoidance, defense/agression), nicker(caregiving response between a mother and foal, greeting for familiar human, and receiving pain), snort (Strong odors, pain, or fear)

• Stomping/Pawing (stress or fear of a threat)

• Snapping (Teeth clapping- occurs mostly when a foal pulls its lips back and claps its teeth rapidly when approached by adult horses or humans)

How do horses use their sense of smell?

They have an excellent sense of smell and use it to recognize each other (such as foals recognizing mares, smell breath from nostrils, food, investigate foreign objects) through the Flehmen response (the vomeronasal organ is located) unique flavors, urine, and other horses

What are the three common repetitive behaviors (stable vices) seen in horses?

• Cribbing (Grab items, including fence, gate with incisors or front teeth, gulp air, and make a grunting noise)

• Weaving (Swing their head side to side (back and forth), shifting their weight from front feet)

• Pawing (Repeatedly scraping the ground with the front hoof; a sign of frustration, impatience, or pain, such as colic)

What are the two types of equine aggression noted in the slides?

• Inter-horse aggression (Different threats result in horses hitting and kicking each other)

• Aggression toward humans (Most common for a stalled horse due to a fear/pain response). Equipment setup, particular person, orthopedic pain

Horses live up to

25-30 years

Horses are

Grazing prey animals (Eyes on on the side of their heads)

Horses are fully grown at

4-5 years old

What are the types of Equine Behavior?

Social, Prey, Sexual (mare and stallion), Maternal, and Foal Rejection

Prey Behavior

Fight or Flight (Run)

Sexual Behavior (mare)

Leads toward stallion, wink their vulva/frequent urination, ears in a forward position, raised tail/signs of estrus

Sexual Behavior (Stallion)

Smell mare in heat (Flehmen response)- Expose the Jacobson’s organ, curl back upper lip to expose front teeth, closed or wrinkled nostrils

Maternal Behavior

Clean foal after birth

Foal Rejection

Becoming aggressive, walking away from the foal, and refusing to nurse, extremely possessive

What are some reasons for foal rejection?

First time foaling, lack of experience, dystocia, inflammation of the teats, separation

Equine sense of smell

Excellent sense of senses and vocal recognition allows mares and foals to recognize each other and herd mates to identify members

Flehmen Response

Curling back upper lip to expose the Jacobson’s organ to detect unfamiliar scents or express sign of sexual behavior

Social Behavior

Flehmen response and allogrooming (one horse grooms another at the same time of the same species, should to shoulder, nibble at the wither, neck, and back)

Dairy calf are separated from the dam or mother

24 hours of birth

Beef cattle are weaned

8-11 months

Typical Behavior of small ruminants and cattle

Dominate/Aggressive Behaviors and Submissive Behaviors (Allogrooming) The one grooming is submissive, the one being groomed is dominate

Sexual Behavior for small ruminants and cows

Sexual maturity for bulls and cows is around 12 months, do not breed cows until 18 months to become more mature.

Females- Standing from mount cows or other heifers

Males- Mounting, chin resting (Back of a cow or heifer, licking and sniffing, flehmen response)

Maternal Behavior

Aggressive to other members of the herd or flock and humans

Common Behavior Problems for Small Ruminants

Buller-Steer Syndrome (The one being mounted is the Buller steer, causes injuries and common in feed lots, to resolve, remove bull steer)

Aggression toward humans (Most common in hand raised animals, cons specific, animals of the same species) Open ranch cattle can be more aggression due to handling

Equine Restraint

Cow kick (Back leg and out to the side)

Double Barrell Kick (both back feet, straight back)

Always put a hand on the horse (Shoulder), stay close when walking behind

What are the three types of restraint for equine?

Physical, Divisionary, Chemical

Physical Restraint

Halter, lead rope, shoulder roll, muzzle twitch (Stimulate endorphin release, used no longer than 5 minutes) Metal twitch is commonly used

Diversionary Restraint

Small handful of grain, massage withers or base of the ear, stretching withers (Gum chain can be used, if necessary)

Chemical Restraint

Before giving a procedure, if they are showing versions of aversion or unsafe.

Approach and capture on a horse

45-degree angle (Shoulder, left side), lead rope and halter around neck, calm voice, cross ties, stocks (prevent from getting kicked), restrain head with lead rope, tail tie (placed on a unridden horse and near tail bone)

Capture and Restraint of Cattle

Approach: Less is more; observe from a distance, flight zone

Low stress- dairy (stress equals low-quality milk) (uses a headlock machine or shoot for milking; raises for milk on their own)

Beef- Stress= danger to YOU (Shoot system, head catch)

Capture: Chute, Halter (pet or dairy)