Heart Disease
The horse has an extraordinary heart, capable of pumping 30 to 40 litres per minute at rest and up to 250 litres per minute around the body during peak exercise. However, like all things, this magnificent piece of engineering can fail.
Heart disease can cause poor performance since it is directly related to the ability of the heart to pump blood loaded with oxygen around the body. If the pumping ability is reduced, then the body does not get enough oxygen and poor performance occurs. From mild forms that may result in poor performance to severe disease, collapse or even death, heart disease is more common than most people realise.
In this article, Dr Katharyn Mitchell, explains the most common heart conditions and how they will affect the horse.
Heart Disease
The horse has an extraordinary heart, capable of pumping 30 to 40 litres per minute at rest and up to 250 litres per minute around the body during peak exercise. However, like all things, this magnificent piece of engineering can fail.
Heart disease can cause poor performance since it is directly related to the ability of the heart to pump blood loaded with oxygen around the body. If the pumping ability is reduced, then the body does not get enough oxygen and poor performance occurs. From mild forms that may result in poor performance to severe disease, collapse or even death, heart disease is more common than most people realise.
In this article, Dr Katharyn Mitchell, explains the most common heart conditions and how they will affect the horse.