A Strong/Bounding Digital Pulse
Finding out if your horse has a bounding digital pulse can help as an early warning sign for laminitis. It should be feint or non-existent.
How do you know what’s strong or bounding?
* You kind of have to feel to know and ideally you should get to know what’s normal for your horse’s digital pulse.
* When taking the digital pulse, if its’ bounding, you are feeling the blood being pushed back into the arteries from the foot. Due to inflammation there is no longer enough space within the hoof capsule and blood flow into the foot is restricted, it then backs up in the arteries making the pulse feel much stronger, hence a bounding digital pulse.
Learning how to locate and take your horses digital pulse, will help you to know the difference between normal and bounding.
The Lateral Digital Vein is highlighted in blue.
The Lateral Digital Artery is highlighted in red.
The Lateral Digital Nerve is highlighted in yellow.
The VAN (vein, artery, nerve) bundle runs down the back of the fetlock and pastern, before entering the hoof.
Run your fingers down the inside of the horses leg, along the grooves between the tendons, until you reach a soft squishy spot.
Apply pressure with your finger and strum (run your finger from side-to-side) until you feel the cordlike bundle VAN (consisting of vein, artery, and nerve) “ping” underneath your touch. Apply pressure to this bundle for 5 to 10 seconds until you feel a pulse.
If you can’t find a pulse, adjust the amount of pressure you’re placing on the bundle. If you press too hard, you’ll cut off blood flow-therefore the pulse. If you press too softly, you won’t create enough resistance to feel the pulse at all. It takes practice.
You need to determine whether your horse’s digital pulse is throbbing abnormally. It helps to know what a healthy pulse feels like, but you can’t always find a pulse on a healthy leg/hoof. It might be too faint.
On the other hand, you’ll know if the horse has a problem, if you can easily find his digital pulse.
Finding out if your horse has a bounding digital pulse can help as an early warning sign for laminitis. It should be feint or non-existent.
How do you know what’s strong or bounding?
* You kind of have to feel to know and ideally you should get to know what’s normal for your horse’s digital pulse.
* When taking the digital pulse, if its’ bounding, you are feeling the blood being pushed back into the arteries from the foot. Due to inflammation there is no longer enough space within the hoof capsule and blood flow into the foot is restricted, it then backs up in the arteries making the pulse feel much stronger, hence a bounding digital pulse.
Learning how to locate and take your horses digital pulse, will help you to know the difference between normal and bounding.
The Lateral Digital Vein is highlighted in blue.
The Lateral Digital Artery is highlighted in red.
The Lateral Digital Nerve is highlighted in yellow.
The VAN (vein, artery, nerve) bundle runs down the back of the fetlock and pastern, before entering the hoof.
Run your fingers down the inside of the horses leg, along the grooves between the tendons, until you reach a soft squishy spot.
Apply pressure with your finger and strum (run your finger from side-to-side) until you feel the cordlike bundle VAN (consisting of vein, artery, and nerve) “ping” underneath your touch. Apply pressure to this bundle for 5 to 10 seconds until you feel a pulse.
If you can’t find a pulse, adjust the amount of pressure you’re placing on the bundle. If you press too hard, you’ll cut off blood flow-therefore the pulse. If you press too softly, you won’t create enough resistance to feel the pulse at all. It takes practice.
You need to determine whether your horse’s digital pulse is throbbing abnormally. It helps to know what a healthy pulse feels like, but you can’t always find a pulse on a healthy leg/hoof. It might be too faint.
On the other hand, you’ll know if the horse has a problem, if you can easily find his digital pulse.