Horse owners have a better chance of detecting disease and stress in a horse if they are familiar with the normal temperature and heart and respiration rates of the nimal. Familiarity with a horse's normal physiological parameters allows owners to respond quickly to abrupt or sizable changes, said Dave Freeman, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension equine specialist.
Some horses are naturally calm, others extremely active.
Some are aggressive eaters, others are slow and picky. Freeman said horse behavior can be expected to change during certain times, such as foaling, weaning or when horses are moved to new environments or are placed with new horses. Changes from that normal behavior should be followed up with more quantitative measurements. A horse's heart rate will vary from resting rates of 30 to 40 beats per minute to highs of over 200 beats per minute during extreme stress or intense exercise. Heart rate can be estimated by taking the horse's pulse from arteries which traverse the jaw or from those arteries located in the lower leg.