How Do You Identify Horse Heart Murmurs?
When a horse develops a heart murmur, the symptoms can be so mild that you may not notice. Usually, the veterinarian is the first person to realize that your horse has a heart murmur. Heart murmurs in horses usually indicate a valve abnormality. Murmurs are caused by either an obstruction of blood flow out of the heart or leakage of blood back into the heart. Heart murmurs are characterized by location, sound and occurrence during diastole, systole, or both. They are graded on a scale of 1 to 5 or 1 to 6 based on loudness. The most common heart murmur, called aortic insufficiency murmur, is caused by a leaky aortic valve. This murmur causes little overall effect on the health of the horse. In fact, research indicates that only 10 percent of horses with heart murmurs have reduced performance. A more serious murmur in horses is a mitral insufficiency murmur. What can you look for in your horse to identify a heart murmur? Schedule a complete physical for your horse each year. Typically, t
