Essential First Aid Plus

Do you know your horse’s baseline? 🤔

Knowing what’s normal for your horse’s vital signs is one of the best tools you have for spotting early signs of distress or illness!

Practicing taking your horse’s TPR (Temperature, Pulse, Respiration) regularly helps you know their personal baseline so you can quickly spot when something is off. If your horse seems unusually dull or anxious and their numbers fall outside these typical ranges, it’s time to call your equine veterinarian:

🌡️ Temperature: 99.0°F – 101.5°F
❤️ Heart Rate: 28 – 40 beats/min
😮‍💨 Respiration Rate: 12 – 16 breaths/min

Note: Hot weather and high humidity can cause minor shifts in these numbers. Chat with your veterinarian about what’s normal for your specific horse and environmental conditions, and ask them to double-check your technique at your next visit!

💡 Special thanks to the AAEP Horse Owner Education Committee for sharing these essential health guidelines.

🧠 MINDSET MONDAY: 🐾 The first skill isn't CPR. It's staying calm.

When our dogs are hurt, sick, or suddenly collapse, our first instinct is often to panic.

It's human. This is your fur-family!

But panic makes it harder to notice the details that matter.

The best first aiders don't stay calm because they don't care...

They stay calm because they DO care.

❤️ Before you do anything - take one slow breath.

Look at your dog.

Ask yourself:

✔️ Is my dog conscious?

✔️ Are they breathing normally?

✔️ Is the situation safe for both of us?

That simple pause can help you make better decisions and give your dog the help they need faster.

At Canine Health Canada, we don't just teach first aid techniques.

We teach the confidence to slow down, assess the situation, and respond with purpose—because in an emergency, clear thinking can be just as important as knowing what to do next.

Pause. Assess. Respond.

👇 Have you ever had a moment with your dog where staying calm made all the difference?

🐾 The Biggest Mistake Dog Owners Make After an Injury

Your dog suddenly yelps and starts limping. What’s the first thing many owners do?

👉 Encourage them to keep walking.

“Come on... let’s see if you can walk it off.” - DON’T DO THIS!

It comes from a place of love—but it can sometimes make an injury worse.

A strained muscle, torn ligament, cracked nail, puncture wound, or even a small fracture may not be obvious at first.

The safest approach?

✅ Stop the activity.

✅ Move your dog to a safe, quiet area.

✅ Take a few minutes to assess them from nose to tail, paying close attention to the injured limb.

✅ If your dog is unable to bear weight, is in significant pain, or you notice swelling, bleeding, or an obvious deformity, seek veterinary care as soon as possible.

Remember...

Limping is your dog’s way of saying something isn’t right.

They don’t need encouragement to push through it—they need us to pay attention.

❤️ That’s one of the biggest things we teach in canine first aid: how to stay calm, assess the situation, and make informed decisions until your dog can receive veterinary care.

🐾 These are the moments we prepare dog owners for in our Canine CPR & Emergency First Aid classes.

Because confidence isn’t about having all the answers...

It’s about knowing where to start.

👇 Have you ever had your dog suddenly come up lame on a walk? What was the cause?

This is a very difficult post for me today. It’s the one year anniversary of losing my heart horse Northline Spring D-Lite or Spring. I’m posting this because this condition is so rare that OVC in Guelph had to consult with a surgeon before giving a diagnosis. Spring was referred by my veterinarian to OVC for what was thought a mild colic that was taking time to resolve.

One morning I came to the barn for chores as usual and Spring just wasn't herself.
Initially she was just off but presenting with mild colic type symptoms. The vet was called and came out asap to see Spring.
Spring was treated for colic and monitored over the next few days with no real change.
She was not in pain like typical colic but was dehydrated and refused to eat. We tried everything to keep her hydrated and motivated to eat. I decided to have Spring referred to OVC in Guelph. The vets on call were prepared for Spring as a mild colic but was admitted with other symptoms that had developed early that morning. Those symptoms were drooping of the right side of the muzzle, eye and ear. The symptoms appeared like a stroke, but it was not a stroke. The vet and surgeon on call consulted after neurological testing and determined Spring had a very rare condition called Temporohyoid Osteoarthropathy (THO).
THO is a progressive, often painful, degenerative disease in horses causing bony proliferation and fusion of the temporohyoid joint (where the hyoid apparatus meets the skull). It commonly results in neurologic signs such as vestibular disfunction, facial nerve paralysis, head tilting, and difficulty eating, and drinking often necessitating medical or surgical management.
Causes are believed to be degenerative arthritis, potentially accelerated by trauma, infection or chronic inflammation. The necropsy report showed none of these things contributed to Spring's case. Her report stated no known causes other than degeneration of the bone.
THO early symptoms include head shaking/ bit aversion, ear rubbing, and trouble chewing. Advanced signs include facial paralysis (dropped ear/eyelid), circling, loss of balance.
Treatment includes NSAIDS for pain, antibiotics if necessary. Surgical options such as a ceratohyoidectomy (removal of the certohyoid bone) are used to prevent further fractures of the fused joint and improve long term outcomes.
Prognosis: Approximately 50% of horses improve with medical treatment, though surgery is often needed to manage progressive cases. Unfortunately, prognosis for Spring was guarded. I could have put her through the surgery, but her quality of life may never have returned due to paralysis in her face. That was my biggest fear, her quality of life. I had to make the horrible decision to come home without her. It was the most difficult decision I had to make. I left knowing that I made the best choice for her and I had done everything possible to make her better.
Spring was a very special horse!!! Any time Spring was unsure of a situation she looked to me for guidance. She would put her nos on my hand for reassurance. She knew that she could trust me. She knew I'd never ask her to do something that wasn't safe. I knew I could always trust her as well.
Spring was the kindest horse I've ever met.
I've never had a bond with any other horse like my bond with Spring. People always told me Spring was lucky to have me but in fact I was lucky to have her. Spring was my heart horse. There will never be another horse like her. She is greatly missed!!!!

The following pictures of her last day showing the paralysis in her face that occurred.

* Note: This is posted for educational purpose only!!!

🚨 WWYD WEDNESDAY

🚨 Your dog suddenly starts limping on a walk.

You stop to take a look...

There’s no blood.

No obvious injury.

They’ll still put a little weight on the leg, but they keep lifting their paw every few steps.

🤔 What would you do first?

👇 Tell us in the comments.

(No Googling! 😉- check back later for our answer!)

Tip Tuesday: Your Dog’s Tongue Can Tell You a Lot

We talk about gum colour all the time...

But have you ever noticed your dog’s tongue?

A healthy tongue is usually bright pink and moist.

If you notice:

🔵 Blue or purple → Lack of oxygen (emergency)

⚪ Very pale → Poor circulation, blood loss, or shock

🔴 Bright cherry red → Can be seen with heat stroke or some toxin exposures

🟣 Dark purple (not normal pigmentation) → Seek veterinary care immediately

Checking your dog’s mouth only takes a few seconds—and knowing what’s normal for your dog can help you recognize when something isn’t.

👅 Take a quick look today. If you don’t know what’s normal, it’s much harder to spot when something changes.

Question: Have you ever checked your dog’s gums or tongue before?

When disaster strikes, our pets are counting on us to have a plan. They can't grab their own food, find their medications, or know where to go when everything's falling apart. That's where we come in.

Before the next storm, wildfire, or emergency hits, take an afternoon to put together a pet emergency kit. Grab some extra food and water, their medications, a leash, and copies of vaccination records. Know where you're going and how you'll get your animals there safely. It might feel like overkill until you actually need it—and then it becomes everything.

Our pets give us their whole hearts every single day. Making sure they're protected when things get scary isn't just responsible—it's an act of love.