Health

   To maintain a horse's health it must be brushed regularly, and never put away in a stall while hot or sweating. After a horse has been ridden, it must be cooled down, brushed and preferably sponged off with cool water. Then the horse must be walked until it is dry. A hoof pick must also be used to clean the bottom of the horse's hooves before and after each ride. They have poor eyesight, but excellent hearing and sense of smell. Their eyesight is often the cause of them being bitten on the nose by rattlesnakes. They see something, but aren't sure what it is, so they go down to sniff and see what the object is, and wham. Their bad eyesight also results in them being easily scared, called spooked. Sudden movements can easily scare them. Surprisingly, horses can be rather fragile. A small wound in their foot easily becomes infected, rendering them lame. A wide variety of injuries and illnesses can make a horse sick, or bring about death. Colic, when their intestine gets blocked, is rather common. To relieve the pain a horse will lay down and roll violently on the ground. However, this can cause the intestine to become twisted. When this happens, an operation must be performed quickly to untangle and unblock the intestine, or the horse will die. However, horses often roll on the ground just for fun. The severity of the rolling is the indicator.