The Digital Pulse.

Illusion100

Illusion100

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You do know your horse IS supposed to have digital pulses.....right?! :p

I'm going to go ahead and blame Vets for, what seems to be, this general confusion.... :D

Had a lightbulb moment just now after thinking about how I had managed to offend someone the other week.......

They had a slightly lame pony and asked me to have a look, they said they'd checked the leg over, nothing obvious to note and it had no digital pulse but it seemed footy and they'd had the Vet out. So firstly I checked the digital pulse and said it seemed normal. They said it didn't have a digital pulse. I got confused and asked what they meant, they replied the Vet had said there was no pulse and when they checked today it didn't have a pulse either. At this stage I was probably doing my accidental 'WTF face?!' and was told that there shouldn't be a pulse unless something is wrong. I just wished them the best, hoped a speedy recovery to pony and left them to it as they can be prickly apparently and I didn't want a row.

They didn't seem to realise that you should always be able to feel a digital pulse! I appreciate that it's not the easiest thing to find unless you know where to find it but it should still be there! If a horse doesn't have a digital pulse then I'd say you definitely have a problem! :p

I think it's when Vets say there is no pulse, they mean it's not raised, rather than non-existent.

Please tell me this was a one-off or does this cause general confusion?!
 
My understanding was that the pressure is so reduced that in a normal horse it is usually not possible to feel the pulse there, unless it is raised beyond normal levels.

Certainly on my own horses, I cannot find a digital pulse unless the pulse is too strong, and if that happens I know I need to watch very carefully for sore feet due to laminitis.
 
I can always find it on my thin skinned TB but very interesting point. Will check hairy bear ID and the pony ovrr the weekend.

Fiona
 
ycbm said:
My understanding was that the pressure is so reduced that in a normal horse it is usually not possible to feel the pulse there, unless it is raised beyond normal levels.

Certainly on my own horses, I cannot find a digital pulse unless the pulse is too strong, and if that happens I know I need to watch very carefully for sore feet due to laminitis.
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I cannot deny that at times it can be an elusive little cretin!
 
On a cob you will be very lucky to find a healthy horses digital pulse. On a TB it's hard to miss! Everything else in between. it's always there (bad news for the hoof otherwise!) but you won't find it with your hands on a healthy shod hairy cob.
 
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rara007 said:
On a cob you will be very lucky to find a healthy horses digital pulse. On a TB it's hard to miss! Everything else in between. it's always there (bad news for the hoof otherwise!) but you won't find it with your hands on a healthy shod hairy cob.
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I can and have always been able to find it. My current horse is a HW cob with so much feather you cant see his feet! But if you keep digging and prodding its there :)
 
Some cobs with thinner skin and stronger pulses maybe you can then! Many cobs the physics simply don't add up to be able to feel it though! I can feel the NVB just about but no pulse in our hairy (hogged) one. Often you can't even feel the NVB, even the vets are trying to find them to nerve block! I do think just from personal experience not looked into it scientifically they're stronger in unshod horses too.
 
I've got a super hairy traditional. Double mane, feathers all round his legs etc. So much hair its untrue! But if you keep prodding and poking you can get to the skin :)
 
Has he ever been cut (accidentally obviously!) to see how thick is skin is on his lower legs out of interest? Or had leg injections? It is unusual for a hairy heavy to have a digital pulse you can feel when they're well and not just worked :) Handy to have though, and touch wood he'll stay sound but it'll make nerve blocking much easier! Are hinds easier than fronts or even? Has he ever had feather mites/mud fever/pastern dermatitis?

Also worth noting normal horses pulses do go up an down within a day :) And sometimes you can feel a faint one one side and none the other, come back 2 hours later, and it's the other way round!
 
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The confusion is caused because of the "shorthand" way we express it. If something presents a bit footy or lame on our yard, first question me and yardowner ask each other is "does he have a pulse?". We know what we mean, but an outside observer listening would probably leave feeling bewildered as to how a horse without a pulse is still standing! Its one of those many things in the horseworld that unless someone takes time to explain it to you, overhearing the phrase will lead to misunderstanding.
 
ycbm said:
My understanding was that the pressure is so reduced that in a normal horse it is usually not possible to feel the pulse there, unless it is raised beyond normal levels.

Certainly on my own horses, I cannot find a digital pulse unless the pulse is too strong, and if that happens I know I need to watch very carefully for sore feet due to laminitis.
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This was my understanding also, it is when I can feel a pulse that I worry!
 
You have to know what is normal for the horse. There are some horses where I haven't been able to find a DP, on others it is always there. So finding a pulse at all on those horses where you normally can't find one, is significant, whereas in a horse where you can normally easily find it even though it is not 'bounding', does not have a problem unless it is stronger than usual. The key is to establish what is normal for that horse at a time when you are 100% certain there is no lameness or discomfort.
 
If you have to look for it, it is probably not significant......vets should make it clear that when there is congestion in the foot the pulse becomes bounding-once you have felt it you understand the difference.
 
I get what you mean OP, my old lads are easy to find and I know when they are above normal, but am very guilty of saying "he has pulses" when I really mean his pulses are up above normal. Could be very confusing for a novice owner, never thought about it before, oops!
 
Pulses vary with horses anyway depending on exercise, temperature and other conditions. I know what my lad's normal pulses are after resting and exercise. I also know that one hind leg tends to have a slightly stronger pulse than the others (if I can feel them at all) and his pulses are stronger if he has just been lying down. An experienced equine vet told me not to get too hung up about them in the absence of other signs of a problem.
 
This thread has been on my mind, because one of my horses has clear pulses all spring and summer that anyone who only knows him then would think were normal. But in winter, in spite of having thin skin and tightly defined legs, he has no identifiable digital pulses at all.

I think if you want to know what is absolutely correct for your horse, you need to take them in midwinter. My own experience is that on the majority of horses, I can't feel them at all at this time of year, or any other time when they have no grass and only soaked hay to eat. For me, being able to find a digital pulse easily always means I keep a watchful eye. Better safe than sorry.
 
It's a raised digital pulse at rest that the warning sign .
I think vets are often guilty so missed the vital word raised when they talk about the digital pulse .
It varies so much horse to horse when J is clipped you can see it at rest let alone feel it .
You have a hard job to find it on H .
 
Despite trying so many times, Ive yet to actually find one. Even with my farrier sticking my finger on it when he's felt it. What I do feel is my own pulses in my fingers and I'm not talking thumb. If I press my fingers to something I can feel a little pulse in them so not much good with me trying to find one.
 
JJones, it's harder to find the DP on some horses rather than others. Using very light pressure can help as when the DP is 'normal' it can be very faint and if you apply too much pressure you block it off so to speak and can't feel it.
 
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