Temperature, Pulse and Respiration (TPR)
Temperature, Pulse and Respiration (TPR) are vital signs, that along with some other measures (such as gut sounds, mucous membrane color, and hydration assessment), may change depending on the health status of the horse. For example, a horse’s healthy, resting TPR is somewhat unique to that horse, and if you were to suspect there might be something wrong with your horse, knowing how to assess the TPR is helpful so you can relay this important information to your veterinarian. Veterinarians will look at the TPR as well as other health assessments and use the information to potentially diagnose and then manage the horse.
Learning Outcome
Upon completion of this activity, you will be able to determine a horse’s health status by appraising their heart rate, temperature and respiratory rate.
Instructions (step-by-step)
Step 1
Start off by downloading and installing the app from either the Google Play Store [link] or the Apple App Store [link].
Step 2
When you first start the app you will be asked to find an area to place the horse. Look for a flat surface that you can easily walk around, including lots of space on all sides of where the horse is. The horse model will be created at a life-sized scale, so imagine how much space you would need to have an actual Quarter Horse in your space!
Once you have found a good spot to place the horse, tap the screen to finalize the placement.
Step 3
You may walk around the horse as if it were actually in the space with you. There are multiple glowing points of interest ("hotspots") around the horse that indicate places where you can measure the horse's temperature, pulse, or respiration. Tapping on any of these hotspots will bring up instructions on which exam is available at that hotspot and how to perform the exam.
Once you have selected an exam to perform and you are standing in the indicated space to perform the exam, tap on the Start button (present in the same menu as the exam instructions) for it. The exact wording on this button may be different for each exam.
Step 4
Each of the exams will involve some time elapsing as the measurement is taken (either by equipment for temperature or by your observations of the horse for pulse and respiration). Once the time needed for the measurement is over you will be presented with a window allowing you to record what you observed and check it for accuracy.
Step 5
Once you have correctly performed the measurement for the exam you are working on you will be asked a follow up question about the significance of that exam as an indicator of a horse's health. Answering this multiple choice question will complete that exam and return you to being able to walk around the horse and select another activity.
Step 6
Once you have successfully taken the horse's temperature, pulse, and respiration rate there will be a final trivia quiz that asks questions about how to use the data collected from these exams to assess the overall health of a horse and decide on any further action that is needed. Apply your knowledge and do your best!
Step 7
Note that exams and activities can be done more than once, and for some exams there are actually multiple places where the measurement can be done (with some being more effective than others). At any point during this experience feel free to go back and redo a previous exam or even try it at a different location to compare and contrast them.