How to Tell If Your Horse Has a Bladder Infection

An equine bladder infection is the inflammation of the urinary system in a horse. Unlike humans, bladder infections in horses are rare. They most often occur in female horses than male horses because a mare's urethra is so much shorter than a male horse's. An equine bladder infection can range from a mild lower urinary tract infection to serious kidney inflammation. To find out if your horse has a bladder infection, start with recognizing the bladder infection symptoms and then ask your vet for help.

Instructions

    • 1

      Recognize the bladder infection symptoms in your horse. Your horse may appear to urinate more frequently than usual, in small increments as opposed to emptying the bladder completely. Your horse may also appear uncomfortable when they urinate or show signs of pain. Some horses even have blood in their urine.

    • 2

      Talk to your vet about your horse's symptoms. The vet will examine your horse and take a urine sample. Unlike a human, you cannot just ask a horse to pee in a cup. Instead, the vet will use a catheter to draw urine directly from the horse's bladder. The urine sample will be tested for the presence of bacteria, a sign of a urinary infection.

    • 3

      If the vet finds bacteria in the urine, he will have it cultured. Culturing bacteria consists of placing the bacteria on a dish full of food and allowing it to grow. This allows the bacteria to be identified and the vet to choose the antibiotic best suited to combat that bacteria.