The recumbent horse

The recumbent horse is one of the greatest challenges faced by the equine veterinarian. For either the adult horse or the foal there is no simple, efficient, or lowcost way of managing these patients. Care must be continued 24 hours per day and potentially for days to weeks, depending on the disease process that resulted in the recumbency. There are many diseases that can result in a foal or adult horse becoming recumbent and many body systems that may be primarily or secondarily affected. While neurologic diseases are common, neuromuscular disease (e.g. botulism), systemic disease (e.g. severe sepsis), and muscular (e.g. rhabdomyolysis) and musculoskeletal problems (e.g. laminitis) can all result in prolonged recumbency in the affected patient. This chapter is by no means intended as an exhaustive review of diseases that result in recumbency, but rather an introduction to the challenges of management, monitoring, and nursing care.