- 1). Place a stethoscope against your horse's chest, behind the elbow (the topmost joint in your horse's foreleg).
- 2). Listen until you hear a strong, steady heartbeat.
- 3). Grab a stopwatch or a watch with a second hand.
- 4). Count the number of heartbeats you hear for 15 seconds.
- 5). Multiply that number by 4 to obtain the horse's heartbeats per minute.
- 6). Know that a normal resting heart rate for an adult horse is about 30 to 40 heartbeats per minute.
- 7). Contact your veterinarian if you determine a problem.
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