Horse Side Vet Guide App for Smartphones – Review by Donna Edwards
A new Smartphone app has been developed for horse owners. Created by Doug Thal, DVM, DABVP, a lifelong horseman and veterinarian whose practice has been exclusively equine veterinary medicine, “Horse Side Vet Guide” provides quick access to equine health information – literally – at your “horse’s side”.
Do you have questions about your horse’s health? Horse Side Vet Guide (HSVG) is observation-based. What this means is a horse owner will observe the symptoms the horse is displaying, then enter keywords in the search feature that describe the problem the horse is having. HSVG will provide a summary of the symptom and list related symptoms to watch for. It will tell you how concerned you should be, give you factors to help determine how urgent the situation is, what you should do until the veterinarian arrives, plus much more. The app has a place for you to store the phone numbers of your veterinarians and other service providers so they can be quickly accessed from within the app if needed.
Do you have questions about your horse’s health? Horse Side Vet Guide (HSVG) is observation-based. What this means is a horse owner will observe the symptoms the horse is displaying, then enter keywords in the search feature that describe the problem the horse is having. HSVG will provide a summary of the symptom and list related symptoms to watch for. It will tell you how concerned you should be, give you factors to help determine how urgent the situation is, what you should do until the veterinarian arrives, plus much more. The app has a place for you to store the phone numbers of your veterinarians and other service providers so they can be quickly accessed from within the app if needed.
On the Home page, in addition to a search field, are six thumbnails, plus five more thumbnails in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. Here is a summary of each of those thumbnails.
“My Observations” takes you to a list of observations that you can select for further information. Urgency is rated in exclamation points - !!! in a red circle means call the vet immediately, !! in a yellow circle means make an appointment, and a green circle means contact your vet for advice. Suppose your horse has a scrape on his face. You can select “Abrasion or Scrape on Head or Face” and use your observations and the summary information provided to determine if you need to call your vet. This app refers repeatedly to a “Whole Horse Exam” or WHE. “Perform Whole Horse Exam (WHE)” can be found under the “My Skills” category throughout the app and will give you details on what WHE is and how it is performed.
“Vet Diagnostics” lists procedures and services your vet may provide. Let’s say your vet wants to run a blood chemistry panel. The app tells you exactly what a blood chemistry panel is, why your vet might want to use it, the benefits and limitations, possible diagnoses, related diagnostics, and questions to ask your vet. One of the features I find very helpful is the “Cost Category” which gives you a good idea of the price range you can expect for that procedure. $ is under $100; $$ is $100 to $500; $$$ is $500 to $1,000 $$$$ is $1,000 to $2,500; and $$$$$ is over $2,500. Costs will vary, however.
“Vet Diagnoses” provides a list of over 250 possible diagnoses and detailed information about each. Suppose your vet tells you your horse is navicular; you find and select “Navicular Syndrome” from the list and are given a list of synonyms (did you know chronic heel pain is synonymous with navicular syndrome?), symptoms you might observe, treatments your vet might provide, and even information on prognosis.
“Vet Treatments” lists treatments that your vet may provide, and a cost category for each. Let’s say your nice western pleasure show gelding gets a little hock sore and your vet has suggested hyaluronic acid injections. Entering “injection” in the search box and touching Search will bring up a list of results that will be categorized as My Observations, Vet Diagnoses, Vet Treatments, My Skills, and several others. Scrolling down, you find “Joint Injection, Sodium Hyaluronate”. Selecting that gives you a summary of what it is, information about potential side effects, questions to ask your vet, and information about how long it takes to take effect, plus other information including Cost Category.
“My Skills” was a category I found to be very helpful. It can explain everything from how to apply and use a chain shank to how to treat a wound on a difficult horse. Let’s say you want to learn how to put on polo wraps to exercise a horse. It tells you what you need, gives you tips for safety, and walks you through the correct procedure of applying the wraps.
“My Supplies” is a list of items you should have on hand, and how those items can be used. For example, did you know that baby diapers are useful for covering feet that are being treated for wounds or abscesses of the sole? It even explains the different types of feed; under Feed, Senior it tells you that if you have a horse with Cushing’s Disease, insulin resistance, and laminitis that most senior feeds are not a good choice because of their high fat and sugar content. I found myself scrolling through the list and making random choices – I learned a lot that I didn’t know!
The toolbar across the bottom has selections for Home, Quick Reference, My Vets, Classroom, and More Information.
I found the Quick Reference selection to be my favorite of the whole app. For the life of me, I can never remember what the normal ranges are for a horse’s vitals – rectal temperature, heart rate, and respiration. This information is now at your fingertips. And it also gives you that information for a newborn foal. More vitals? How about capillary refill time for gums (1-2 seconds)? Hydration status (skin pinch), normal feel of the feet and hooves, and even how much hay and water a horse requires per day (and how much poop and pee should be coming out the other end).
Perhaps one of the best features of this app is Videos under the Quick Reference category. Remember the WHE, or Whole Horse Exam? They have a video that shows and explains the whole process. Want to know the proper way to give an intramuscular injection? Watch the video.
“My Vets” is where you can enter information about veterinarians and other service providers you may need. You can phone your vet in an emergency from within this app with just a couple of touches, making it so convenient when you are stressed and in a hurry.
“Classroom” was fun. It tests your knowledge of equine health basics. They will be adding more quizzes and interactive tools in future releases.
“More Info” tells you about the creator of the app and how it should be used. You can rate the app, and even buy it as a gift for a horse-lover on your list. More Info includes the terms of use and the privacy policy, as well as information about the latest update.
Summary: HSVG will help you determine the action that needs to be taken from the moment you notice a problem with your horse. It contains practical advice, suggested skills, and questions to discuss with your vet. It will help you distinguish between emergency and non-emergency situations. It contains dozens of high quality instructional videos and other media designed to help you become an active participant in maintaining your horse’s health. HSVG is not designed to be a simple decision tree that leads you to a specific answer; it is not a substitute for a veterinarian.
My rating: ***** (5 stars)
This is a no-brainer, absolute must-buy app! It is a bargain at $4.99. Not only will it be useful in assessing an urgent situation with your horse, but the videos are awesome and the app will provide good reading anytime!
The cost of the app from the App Store is $4.99. It is currently available for iPhone and will soon be available for Android. For more information, see their website at http://horsesidevetguide.com/. You can follow them on Facebook at Horse Side Vet Guide.
“My Observations” takes you to a list of observations that you can select for further information. Urgency is rated in exclamation points - !!! in a red circle means call the vet immediately, !! in a yellow circle means make an appointment, and a green circle means contact your vet for advice. Suppose your horse has a scrape on his face. You can select “Abrasion or Scrape on Head or Face” and use your observations and the summary information provided to determine if you need to call your vet. This app refers repeatedly to a “Whole Horse Exam” or WHE. “Perform Whole Horse Exam (WHE)” can be found under the “My Skills” category throughout the app and will give you details on what WHE is and how it is performed.
“Vet Diagnostics” lists procedures and services your vet may provide. Let’s say your vet wants to run a blood chemistry panel. The app tells you exactly what a blood chemistry panel is, why your vet might want to use it, the benefits and limitations, possible diagnoses, related diagnostics, and questions to ask your vet. One of the features I find very helpful is the “Cost Category” which gives you a good idea of the price range you can expect for that procedure. $ is under $100; $$ is $100 to $500; $$$ is $500 to $1,000 $$$$ is $1,000 to $2,500; and $$$$$ is over $2,500. Costs will vary, however.
“Vet Diagnoses” provides a list of over 250 possible diagnoses and detailed information about each. Suppose your vet tells you your horse is navicular; you find and select “Navicular Syndrome” from the list and are given a list of synonyms (did you know chronic heel pain is synonymous with navicular syndrome?), symptoms you might observe, treatments your vet might provide, and even information on prognosis.
“Vet Treatments” lists treatments that your vet may provide, and a cost category for each. Let’s say your nice western pleasure show gelding gets a little hock sore and your vet has suggested hyaluronic acid injections. Entering “injection” in the search box and touching Search will bring up a list of results that will be categorized as My Observations, Vet Diagnoses, Vet Treatments, My Skills, and several others. Scrolling down, you find “Joint Injection, Sodium Hyaluronate”. Selecting that gives you a summary of what it is, information about potential side effects, questions to ask your vet, and information about how long it takes to take effect, plus other information including Cost Category.
“My Skills” was a category I found to be very helpful. It can explain everything from how to apply and use a chain shank to how to treat a wound on a difficult horse. Let’s say you want to learn how to put on polo wraps to exercise a horse. It tells you what you need, gives you tips for safety, and walks you through the correct procedure of applying the wraps.
“My Supplies” is a list of items you should have on hand, and how those items can be used. For example, did you know that baby diapers are useful for covering feet that are being treated for wounds or abscesses of the sole? It even explains the different types of feed; under Feed, Senior it tells you that if you have a horse with Cushing’s Disease, insulin resistance, and laminitis that most senior feeds are not a good choice because of their high fat and sugar content. I found myself scrolling through the list and making random choices – I learned a lot that I didn’t know!
The toolbar across the bottom has selections for Home, Quick Reference, My Vets, Classroom, and More Information.
I found the Quick Reference selection to be my favorite of the whole app. For the life of me, I can never remember what the normal ranges are for a horse’s vitals – rectal temperature, heart rate, and respiration. This information is now at your fingertips. And it also gives you that information for a newborn foal. More vitals? How about capillary refill time for gums (1-2 seconds)? Hydration status (skin pinch), normal feel of the feet and hooves, and even how much hay and water a horse requires per day (and how much poop and pee should be coming out the other end).
Perhaps one of the best features of this app is Videos under the Quick Reference category. Remember the WHE, or Whole Horse Exam? They have a video that shows and explains the whole process. Want to know the proper way to give an intramuscular injection? Watch the video.
“My Vets” is where you can enter information about veterinarians and other service providers you may need. You can phone your vet in an emergency from within this app with just a couple of touches, making it so convenient when you are stressed and in a hurry.
“Classroom” was fun. It tests your knowledge of equine health basics. They will be adding more quizzes and interactive tools in future releases.
“More Info” tells you about the creator of the app and how it should be used. You can rate the app, and even buy it as a gift for a horse-lover on your list. More Info includes the terms of use and the privacy policy, as well as information about the latest update.
Summary: HSVG will help you determine the action that needs to be taken from the moment you notice a problem with your horse. It contains practical advice, suggested skills, and questions to discuss with your vet. It will help you distinguish between emergency and non-emergency situations. It contains dozens of high quality instructional videos and other media designed to help you become an active participant in maintaining your horse’s health. HSVG is not designed to be a simple decision tree that leads you to a specific answer; it is not a substitute for a veterinarian.
My rating: ***** (5 stars)
This is a no-brainer, absolute must-buy app! It is a bargain at $4.99. Not only will it be useful in assessing an urgent situation with your horse, but the videos are awesome and the app will provide good reading anytime!
The cost of the app from the App Store is $4.99. It is currently available for iPhone and will soon be available for Android. For more information, see their website at http://horsesidevetguide.com/. You can follow them on Facebook at Horse Side Vet Guide.