A routine wellness check for a Mustang covers the same ground as any horse's annual exam, with two differences: many Mustangs arrive with no written health history at all, and a recently gathered horse may still be learning that people approaching with equipment means no harm. A good vet works at the horse's pace, gathers baseline numbers that future visits can be compared against, and leaves you with a plan for teeth, feet, parasites, and protection matched to how your Mustang actually lives — in a herd on acreage, in a boarding barn, or somewhere between.
Body condition and the vital signs of a hardy horse
The visit usually starts with a weight tape and a hands-on body condition score, feeling over the ribs, withers, and tailhead rather than trusting the eye. Mustangs are famously efficient keepers, bred by survival to gain on sparse forage, so a cresty neck and fat pads behind the shoulder are common findings in domestic life and worth an honest conversation about grazing and muzzling. The vet takes temperature, pulse, and respiration, listens to gut sounds in all four quadrants, and checks gum color and refill. Those numbers become this horse's normal, which matters because a wild-bred horse often hides discomfort until it is advanced.
Teeth and mouth on a Mustang of unknown history
The vet opens the mouth or uses a speculum to check how the teeth meet, looking for sharp enamel points, hooks, loose or missing teeth, and signs the horse is chewing unevenly. On a Mustang gathered as an adult, this may be the first real look anyone has taken, and the teeth also help confirm age when paperwork is thin. Dropped feed, head tossing under the bit, and slow hay consumption at home all belong in this conversation. If the chewing surfaces need smoothing, that work is scheduled rather than rushed, especially for a horse still building trust in handling.
Hooves, legs, and the trot-up
Mustang feet are a point of pride, and the vet still checks them properly: hoof wall quality, heel balance, sole thickness, and how the horse wears each foot. Palpation runs down each leg for heat, filling, or old scars, and the horse is walked and trotted in hand, ideally on a firm surface, so the vet can watch for uneven steps or a shortened stride. A horse who lived on open range may move beautifully and still carry an old injury that only shows at the trot. Flexion of a joint may follow if something looks off, but a sound Mustang often needs nothing beyond observation.
Parasites, protection, and questions to bring
Expect a review of deworming based on a fecal sample rather than a fixed calendar, since Mustang herds and domestic pastures carry different parasite pressure, and over-treating breeds resistance. Vaccination needs are set by geography and lifestyle: a Mustang traveling to shows or boarding among many horses needs broader protection than one living in a closed herd at home. The vet also checks eyes, skin, and any freeze brand for changes, and asks about appetite, water intake, manure, and herd dynamics. Keeping the exam notes, fecal results, and dental findings together in a KinsLe Pet Passport gives a Mustang who arrived with no paperwork a documented health record that travels with him to every future vet, farrier, or home.