Severe metabolic acidemia, hypoglycemia, and sepsis in a 3-week-old Quarter Horse foal

Fluid therapy is a critically important aspect of supportive care for horses with a variety of medical and surgical disorders. With the development of systems facilitating administration of large volumes of intravenous fluids, intravenous fluid therapy has become a standard treatment in equine veterinary hospitals. This primer was written to help students, technicians, and equine veterinarians develop a basic working knowledge of fluid and electrolyte balance, understand the losses accompanying disorders leading to dehydration, and learn the approach to fluid therapy. It is not meant to be a detailed review of the literature, and therefore supporting references are not provided.