There are a few areas on the body that provide important information regarding the state of a horse's circulatory health. These areas include the gums, the pink membrane inside the nostril, the whites of the eyes, and the pink inner vulvar membranes of mares. That said, the simple act of evaluating the color of your horse's gums is actually a very important skill.

This holds true in foals as well. Foals are delicate and any abnormality needs to be taken seriously and acted upon promptly. Normal foal mucous membranes should be moist, bright pink, and with a rapid capillary refill time (less than 2 seconds).

Foals that have obviously yellow mucous membranes may have liver disease or neonatal isoerythrolysis. Foals that have dark red mucous membranes may have sepsis. Foals with cold extremities and clammy, cold and pale mucous membranes are probably in shock. Foals in abdominal pain (colic) tend to have white or pale mucous membranes.