I’ve been given a stethoscope by a friend who’s a naturopathic doctor and knows how to use them on humans, but wanted some tips on how to use them on a horse. I’ve looked up information on-line, and it appears relatively straightforward. But when I try it out on the actual horse, all I pick up are gut sounds. That’s important to hear, but I can’t find a heart beat or anything that sounds like lungs. Horse is healthy and breathing 
so clearly it’s my technique.
Next time your vet is out ask for a demo.
Otherwise I put the scope right behind the elbow on the left side, press right on the ribcage & you should hear the usual lubdub < as the video says it’s pretty quiet:
This video from the University of MN equine extension program covers all vital signs, you can forward to about the 4 minute mark if you want to skip the other portions.
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Silly tip, and you probably already know this, but the mistake is so common it’s worth mentioning even for someone else- make sure you have the earpieces facing the correct direction! If the ear pieces are angled, they should be angled forward so the sound is directed into your ear canal… not backwards like how you see TV doctors use them. 
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If you have access to a horse that is on the skinnier side, I would start with that. The heart is significantly easier to hear on horses with less fat on them.
As Texarkana mentioned, make sure the earpieces are facing forward. This makes a huge difference.
If your stethoscope has a diaphragm and a bell, make sure it is turned to the diaphragm (wider section) and use that part of the stethoscope.
Make sure you are listening on the left side of the horse (you can hear the heart on the right side, but it is harder). Move the left foot so it is slightly in front of the horse, which gets the elbow out of the way so you can get underneath the elbow/triceps. Most of the time, when people can’t hear the heart, I find they are listening too far back. Move it up and down in the general vicinity until you hear a lub-dub.
I would not worry about lung sounds. They are not super easy to interpret unless you have listened to a lot of horse lungs, and often abnormal sounds do not stand out easily unless the horse is very heave-y (which is why re-breathing exams are performed). Instead, I would learn to listen for gut sounds in the 4 quadrants and learn what is normal.
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This is kind of embarrassing, but I find it mucho easier to listen to gut sounds my putting my ear on the horse. I have a couple really nice scopes, but still just put my head on the horse.
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You may need to slide the stethoscope up into the left armpit.
Also, when learning, it helps to listen to a horse which has just been exercising.
Thanks for all the tips! I was worried Ghazzu was going to tell me I had to go back to school and get a whole new degree for this!
I can hear lots of gut sounds with my ear on her flank. But interestingly, when the vet was out for our colic a couple weeks back, I couldn’t hear anything that way. Yet the vet with her stethoscope said things were moving within the normal range and not to be too worried.
I was embarrassed too when my vet told me to get a stethoscope so when I called in, I could give the HR (along with temp) and yes, he showed me how and where and STILL took me a while to find the “sweet spot.” Definitely easier on one which has been exercising at first (and great point about moving that leg forward) but also good to get a sense of your horse’s “baseline”. My old guy was reliably in the 36 range, so if he was in the 40s, the vets were attentive. As I remember, if you want to hear a faster heart rate, take it right after Buscapan!
But yes, it was easier to have my vet show me and keep practicing on my own! I’d probably still be out there (here? here? maybe here? no, HERE!) looking for it! And yes, have your cell phone (stop watch/whatever) ready (ask me how I know!) so you can start when you find the spot and not have to fumble with it!!!
I’m so glad I’m not alone! My sister gave me a stethoscope for my birthday in my vet kit once. I was so excited, until I went to try it, and couldn’t find it, ever. I’ve come to the conclusion that my horse has no heart LOL! I can NEVER find it, everyone else can, I can’t.
