Well I learn something new everyday! Today it is that digital thermometers are inaccurate!! I thought I had moved up by going to a digital over my old mercury thermometer. Never thought to test it for accuracy. I got mine at the discount rack of a box store, bright yellow with a duck head on the end. Easy to spot when laid down I thought! I have replaced the battery once, in the 4-5 years I have had it. The duck cost $2.50 on sale. I keep it in the heated tack room, it is not treated roughly, turns itself off if I forget. I have been pretty happy with it.
We don’t use thermometers much except in spring, while conditioning horses. I use it then to insure horses are cooling internally as well as externally after working them hard.
The only time I doubted the reading was on a chilled horse, with sub-normal temp of 97F. He wasn’t acting “right” when I brought him in It was cold, sleeting outside, so I figured weather colic because he had never acted like this before. Called the Vet to come, then thought I should get a temp to compare to when Vet took his reading after arrival. Holy Cow, 97F!! Ran to get the mercury after same two readings of the digital, with mercury also reading 97F. I started piling on blankets, heated blanket layers on the horse to warm him up. He had gained a degree when Vet took his temp, did treat him with DSS for colic to be on the safe side.
Horse recovered fine, but has since been kept covered with a rainsheet as weather gets cold or wet. No repeat of severe chills, the rainsheet or heavier waterproof blanket holds in body heat, keeps the wind off him. I think DSS treatment kept him from getting colic while his body was dealing with being so badly chilled.
I would get another cheap digital, to keep in the first aid boxes if we need one. I do like the speed they read at, no holding it to the light “just right” to read the numbers. Not going to break and have glass laying about.
