Yesterday I had the vet out. Both horses looked very nervous as she walked over with needles in hand. I could almost hear Sofies sigh of relief as the vet walked past her to Tonto.
Poor old Mr T. He is just not keeping his weight and sometimes he looks withdrawn in the field - standing with his head lowered. The old joints are clearly not great - he turns like the titanic, the back legs have to do an awful shuffle to get round. I am feeding him a huge amount of feed, but he just keeps getting thinner. Last year he tested borderline positive for cushions disease - a hormone regulation problem common in older horses. He is now displaying more signs of the illness. I wanted to get him checked for cushions and help medicate his stiff joints yesterday - hence the vet.
Alas, the vet was in no way successful. First port of call was to take his blood for a health check. Tonto was an absolute saint about it - but the vet could not get any blood out of him. After 6 attempts I told the vet to stop - it wasn't fair on tonto. By this point Tont's was pretty fed up. He - like most boys - is pretty needle phobic so this is quite traumatic for him. The vet decided to give him the catrophen shot in the bum instead of the neck. It was the final straw for Mr T and he lost his temper. Luckily his legs are too stiff to give a vicious cow kick and eventually she did manage to give him the shot.
The vet was then so flustered by her lack of success we couldn't' really have a meaningful conversation about his pain management. She basically said call me back in Autumn for a cushions test. Not helpful when I think he needs help now. Still, we will see what the catrophen does, and if he does not pick up on that I might try and get his hocks injected. In the mean time I will feed him as if he was a cushions horse.
When I gave him his dinner he didn't eat it all. After 20 mins of munching he gave up and left it. Now I am really worried. I wonder how often he does not finish his feed? the bucket is always empty but I suspect Sof will hoover up any leftovers in the field. This would explain why I have one increasingly fat horse and one getting thinner. I have asked for the yard to reduce Tontos feed but to move the ponies to a field with more grass. Really I should split them so that Sof has a restricted diet and Tonto gets more food, but Tonto is taking so much solace from Sofie, and is a nice quite companion for her I am reluctant to separate them just now.
It is tough caring for an elderly animal. I would give my right arm to make Tonto better. Alas there is no cure for old age, and the inevitable terrible decline in latter years. All I can do is make him as comfortable as possible, and love him to the very end.
Poor old Mr T. He is just not keeping his weight and sometimes he looks withdrawn in the field - standing with his head lowered. The old joints are clearly not great - he turns like the titanic, the back legs have to do an awful shuffle to get round. I am feeding him a huge amount of feed, but he just keeps getting thinner. Last year he tested borderline positive for cushions disease - a hormone regulation problem common in older horses. He is now displaying more signs of the illness. I wanted to get him checked for cushions and help medicate his stiff joints yesterday - hence the vet.
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| skinny Mr T |
Alas, the vet was in no way successful. First port of call was to take his blood for a health check. Tonto was an absolute saint about it - but the vet could not get any blood out of him. After 6 attempts I told the vet to stop - it wasn't fair on tonto. By this point Tont's was pretty fed up. He - like most boys - is pretty needle phobic so this is quite traumatic for him. The vet decided to give him the catrophen shot in the bum instead of the neck. It was the final straw for Mr T and he lost his temper. Luckily his legs are too stiff to give a vicious cow kick and eventually she did manage to give him the shot.
The vet was then so flustered by her lack of success we couldn't' really have a meaningful conversation about his pain management. She basically said call me back in Autumn for a cushions test. Not helpful when I think he needs help now. Still, we will see what the catrophen does, and if he does not pick up on that I might try and get his hocks injected. In the mean time I will feed him as if he was a cushions horse.
When I gave him his dinner he didn't eat it all. After 20 mins of munching he gave up and left it. Now I am really worried. I wonder how often he does not finish his feed? the bucket is always empty but I suspect Sof will hoover up any leftovers in the field. This would explain why I have one increasingly fat horse and one getting thinner. I have asked for the yard to reduce Tontos feed but to move the ponies to a field with more grass. Really I should split them so that Sof has a restricted diet and Tonto gets more food, but Tonto is taking so much solace from Sofie, and is a nice quite companion for her I am reluctant to separate them just now.
It is tough caring for an elderly animal. I would give my right arm to make Tonto better. Alas there is no cure for old age, and the inevitable terrible decline in latter years. All I can do is make him as comfortable as possible, and love him to the very end.
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