Time to put horse down?

From: Mark Sobania

Thanks for your column, I enjoy knowing that I am not the only one having some of the problems that I read about.

The question I have is concerning a 26 year old Arab that I took in for a friend. He has been losing weight for the past two months (that would be the horse). So I have taken the horse in with the hope of being around other horses that the condition would not be loneliness. After having him checked out for parasites, having his teeth floated, and numerous blood tests, he seems to be a healthy horse except he won't eat. Thus he has loose stools and he is losing weight by the day. I've tried different grains, food for seniors, etc. but he won't eat. I have tried clover hay, alfalfa hay, meadow hay but still no luck. I am at the end of my ideas. I am considering having him put down because he is getting very weak. I think he may have just given up living. Whatever I decide to do has to be very soon, he is getting to the point of suffering with so much effort just to stand. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, even if you suggest putting him down.

Thanks again,

Mark J. Sobania

I'm sorry to hear about this horse... and I think that what you need to do, NOW, is get your vet out to the barn and have him evaluate this horse's condition. It may, indeed, be time to put this horse down.

In case your vet does NOT think this, and for the benefit of other horse-sense subscribers with very old horses, let me say a few things:

First, 26 is old, there's no question about it. In this horse's case, it sounds as though he has an ideal home now, and that you are doing just about everything possible to make him comfortable. Checking for parasites, checking the teeth, doing bloodwork -- these are all the things that I would suggest if you hadn't already done them.

Even a horse on a regular de-worming schedule can have damage from parasites -- either previous damage from long ago, or from a current infestation problem. Even a fecal check won't reveal the whole truth -- horses can be infested with larvae without eggs appearing in fecal matter.

Old horses have more difficulty chewing and digesting their food. Some do better on pellets, and there are pellets formulated especially for old horses, with extra fat added. Sometimes you can get them more interested in eating by adding extra protein to their diet; sometimes you can put some weight on them by adding fat (which is very easy to digest) to their diet, in the form of oil. Most horses will get interested if you offer them Calf Manna!

Loose stools can have a number of causes, including a lack of beneficial bacteria in the intestine. This horse might benefit from probiotics -- Opt-E-Horse is an excellent product, and horses will eat it willingly.

But there's something else I would want to know, and that is whether this horse is carrying around an intestine that's packed with SAND. A horse that's full of sand will be uncomfortable and lethargic and sad-looking, and have very little appetite. Sand can cause loose stools, and sand will NOT go away on its own. The only way to be absolutely sure how MUCH sand is in the horse would be to have him x-rayed, but that is costly and inconvenient. Ask your vet to recommend a source of psyllium, and a feeding protocol. This is easy and doesn't cost much, and a few weeks of feeding several cups of psyllium twice a day will get rid of a LOT of sand, if sand is the problem.

There are many, many things that could be wrong with this horse -- and whether they can be put right or not is something that only a good vet will be able to help you decide. Ask your vet to evaluate this horse and tell you -- not whether the horse should be put down, because that decision is up to you and the horse's owner -- but what HE would do if this were HIS horse, or his daughter's horse. You'll get a thoughtful answer, and if the vet agrees that the horse is suffering, and feels that there's no point in causing -- or allowing -- the horse to suffer longer, then putting the horse down will be the right thing to do.

Please let me know what happens! And, for what it's worth, you've done a wonderful job with this horse, you've thought of and done just about everything that you could possibly think of and do -- the horse could NOT have been in a better situation.

Jessica

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Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE is a free, subscriber-supported electronic Q&A email newsletter which deals with all aspects of horses, their management, riding, and training. For more information, please visit www.horse-sense.org

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