Typical Morning Eldercare Chores

I don't know that there is such a thing as "normal" or "average" at an equine Sanctuary, but this outlines many of the common summer morning chores.

First, of course, is breakfast.  Between 6:00 and 6:15, feed is measured into individual feed tubs according to each Elder's individual needs.  Warm water is added to the feed which is allowed to soak to make a thick "mush."  Breakfast is served at 7:00, with each horse eating in a separate stall, paddock or shed.  Once breakfast is finished and the horses turned out, we:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wash dishes

Since the horses eat "mush" feed tubs get nasty fast and, in warm weather, start to smell bad if not rinsed after meals.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rinse Beau's place mat (a car floor mat he eats on to prevent him from eating dirt when he drops food, then picks it up -- if not rinsed after each meal, the mat is a huge fly party.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remove manure and wet sawdust from stalls and sheds.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rebed stalls and sheds with clean sawdust

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fly Spray

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dampen shed floors to knock down dust

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shower Clara (because, otherwise, she won't go away)

(which of course rinses off aforementioned fly spray and as a bonus attracts a horse fly.)


Clara's shower then leads to this -

and 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay - back to work.
Next...
Pick up manure in small paddocks and dry lots (the rest of the fields will be cleaned up this evening when the temperature starts to come down.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dump collected manure and dirty bedding in manure spreader

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally, clean and refill water tanks and buckets

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, the residents are all doing this:

 Mona

 Lizzie

 Beau

As it should be.
They served us, now we serve them.

Drastic Measures?

No, necessary measures.

Two years ago, when we first heard of Fitz, then 25 years old, he was living in Maryland and looking for a place to go. He hadn't had any dental attention for some time and his pictures showed he was a little thin.  TREES arranged for an equine dental technician, accompanied by a veterinarian, to examine Fitz' teeth, thinking that if he had his dental issues addressed he would gain weight more easily and be easier to place in a new home.

Addressing Fitz' dental issues, however, was more easily said than done.    At first glance, it was easy to see one incisor jutting sideways from between his lips.  A few other teeth were loose, periodontal disease was out of control and Fitz whole mouth seemed unstable.  Meredith Barlow, the attending dental technician, called TREES from Fitz' side and asked "just how much dental work does TREES want to cover?"

Uh-oh.  Fitz' immediate needs were to have three teeth extracted: two incisors and one canine.  It was agreed to remove the "sideways" incisor and canine and return for the second incisor and a re-evaluation at a later date.

In the meantime, it was becoming obvious that this would be a very "special needs" horse and not one easily placed in a new home. 

Over the next few weeks, space at the Sanctuary became available and the process to bring Fitz here as a resident began.  Fitz arrived in August 2008.

By November, we were looking at this odd sight:

Fitz' gum was deteriorating, exposing the root of this incisor.  The root itself was covered by what was indentified as a "cementoblast."  Cementum is normal material covering the roots of teeth, but this was cementum gone wild.

At about the same time, we noticed that Fitz was very lethargic, and experienced some respiratory distress with very little physical exertion. 

Off to the vet clinic, where ultrasound found a significant bacterial infection in Fitz' heart.  At the same time, the incisor pictured above was removed, revealing infection in the tooth itself and in the jawbone behind it.   Not uncommon in dogs, cats, and humans, it appeared that the massive infection in Fitz' mouth led to bacteria entering the blood stream and lodging in his heart.

This tooth and one other were extracted, treatment for infection was started, and several other teeth were identifed as abnormal, requiring close monitoring.

Meredith, meanwhile, was finding bits and pieces of information about other horses with dental problems similar to Fitz'.  Then, at an AAEP convention..........PAYDIRT!  We finally had a diagnosis.  Fitz suffered Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis.

As study of the syndrome advanced, most researchers agreed the only way to get ahead of the infections and other complications was to remove all of the horse's incisors.  According to all reports, the patients were immediately more comfortable after having affected teeth removed.

But, that seemed drastic!  As time went on, though, it became obvious that might be our only choice to preserve quality of life. 

Fast forward to July 7, 2010:

We could see that the angle of Fitz' incisors were changing drastically.  During our annual Summer Dentathon, xrays showed that none of the incisors were "viable."   None.

Below, the odd angles and exposed roots are easily noticeable.

Even more obvious at this angle.  Notice the small area of root becoming exposed in the area above the little wad of grass, up toward the lip attachment.

In this photo, again notice the tooth exposed the full length of the root.  Areas of decay of the teeth themselves are also easily seen.

Sedation and a little local anesthesia were administered and nine incisors were removed in less than 25 minutes.  That alone is evidence of how unstable and "unattached" these teeth were..

On this tooth, note the cavities at both ends.  Everything in between was decayed.

This tooth was also decayed from one end to the other and broked apart under very little pressure.

This one was completely hollow!

Here - on the left - is an incisor (not from a TREES horse) with a more normal, tapered, appearance.  Note that Fitz' incisor - on the right - is not tapered at all, due to extra cementum layers.  All nine of the incisors removed had the same "fat" appearance.  It is, in part, this extra cementum that pushes the teeth out of their proper positions in the gum and bone.

Fitz is on Day 6 of a 10-day course of antibiotics.  He is already more comfortable.  Naturally, we'll need to make hay available year 'round since he can no longer graze.  Is that in itself a big relief to him?   He is no longer trying to pull grass with extremely unstable teeth. so it may be.

We don't know what to expect next, but we do believe Fitz, now 27, is past the worst of his problems now. 


Big Big Big thanks to Meredith Barlow for researching this very odd issue and to both Meredith and Dr. Tracy Brown for setting our big bay Thoroughbred on the path to better health!

No Apologies Here.

The previous owner of one of our resident geldings is apparently uphappy that he received a visit from an Animal Control officer shortly after one of his horses was moved to TREES.

In seven years, TREES has asked law enforcement to look into only two situations.  For the most part, we feel owners respond better to advice concerning elder management than to any sort of "threat."  In addition, we don't want to have a reputation with local Animal Control officials as The Boy Who Cried Wolf.

However......when we take in a skinny lame horse, and when a sanctuary respresentative tells us she observed other thin horses on the property, we get concerned.  When a mutual acquaintence says the horse we accepted looked far worse when we got him than when she saw him only a few months before, the concern heightens.  And when, after being offered feeding advice, the owner himself tells us he "has no intention" of doing anything differently for the horse, that tips the cart. 

In this case, the advice was merely to change from a generic whole grain general livestock feed to any pelleted or extruded complete feed that could be softened for a dentally challenged senior.  No recommendations for a "top of the line" formula, just something that this particular horse could actually chew and digest to get some calories into him.

"I have no intention of getting a different feed for this one horse" was the wrong answer.  § 3.2-6570 of the Virginia Code states "A.  Any person who:............(ii) deprives any animal of necessary food, drink, shelter or emergency veterinary treatment;......is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor."  Knowingly giving an animal something he cannot eat seems to be depriving him of food necessary to his survival.

We understand that horse owners run into hard times and sometimes need to ask for help. We do not understand the declaration "I have no intention" of doing anything different.

No apologies here. 

Things Can Go South Fast!

We're going to preach a little  - again - on the importance of frequent dental exams in Equine Elders.  Twice a year is recommended, more often is not overdoing it if your horse is prone to dental problems.

As an example, Freddy, our self-cleaning dancing Arab gelding was examined seven months ago.  With no major problems, he had a few sharp edges and points addressed, with everything functioning pretty well afterward.  He dropped a few quids here and there if given coarse hay, but that was not new, and not alarming at the age of 26.

However....a few days ago, we noticed Freddy having noticeable problems chewing.  He had no other obvious sypmtoms, but since the dentist/vet team was in the area this weekend, we asked them to stop by and take a peek.

On the initial exam, it was noted that Freddy had a bit of a "fat face."  Not any one lump, bump or swelling, just sort of puffy all over.  A quick look at his teeth didn't bring up anything obvious, except that he seemed to be biting his cheeks because of the edema in the tissues.

Next up: x-rays.  And there is was.   A tooth infection that had moved into his sinus.  Alarmingly, three other teeth looked like they were headed in the same direction.  They had to come out.

Here, Freddy receives a "nerve block," both to keep him comfortable during the extraction and to prepare for flushing the sinus to knock out the infection.

The tooth causing the biggest problem is removed first.

Because there was very little of the roots left, all four teeth came out easily, with little discomfort to the patient.  Here are two of the four teeth removed.  The larger tooth on the left was the one causing the sinus infection.

Next, the sinus cavity itself was flushed out, to be followed up with two weeks of antibiotics. 

With that, Freddy should be good as new!  He may have fewer teeth, but he'll have fewer health problems and less discomfort as well.

Infections, abscesses and dental-related sinus problems are not at all uncommon in older horses.  Nip them in the bud.  Watch for any signs of chewing difficulty, and schedule exams earlier rather than later.

Guess What We Did Today

Just Kidding! While we did begin a weekend Dentathon today, there is much more to equine dental care than brushing.

First, a thorough exam, checking for sharp points, hooks, ramps, loose or decayed teeth, gum disease and watching for any pain reaction from the horse. (Brushing helps remove grass or feed between the incisors so all surfaces of the teeth are visible for evaluation.)

Our first patient, Jubal, had two very loose teeth and areas of tartar build up (indicated by black arrow below.)
Below, the dentist explains why this tooth with decayed roots was very loose and needed to be removed. Jubal was already missing several teeth before today, but regular checkups are still important to detect problems like decay or fractures, or to correct sharp edges that may cut the cheek, tongue or gums.

Finally, the remaining healthy teeth are hand floated to remove sharp edges and make chewing action more efficient.

New Arrival - Meet Lizzie!

Lizzie arrived the evening of May 6, 2009. We don't know much about her yet, but we can say there is not a thing wrong with her appetite! We'll start out feeding Lizzie small, frequent meals and limiting her turnout to avoid "refeeding syndrome"

Even a small donation will help TREES provide Lizzie and other horses like her the senior diet, and the dental, farrier, and veterinary care necessary to restore good health and offer happy, healthy Golden Years. If you would like to meet Lizzie and her herdmates at TREES, please give us a call at 540-972-0936, or email info@equineelders.org

Manurology 101 - roughage

What can your horse's manure tell you about his diet?

In this case, it may tell you whether or not your horse is consuming enough roughage.

Any changes in manure consistency, color, smell, or amounts should be discussed with your horse's veterinarian. If no obvious reason for the change is found, you may want to look at roughage consumption as a cause, especially if your horse is dentally challenged.

Even though most senior feeds are high in "fiber," that fiber may not be a suitable substitute for roughage. Think of it as the difference between Metamucil powder and green beans. Both provide bulk, but of different consistencies. The "long fibers" in roughage provide mechanical benefit in the gut, keeping things moving along at an appropriate pace - not too slow, not too fast - and can help improve digestive efficiency and reduce risk of colic.

Our first Manurology photo shows a normal pile. Nice firm fecal balls, well separated, not too dry, but not overly wet or sticky.

Here, the fecal "balls" are becoming flattened and more sticky. This horse may be showing a slight roughage deficiency.

As roughage intake decreases, we see fewer distinct "balls" and more large "doughy" portions.

And here, subtle suggestions of individual segments, but mostly "doughy" feces. This horse is definitely not getting enough long fiber.

And finally......"cow pies." These piles came from horses unable to consume any grass or hay at all. This is what we see when functionally toothless horses are fed exclusively senior mash.

In a worst case scenario, a horse getting no real roughage can develop projectile diarrhea, and begin to lose condition very quickly.

To combat the inability to chew grass or hay, these horses may be offered a substitute such as well soaked forage cubes, in moderate portions, several times a day. Many do very well on these "processed" roughages and can return to normal or near normal manure production, a sign of a more normally functioning digestive system.

If you give soaked forages a try, remember to soak and serve only what the horse can easily consume in one meal. Soaked forages can spoil quickly during warm weather and will freeze solid in winter. At TREES, we soak alfalfa or timothy/alfalfa cubes in hot water for 30-60 minutes, then "squish" them with our hands to make sure no hard portions remain.

Dental Doin's at Traveller's Rest

Here are a few photos from a recent equine elder Dentathon. Not everyone was seen that day, but Denathon the Sequel is scheduled for next week. Keep in mind that elder horses need more frequent dental exams than their younger counterparts. Teeth wear more quickly as the hard layer of enamel disappears. Faster wear at increasingly sharper angles may mean more extreme points or hooks. Roots begin to decay, leading to loose teeth or possible infection. Some teeth may crack or fracture. Seniors should be examined every six months rather than once a year.

The first photo shows a tooth (right arrow) that became sharp enough to cut into the inside of the cheek (left arrow)

Below, a speculum is used to hold the mouth open during a "power float," while the head rests on a head stand:

A better view of the head stand:

Some dental practitioners prefer a harness, hung from a rafter or door frame to hold the head in place:

Be sure your dentist disinfects his or her tools between horses. You expect your dentist to do the same between patients, don't you?

Keeping elders comfortable often depends on good dental health. Schedule that six-month appointment soon!

In Search Of Hay for toothless wonders!

Searching for second/third cutting grass hay for dentally challenged senior horses. If you still have some or know of a supplier with some for sale, please call or email Traveller's Rest Equine Elders Sanctuary, 540-972-0936 or info@equineelders.org Needed in Spotsylvania, VA 22553

//