What IS an “Equine Elder?”

After working past the annoyance of removing a number of overnight “spam” comments, it became obvious that many people have no idea what this blog is about. Or maybe they don’t care and are posting on any and every site that receives hits in searches for “elder,””senior,” or geriatric.”

So, to begin, what is “equine?”

equine e·quine (ē'kwīn', ěk'wīn') adj.
1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a horse.
2. Of or belonging to
the family Equidae, which includes the horses, asses, and
zebras.

While Traveller’s Rest is not equipped to handle zebra or a few other species, we welcome horses, ponies, donkeys and all hybrids thereof.

Next, what does “Elder” mean?

That’s a more subjective definition. Some people consider a horse to be “aged” when it passes the ten year mark. In TREES terms, ten year old horses are still babies. As a matter of fact, in the TREES herd, twenty year olds are thought of as “whippersnappers.” Mid to late twenties and early thirties = Middle Age. The true elders are those approaching their mid-thirties and beyond.

Now back to the spam often posted in the blog comments:

Most recently we received several ads for handbags. Gucci handbags. Dior handbags. Miu handbags. Calvin Klein handbags. You name it. We’re picturing Emma and Betty sashaying around the field with designer bags hanging from their shoulders.

We also get advertisements for vacation cruises. The visuals here are more than a little funny. Wade, with his Bermuda shorts, Hawaiian shirt, white socks and sandals, accompanied by Marye in an enormous flowered hat and one-piece skirted bathing suit.

Then there is the costume jewelry. Delphi, sporting strands and strand of giant pearls as she naps in the sun on the poop deck.

Of course, there are ads for Viagra. We don’t even want to go there.

And so, while we welcome comments related to elder horses, Traveller’s Rest, or horse care in general, don’t be alarmed to see a number of “post deleted” notes. There are merely remnants of an entrepreneurial faux pas, entered by an enthusiastic business owner who didn’t know he was directing his advertising to Equine Elders.

MJM Photography Gives Back

This weekend, TREES welcomed Molly Peterson, a Culpeper photographer recently arrived from Colorado. Welcome to Virginia, Molly!

Molly and MJM Photography have committed to donate a portion of each sitting fee to a charity of her clients' choosing. If you don't have a favorite cause, Molly lists a few of her favorites from which to choose. Traveller's Rest is honored to be among those causes.

Please visit MJM Photography and the Giving Back page (in the This 'n That section) for more information on The Beauty of Giving.

See some of the photos Molly took at TREES here.

Heart Infections

We wanted to share this article from thehorse.com since one of our residents was very recently treated for endocarditis. Fitz' heart infection is believed to be a complication of badly infected teeth and long-standing periodontal disease.

Important points to note:

"Relatively rare in horses, endocarditis develops from bacteria circulating in the blood secondary to a primary infection elsewhere in the body."

"Early detection is key in treating endocarditis, which requires high doses of antibiotics for four to six weeks. However, prevention is the best plan, according to Porter. "The only way to protect your horse from endocarditis is to treat primary infections quickly and with the appropriate treatment," she said."

The Horse: Heart Infections More Common Among Young Horses

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Emma's Feeling Neglected

Its come to our attention that Emma has not appeared in this blog much unless she happened to be in the background of another picture.

So here she is!

Emma, to the best of our knowledge, is approximately 30 years old. Pretty good for an ol' Thoroughbred mare, eh? She doesn't have much left in the way of teeth, so eats four mush meals a day. She can't eat hay at all, but loves making quids and showing them to all who visit.

She carries her quids with her, waggles them up and down, twirls them in circles, sometimes finally launching one at a passerby. She thinks she's quite the comedienne.

Lest you think Emma is only known for her Quid Art, think again. Emma is the farm Sweetheart, appealing to visitors and resident geldings alike.

If you'll be in the Spotsylvania area, give us a call. Emma would love to meet you and introduce you to her herdmates. 540-972-0936 or info@equineelders.org

It might be minor, but assume its major.

There is a theory that horses are more prone to colic in winter. Another says that colic is more likely during dramatic changes in weather. Yet a third implies that elderly horses are more likely to colic than younger horses. Put all those theories together and we should have had a disastrous winter so far. Fortunately, that is not the case. {{tap, tap, tap on wood}}

Yesterday morning, however, we did have a minor episode with Fred Astaire, or Freddie to his friends (and sometimes “Fernando!” on the days he feels the need to display his tail-in-the-air floating gaits.)

Freddie seemed perfectly fine Tuesday night at the 10PM feeding. He finished his senior mash, made a snake-face at Britches, and went off to munch on the night’s hay ration. Normal bedtime routine. At 6AM Wednesday, nothing seemed amiss. The early morning hay snack was welcomed with nickers, though in hindsight perhaps Freddie didn’t eat with his usual enthusiasm.

At 8AM, Freddie was not at his assigned breakfast station. That was not terribly alarming since, every now and then, he makes an attempt to usurp Britches’ position in the breakfast line-up. What was alarming, however, was his reaction when he walked around to his regular position. Freddie looked in his dish and walked away! This is a horse that has never refused a morsel of food in the three and one half years we’ve known him.

After the rest of the herd was fed, another check on Freddie found him standing several yards away from his full breakfast dish, looking just a little “off.” He stood with his head low, eyes squinting. Then he made one small circle, acted as though he might lie down, but resumed his previous stance instead.

That was it. Time to call the vet clinic. Colic is one thing we do not fool around with when it comes to elders. While some colic episodes can resolve themselves, we’d rather have a vet evaluate early. The clinic’s office manager let us know a doctor would be out in about half an hour. We used that time to put Freddie in a small clean paddock so we would know at a glance if he passed any manure, and filled a bucket with warm water in case the vet needed to “tube” him. During this time, Freddie pawed the ground a few times, something he does not normally do and another possible expression of pain.

Upon arrival, Doc B performed a general exam, noting the Freddie’s color was good, his heart rate was normal, he had good gut sounds, and he had no fever. A rectal exam, though, revealed some “doughy” feces in one area of his colon, near the pelvic flexure (where the colon makes a 180-degree turn,) rather than well-formed fecal balls. This might be the problem.

After administering a little sedative and a dose of banamine, Doc inserted a NG tube, first to ensure Freddie had no reflux, though there did seem to be excess gas, then to direct some “maglox” (generic version of Maalox) directly into his stomach. Freddie immediately perked up. Then came the hard part. The waiting. Horses cannot vomit or belch so if things can’t move from front to back, they can’t move at all. Horse owners may be the only people on the planet that pray for poop. Meanwhile, Freddie could not have anything to eat. If there was an impaction, adding more food would make things worse.

Finally, at 5PM on the dot, a beautiful pile of meadow muffins appeared. One portion of the pile appeared softer than normal and was a large sticky ball compared to the normal size and texture. There it was - the “doughy” feces Doc B felt earlier in the day. Another pile at 11PM looked almost normal, but again with a few “doughy” looking, but smaller, balls.

As of this morning, all seems well. Freddie ate a small breakfast with gusto and munched some hay as dessert. Now dozing in the sun, he has no idea how badly he scared us yesterday.

The moral to Freddie’s story is: Know the signs of Colic (pawing the ground, laying down and getting up repeatedly, thrashing or rolling, biting or kicking at the flank, etc.) Perhaps more importantly, know what is normal for YOUR horse. Freddie did not exhibit what might be called “classic” signs of colic, yet he was brewing a potentially urgent condition. If you suspect colic, early veterinary evaluation may mean the difference between a simple resolution and a prolonged, complicated treatment. It may even mean the difference between life and death.

Our "potentially massive" Winter Storm

Not that we're complaining mind you, but the storm that a few days ago was described as "potentially massive" left us with this:

Enough to be pretty, but not enough to cause problems:

Add to the list of "Things We Learned This Winter"......

The size of the storm is inversely proportional to the amount of pre-storm preparation!

What is with this weather??

In several recent posts, we whined about the colder than normal temperatures. Today, though, we hit 60 degrees! What's up with that? One confused honeybee even showed up at afternoon feeds to investigate the feast. We thought the horses might feel a little Spring Fever, but most took advantage of the sun and dozed most of the day. We also learned that even a 60-degree afternoon is not enough to thaw manure piles hard-frozen to the ground in spots that don't get much sun.

Some of our Golden Muck Fork winners (Gene and Carol,) though, got the rest of the farm cleaned up and helped prepare for the next winter storm, forecast to arrive tomorrow night. Stalls and sheds are ready to go, fields and paddocks are clean, a new load of hay was brought in, extra feed will arrive tomorrow and water tanks will be filled to the brim in case of power outages (when you're on a well, no electricity = no pump = no water.)

On another note, a young horse we placed in a wonderful home several years ago had to return to TREES a few days ago. Once we let her settle in, we'll re-evaluate her and see about additional training before making her available for adoption. Crea will be 6 years old this spring. We don't know her breeding. Coming from a "nurse mare farm," she could be almost any combination of breeds. She has been started under saddle according to her last family, but is very green and needs some confidence building.

Thank you to Jorg and Tom, the powerhouse behind White Bird Appaloosa Horse Rescue, for trailering Crea to her current foster home. Many thanks, too, for the clippers (small clippers much appreciated for small jobs. We're still in search of something for full body Cushings coat clips - maybe something comparable to a Clipmaster 610.)

We're were also happy to have Mary Beth stop in and drop off some senior feed on Friday. Please come again when the weather is a little more conducive to a tour and introductions to the residents.