Ancient horse with bad murmur...symptoms that the end might be coming?

catembi

catembi

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My old pony mare is a TBx by Shelley's Boy, & she's 37. She's been in the family since the age of 3.

She's had a heart murmur since the age of 26 & has been on pergolide for Cushings for around 18 months. She's been more or less retired apart from hacking since 29 when she did a tendon, but up until recently has been happily pottering around the field, running away if I need to catch her, kicking the gate for food etc.

She didn't come all the way over for her dinner last night or for her breakfast this morning, & I've just been to feed & she was standing 50m away by the school & didn't come over when I put hay out. I went up to her & she neighed hello, then I tried to get her moving by tugging her rugs & she wouldn't, so I went behind & shooed her, & she started trundling along.

She still stopped short of the gate/usual feeding area, so I took her food over & she did start eating it.

Last time she had a pergolide check, about 3 months ago, the vet said that the heart murmur had got a lot worse, but due to her age there's not a lot that can be done.

Is this a sign of her heart giving up or is it just general old age? Any ideas appreciated.
 
I'm sorry I can't help ....

I'd just like to say well done you for getting her to 37 and what a sad, sad day it will be when she is no more
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.

I hope it isn't the beginning of the end.
 
She is trying to tell you something, and sadly you need to listen to what she is trying to say.
In a nut shell she is worn out. Like with humans, things stop working as well as they should, and add to that wear and tear on joints, organs etc, it sounds like you may have a tough decision to make rather soon.
Been said before on many an occasion, better a week to soon than a day too late.
But what a much loved girl to have had the same home for over 30 years.
 
WOW what an age! Well done you on looking after her for so long.
Sadly, I don't think this winter weather is doing any favours for the oldies. I agree with joeanne, I think she is trying to tell you something too. She is the equivalent of a 185 year old human! (horse age x 5 - is that right???). Its always a sad fact that we as humans out live our pets, who are also are best friends. (unless of course anyone keeps an elephant!)
I think you will have to be very brave and you will require many many ((Hugs)).
 
I think it's 3 x for horses, which would make her a sprightly 111...

I will keep a close eye on her... She lives at home so it's not hard to do. She had a phase a good few months ago of staring into space & being rooted to the spot, but she snapped out of it after a couple of days & went back to her usual self.

My grandad was a farmer & she was bred by the farmer next door. He bought her as a 3 yo (£200 in 1976) so I'd have something bigger to go onto... I was actually used as the crash test dummy to back her when I was 5 or 6 as grandad wanted someone light...
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I thought it was brilliant but my mum nearly had kittens when she found out...
 
Dearest Catembi,...what a worry for you....your mare sounds lovely & a special girl. My boy is a young whipper snapper in comparison at 20 & he has two leaking valves, he still looks fantastic and doesn't think anything is wrong, he has his next scan/ ecg in April. The tell tale signs the vets have told me to look out for are increased heart beat & lack of appetite. Even though that sounds very simplistic she said I will know when the time has come. I'm sorry....upon reflection I don't think I'm helping much! I can however appreciate the pain we suffer wishing our equines would be with us forever. Hugs to you & your girl....sorry if this has come out all wrong!! Lots of love Sal & Mac xxxx
 
Catembi - pretty much as others have said, sadly. I've had to ask myself this question many times for about 6 cats, my gorgeous cocker spaniel and 1 horse and it never gets any easier. I try to ask myself, if they could speak, what would they say? Would your old ponio say: mum, for god's sake go and get me my tea and stop faffing about, I'm fine, just a bit creaky. Or would she say: mum, I don't know what's happening to me - I hurt all the time and sometimes my legs won't work and it frightens me - and I just want to lay down and go to sleep. What do you think she's saying to you? You know her better than any vet or well wisher. Thinking of you hun x
 
Well, we were back to normal this morning... I usually put hay out, then collect buckets, then put hard feed out, & she'd come over before I'd finished collecting buckets. Walked the dog for a good hour & she was still eating hay when we got back.

She had the dentist on Thurs & apparently she still has all her teeth & none of them are loose, so she can still eat hard feed & hay. In fact, she's actually v greedy normally.

Oh well, maybe it was just another of her little episodes. Box_of_Frogs, atm I do think she's telling me that she's okay. Not much longer to go til Spring, & maybe some Spring grass & a bit of sun on her back will help. I will continue to monitor cos I don't want the old girl to struggle on if she doesn't want to.

Thank you everyone!
 
It's really difficult to assess a horse without seeing it. Horses have off days and that doesn't necessarily mean it's the end of the road just because they are old. Welfare wise if she is doing normal horse things, mooching around comfortably, grazing etc, then I wouldn't be rushing to make a decision if I were you.

Weight is a great indicator in old horses, and if her heart function starts to decline weightloss is probably one of the fisrst things you'll notice. Other signs are coughing, oedema, increased resting pulse rate, and a pulse that is visible up jugular groove when her neck is in a normal upright position.
 
Awhh i'm glad she is feeling back to normal for now. Old ponies are a constant worry, my golden oldie is 34 and hes been mine for nearly 30 yrs. He has a slight heart murmur and a few days ago went off his feed but thankfully it must have been an off day cause hes munching away happily again. Wow i am very impressed she has all her teeth!! My boy has none at the front and only 12 molars but still tucks into his hard feed and hay replacer. At the beginning of winter my vet said he would probably lose loads of condition but when she was out the other day she was glad to be proved wrong. Roll on the spring!
 
If it helps, my 27 year old likes to zone out. On Saturday evening I went to call her in. She turned and looked at me, so I called her again. She looked around to see if I could possibly be calling someone else, then carried on watching me. I had to walk half way out to her in the end before she cottoned on and came to meet me. She always has a snooze around 5pm and I think she was just half asleep when I arrived. Her brain was obviously idling in neutral!
 
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