Anyone ever known a horse go senile?

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emmaln

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Hi guys, i just wondered if anyone had ever known a horse to go senile? My 19 yr old ex racer has always been slightly neurotic and at times behaves quite oddly, however lately she seems to be getting stranger i am also fairly convinced she has a headache a lot of the time, she has regular Reiki and chiropractor sessions and has been given the all clear from the vet so don't know what to think or do really!
 
I haven't in horses, but I have had cats affected.

I guess every mammalian brain can suffer a similar disease although I've never read about it... although a quick Google just now bought up several sites.

I think maybe that horses would succumb to something else before senility in the wild, so I'm not sure how widely the condition is known about or documented.

Not much of a helpful post, I'm afraid but I hope you find some answers....
 
Thanks kate, yeah my old dog went senile but as you say never heard about it in horses! She keeps just randomly galloping a couple of strides then going back to grazing and she'll decide to lunge herself in trot then she'll stop and its like she looks confused, a friend of mine said she saw her almost flop down in the field for a sleep! She seems ok in every other way!
 
A friend of mine had a lovely ex-racehorse and in his early 20s he seemed to lose the plot totally. He was always a bit neurotic and would get his knickers in a knot relatively easily, but apparently he suddenly started pacing around the gateway if he was turned out, or pace around his stable if they kept him in. If he was ridden he would suddenly take off blindly to the point where there was no way he was safe to ride. She eventually opted to have him PTS as she felt he had absolutely no quality of life any more as he was obviously so stressed, but interestingly, the vet said he had known other ex-racers go exactly the same way. He said it was as if they had had a nervous breakdown.
 
Yes, I have seen this. My lovely old eventing horse went batty about a year before he died and he became dangerous and unpredictable. He had to be put down because one day he had a seizure and collapsed with his eyes rolling. Luckily I was there when it happened, so was able to get the vet immediately. Poor boy. He was about 24 when he had to be PTS

And there is an old TB on our yard, who is starting to act very odd at times, and is moodier than ever before.
 
Horses do get brain tumours. It is quite rare, fortunately and shows up with a gradual change in behaviour. I don't think they go senile as such, just get old and frail.
 
My elderly shetland would be boarderline senile I think. She wonders around the garden and yard in her own world and then will suddenly spot you and start calling like she has never seen you before after being fussed 5 minutes earlier.. Same thing with her companion. The other day she was letting the dog lick her face when in the past wouldn't let it near her. On the other hand maybe she can't see very well...
 
I was talking about this the other day!
My 33 yr old, that I've had for 29 years appeared not to recognise me at all - flighty trot, tail in air, snorting, coming towards me then shooting off. All very strange. Particularly odd as he's always been a very friendly horse and likes nothing better than a fuss, even from a complete stranger.
Next day back to normal.
 
We had a 34 year old pony put to sleep after she had a stroke. We think she had a minor stroke before that too, she would walk in from the field to her stable, the same place she had lived for 15 years, and walk straight past the stable and then stop. Obviously completely lost.

It was heart breaking! She did it every day for ~ 10 days, then she collapsed in the field and gave up. We had to have her PTS then. Very sad. But they let you know when they've had enough, don't they.
 
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