Hexx
Well-Known Member
My boy has been diagnosed with arthritis in the neck today - it is affecting 4-5 vertebrae and is causing some compression of the spinal cord.
He had a bit of a funny turn yesterday and fell over as I was turning him around - vet thinks the spinal cord was probably compressed as I turned and he lost feeling in his legs. Was extremely scary! Anyway, luckily he was not too still today and walked out OK.
He has also recently been diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease for which he is being treated - but it means he is off his food, particularly hay/haylage. He's eating hard feed and readi grass quite happily. I am in a bit of a quandary about how to feed him. I am wondering whether I should feed off the floor to ease his neck a little, or should I stay with everything on the floor to encourage him to flex.
He's being fed off the floor at the moment, sometimes it takes him a little while to get down to the food, but he always gets there and once there tucks in, if its something he likes. He alternates between wanting to eat hay/haylage from a net, then he wants it on the floor, then in a bucket - a the moment I am just pandering to his needs, as long as he eats it he can have it where he wants!
Does anyone have any advice about how to manage this? What did you do about feeding?
Thanks.
He had a bit of a funny turn yesterday and fell over as I was turning him around - vet thinks the spinal cord was probably compressed as I turned and he lost feeling in his legs. Was extremely scary! Anyway, luckily he was not too still today and walked out OK.
He has also recently been diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease for which he is being treated - but it means he is off his food, particularly hay/haylage. He's eating hard feed and readi grass quite happily. I am in a bit of a quandary about how to feed him. I am wondering whether I should feed off the floor to ease his neck a little, or should I stay with everything on the floor to encourage him to flex.
He's being fed off the floor at the moment, sometimes it takes him a little while to get down to the food, but he always gets there and once there tucks in, if its something he likes. He alternates between wanting to eat hay/haylage from a net, then he wants it on the floor, then in a bucket - a the moment I am just pandering to his needs, as long as he eats it he can have it where he wants!
Does anyone have any advice about how to manage this? What did you do about feeding?
Thanks.