Hedge_pig
Well-Known Member
Hi all, I haven’t posted here for a good few years but could really use some outside views as I don’t have very many horse people I can talk this through with in real life. Sorry it’s long!
I’ve got two horses, both non-ridden 19 year old mares kept at home, one I own and was my ridden horse before she retired and one I’ve fostered from a charity for the last 8 years, I think of her as my own at this point. I stopped riding 10 years ago after a bad accident on my horse and decided to retire her and keep her as a field ornament as she has always been an angel on the ground and seemed quite suited to retired life. She and her companion have lived out together 24/7 year round by themselves pretty much since.
There are a number of issues that have come to a head in the last year or so and this week I’ve realised we’ve hit a bit of a crisis point. My health isn’t good, I’ve got a couple of chronic illnesses that cause fatigue and this year I’ve acquired a knee injury and shoulder injury that haven’t healed to add to the back injury from the fall and another old shoulder injury, I’m down to one good knee. My husband is an absolute saint and has taken over the poopicking all winter, but the physical element of horse care has become very difficult and it’s clear this isn’t sustainable without more help.
Alongside this, my companion pony has been struggling this year, I noticed last Spring she was looking a bit stiff behind on both legs and got the vet out who flexion tested her, got a strong pain response and suggested it was arthritis and to put her on 2 bute a day. Since then she has found any sort of handling of her legs extremely aversive. I have trimmed both horses myself since I’ve had them but from that point I struggled to get a good trim on her and after my shoulder injury meant I had to stop doing it myself I called in some help from a wonderfully patient farrier. It has taken us about 3 months of her coming almost weekly to get to a point where we can get all 4 feet trimmed. She’s very nervous and very stubborn at the same time, so it’s taken a lot of time and gentle persuasion.
She now has an abscess. Vet has been out and dug it out and poulticed under sedation, and I re-poulticed last night, but this morning she has reverted to not letting anyone near her legs, and I can’t get another poultice on, she’s very unhappy. I’m going to try some oral sedative, but I’m not hopeful as they’ve never had much effect on her in the past. I’m worried about turning her out in the mud with a hole in her foot but it seems like I have very little option at the moment.
To add to the leg handling issue, she came to me very headshy and has become completely intolerant of a headcollar so everything is done on a neck rope, fine for most things but doesn’t have the pressure needed to lead her anywhere she doesn’t want to go. Vet, dentist, wormer all done under sedation. She’s also become pretty averse to the stable over the years, as they live out she’s only really come in for vet/dentist etc so has built up a negative association, which I’m currently trying to undo but was in early stages when the abscess happened. Absolutely no chance whatsoever she’d load these days, it took me an hour to get her on the lorry to where we are now 6 years ago and she was a lot more amenable to things back then.
It’s become very clear to me that we cannot go on this way as she becomes older and in need of more care and handling. I think she needs some real behavioural support work to allow her to cope with normal life again, and at 19 it’s going to be a difficult slog, I assume whatever happened to her in her early years is now coming home to roost with her feeling more vulnerable as she ages (I don’t know much about her background before she came to the charity). With my health issues it’s just not feasible for me to do much of this myself, even poulticing has left me in some pain, and I’m wondering how much longer I can manage simple yard work. I always have the option to return her to the charity, but I worry about the emotional impact of splitting the two of them up after all these years as well as the practicalities. My horse absolutely would not cope on her own and has had behavioural issues in group settings in the past so moving her to e.g. retirement livery in a herd is also unlikely be to straightforward, and she needs 24/7 year round turnout to stay sane. If they were both in a similar situation, i.e. both becoming a bit doddery and finding life difficult I would consider pts together, but my horse has never had a day sick or sorry, she’s so healthy she’s probably going to outlive me.
My setup was absolutely perfect for all our odd little quirks when we were all healthy, but now things have all gone a bit wonky together and I’m finding it hard to think through all my options. Clearly I need to talk to the charity but I’m hoping to have some idea of a plan before I start making calls. I’m hoping you wise ladies (and gents) can help come up with some ideas I haven’t thought of. Thank you for reading.
I’ve got two horses, both non-ridden 19 year old mares kept at home, one I own and was my ridden horse before she retired and one I’ve fostered from a charity for the last 8 years, I think of her as my own at this point. I stopped riding 10 years ago after a bad accident on my horse and decided to retire her and keep her as a field ornament as she has always been an angel on the ground and seemed quite suited to retired life. She and her companion have lived out together 24/7 year round by themselves pretty much since.
There are a number of issues that have come to a head in the last year or so and this week I’ve realised we’ve hit a bit of a crisis point. My health isn’t good, I’ve got a couple of chronic illnesses that cause fatigue and this year I’ve acquired a knee injury and shoulder injury that haven’t healed to add to the back injury from the fall and another old shoulder injury, I’m down to one good knee. My husband is an absolute saint and has taken over the poopicking all winter, but the physical element of horse care has become very difficult and it’s clear this isn’t sustainable without more help.
Alongside this, my companion pony has been struggling this year, I noticed last Spring she was looking a bit stiff behind on both legs and got the vet out who flexion tested her, got a strong pain response and suggested it was arthritis and to put her on 2 bute a day. Since then she has found any sort of handling of her legs extremely aversive. I have trimmed both horses myself since I’ve had them but from that point I struggled to get a good trim on her and after my shoulder injury meant I had to stop doing it myself I called in some help from a wonderfully patient farrier. It has taken us about 3 months of her coming almost weekly to get to a point where we can get all 4 feet trimmed. She’s very nervous and very stubborn at the same time, so it’s taken a lot of time and gentle persuasion.
She now has an abscess. Vet has been out and dug it out and poulticed under sedation, and I re-poulticed last night, but this morning she has reverted to not letting anyone near her legs, and I can’t get another poultice on, she’s very unhappy. I’m going to try some oral sedative, but I’m not hopeful as they’ve never had much effect on her in the past. I’m worried about turning her out in the mud with a hole in her foot but it seems like I have very little option at the moment.
To add to the leg handling issue, she came to me very headshy and has become completely intolerant of a headcollar so everything is done on a neck rope, fine for most things but doesn’t have the pressure needed to lead her anywhere she doesn’t want to go. Vet, dentist, wormer all done under sedation. She’s also become pretty averse to the stable over the years, as they live out she’s only really come in for vet/dentist etc so has built up a negative association, which I’m currently trying to undo but was in early stages when the abscess happened. Absolutely no chance whatsoever she’d load these days, it took me an hour to get her on the lorry to where we are now 6 years ago and she was a lot more amenable to things back then.
It’s become very clear to me that we cannot go on this way as she becomes older and in need of more care and handling. I think she needs some real behavioural support work to allow her to cope with normal life again, and at 19 it’s going to be a difficult slog, I assume whatever happened to her in her early years is now coming home to roost with her feeling more vulnerable as she ages (I don’t know much about her background before she came to the charity). With my health issues it’s just not feasible for me to do much of this myself, even poulticing has left me in some pain, and I’m wondering how much longer I can manage simple yard work. I always have the option to return her to the charity, but I worry about the emotional impact of splitting the two of them up after all these years as well as the practicalities. My horse absolutely would not cope on her own and has had behavioural issues in group settings in the past so moving her to e.g. retirement livery in a herd is also unlikely be to straightforward, and she needs 24/7 year round turnout to stay sane. If they were both in a similar situation, i.e. both becoming a bit doddery and finding life difficult I would consider pts together, but my horse has never had a day sick or sorry, she’s so healthy she’s probably going to outlive me.
My setup was absolutely perfect for all our odd little quirks when we were all healthy, but now things have all gone a bit wonky together and I’m finding it hard to think through all my options. Clearly I need to talk to the charity but I’m hoping to have some idea of a plan before I start making calls. I’m hoping you wise ladies (and gents) can help come up with some ideas I haven’t thought of. Thank you for reading.
. The financials are the biggest worry there as you say, and finding somewhere with 2 spaces that will be able to manage my tricky mare is going to be a bit of a needle in a haystack, even if it is likely to be somewhat temporary for companion.
