My old boy - what would you do?

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Tinks81

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so my first horse is now in his late 20's i would say he retired about 7 years ago and has been living his last years in the field!!

He hates being in and lives out happily with hay and a big thick rug

Well last winter was horrible but he went into it very fat but due to the heat this year there hasnt been loads of grass his field mates have all put on loads of weight but he hasnt

I have had him worm counted and today his teeth done with nothing major coming back from either !!

He is now going down to my hay field and the vet has suggested we see what he is like in a months time?

if he is no better in a month would you do blood tests??? I know this sounds cruel but i cant bring him in for the winter he will go mad and just stress and lose more weight but do i pay and have bloods done or do the kind thing and have him put to sleep ??
 
Tinks81 said:
so my first horse is now in his late 20's i would say he retired about 7 years ago and has been living his last years in the field!!

He hates being in and lives out happily with hay and a big thick rug

Well last winter was horrible but he went into it very fat but due to the heat this year there hasnt been loads of grass his field mates have all put on loads of weight but he hasnt

I have had him worm counted and today his teeth done with nothing major coming back from either !!

He is now going down to my hay field and the vet has suggested we see what he is like in a months time?

if he is no better in a month would you do blood tests??? I know this sounds cruel but i cant bring him in for the winter he will go mad and just stress and lose more weight but do i pay and have bloods done or do the kind thing and have him put to sleep ??
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That is a question which is really best answered by yourself. If you are trying to look for justification for making that hard decision then you really know your old horse better than anyone else. If you feel his quality of life is good enough to carry on then I would possibly think about contacting a feed manufacturer to see what kind of forage would be most suitable for him. If you feel it is not fair to continue and he has no quality of life or he will be 'abandoned' in a field on his own (not suggesting you would do this of course) then I think you have your answer.

Whatever you decide I hope that the decision is made with the best intentions and I wish you luck xx
 
You are doing all the right things by him at the moment.....
Do as the vet says and see what he is like in a month, but in the mean time sub his food with Sugar Beet (brill for weight gain) and Baileys No1. If he puts on weight with this then you know that it's just a lack of good grass this year...if he is still looking bad in a month then you need to ask the hardest question, is he going to be happy going through the winter. Blood tests etc...will tell you if his body is on a slow shut down due to his age.

Not an easy time. fingers crossed it's just a bad summer that is the problem. x
 
Sammii819 said:
You are doing all the right things by him at the moment.....
Do as the vet says and see what he is like in a month, but in the mean time sub his food with Sugar Beet (brill for weight gain) and Baileys No1. If he puts on weight with this then you know that it's just a lack of good grass this year...if he is still looking bad in a month then you need to ask the hardest question, is he going to be happy going through the winter. Blood tests etc...will tell you if his body is on a slow shut down due to his age.

Not an easy time. fingers crossed it's just a bad summer that is the problem. x
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sugar beat and baileys no 1 are no good i think i use coolstance which he has been on for the last 2 weeks !! but he has grass just not long lush grass - that is exactly it i cant put him through the winter looking like he does and i cant bring him in !! He was my first horse and i guess i have never been through this with any of mine its so sad but he has had a brilliant life x
 
i feel for you.. i think you have answered your own question..i had a mare who was 35 and looked very well and was slightly lame, BUT i knew she was not really enjoying life as much and knew that when the winter came she would struggle in the ice and mud. i discussed the options with my vet and decided to pts before the weather changed. although i missed her terribly, i have never once regretted that decision as it was for her quality of life..not for me. just a thought, why not have bloods done anyway if you can afford it then you will have done everything possible and will make any decision a bit easier.
im sure you know your horse and will know if the time is right..lots of big hugs for you.:)
 
yes can afford it so thinking i might just do it - am sooo hoping he just picks up now he is down on the hay field though x I have owned him since he was 4yo and he done so much to get me where i am today i owe it to him for him not to be unhappy x
 
I had my old horse PTS last week and it was because he had deteriorated quite quickly and he would struggle / hate another winter. He had dropped a lot of weight despite eating a truckload of food and I thought there was more too this but at his age I didn't want him going through the distress of various investigations etc. He was getting more stiff in his hind legs aswell but the main thing was that he had morphed from the loveliest natured horse into a devil in a fur coat. He was really 'going for' the babies and that wasn't like him at all so indirectly I felt he was telling me he had had enough.

He was 26 yrs 17" TB so no small horse.

If your old boy was like mine I would let him go TBH but as others have said its not an easy decision and whatever the decision its yours to make.
 
The quality of the grass has really deteriated now, all my horses were starting to drop off, so i have increased feeds and am haying!

I should get him some really good quality ad lib haylege, he will absord this much better than hay, and it will help keep the weight on him, if there is no other underlying issues.

If you have to pts dont feel guilty, he sounds like he has had a lovely life.
 
we grow our own hay and do have good grass which is why i am so worried !! I am so hoping that it could of been his teeth (i have them done every 6 months) so was worried that maybe being a little sharp he may have noticed

its so so hard but even his coat is looking dull and his eyes its so sad to see him like this !! but then i do know if i have to bring him in he will hate it even more

He got kicked abotu a month ago by my show jumper so had to be in as needed stitches i am thinking this could of also added to the not putting on weight x
 
get prep 14 made by blue grass you will have a new boy in a few weeks, at start he might not eat it so just give a little, could take few days to a week to get on it. but when on it give 2 scoops aday. you will see a new horse in a few weeks, had a yearling thats weight went down for no reason, was getting as much hay as he wanted and just keep losing weight before summer. got this and could see a differnce in a week but took a while to get on to it as it tastes different to them. after 3 weeks he was 100% better. no he is just on grass and no meal he is as fat as a fool. once weight is on wean of it onto what ever you normally give him if he needs it.
goodluck try it please it is the best thing ever, cost bout £9.60 abag 2 scoops aday., but for 1st few day 1 scoop untill he gets on to it, if he likes it give 2 scoops. its great. keep us updated.
 
There's no way I can comment on making a decision without knowing the horse personally. My 24 yo Arab had a rough start to the year (infections) and looked a bit poor. He did well on grass and I have plumped him up nicely before winter by feeding a big bucket of feed inc micronised linseed, brewers yeast, carob, speedibeet, alfalfa pellets, oats, wheat bran, and vitamin E instead of hay (he has little tooth left)

I would def research Vitamin E supplementation.

I've fed copra for a couple of years - never been that impressed by it.
 
Just a thought - my old girl (27) has arthritis and obviously that is slowly worsening with age. Just before she was turned out for the summer she dropped quite a noticeably amount of wait from her topline and loins. I fed her up and she regained it but soon after she was turned out it all dropped off again and more. Our grazing is very rich so that plus good sized feeds (conditioning mix) meant plenty of calories were going in. But it made no difference at all. One day she was obviously lame so I doubled her antinflammatories for a week then cut back until she was having 1 and a half times more than originally, and I'm pleased to say she is looking well again. If your old chap is in pain he could well be looking through sad eyes. Why not give it a try? If it doesn't work then at least you have tried everything and a horse in its late 20s has nothing to complain about.
 
trust me he is not lame he trots around that field like he is a 4yo some days and even jumps out on occasions !!!

its just been this summer !! will get a pic for you all so you can see x
 
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