Health Cautions In Horse Rehab

There are many things that can go wrong with rehabilitating a horse but the rewards are great also. Having a good team including veterinarian, farrier, trainer and groom (even if you are the last two!) helps a horse get back to a healthy state faster.

There are several things to be concerned with when horses have been badly out of shape. It can alter their mental state of mind. More than this even is the physical issues to correct and to dodge while on the road to recovery.

Founder or laminitis is an issue in the feet that causes tremendous discomfort. It can be caused by a sudden overload of feed, drug, stress and concussion (once called “road founder”). Horses that are fat can be extremely susceptible to this as and so can very skinny horses whose nutrition is increased in order to put weight back on them. Prevention is much better than cure. Extreme cases can result in rotation of the coffin bone in the foot which presses on the sole, creating a great deal of pain.

This is a disease which has resulted in euthanizing of famous and unknown horses alike. Secretariat, the legendary racehorse, was a laminitis statistic as well as Barbaro. Modern veterinary techniques can cut the tendons, which relieves pressure on the coffin bone but cannot change the prognosis of severe cases. Horses with this disease are often heavy in the front end or have suffered an injury that causes them to shift their weight to the other foot. Horses affected often rock back in an attempt to take the weight off their sore front feet. Back feet can also be affected.

I admit it, I cried watching this video:

Abscesses are another issue that can affect the feet. Like founder it can often happen in the front feet and the horse will shift the weight backwards to ease the pressure. The difference is that abscesses are very fixable. Horses that have been in wet or muddy conditions can come up with these. If you pick up the foot and gently but firmly press with the handle end of a screwdriver on the foot you can often narrow down where the abscess is.

Treatment involves having a veterinarian or farrier dig out the abscess. You will need to keep the horse in a clean, dry stall until it is healed. Sometimes a daily soak in a pan of water and Epsom salts is recommended to draw out the abscess and speed healing.

Colic is another problem that can occur, especially in cases of parasite overload added to poor condition added to stress. Colic is a general term for a belly ache and in a horse is a very serious situation requiring veterinarian intervention. Often the horse begins with being uncomfortable, perhaps laying down more than normal. If you make him get up he’ll lay down again, often trying to roll. This means getting the horse on his feet and walking him by hand.

As the spasm hits he may try to go down but it is important to keep him up and walking. It might seem ‘cruel’ but if it takes hitting him with ropes or whips to keep him up on his feet it’s that important to do it. The more a horse rolls the higher the chances of the intestine twisting. If this happens the choices are euthanization or surgery, and they may or may not make it out of the expensive surgery.

These three issues are not uncommon but do need rapid treatment. Do some research into these conditions, particularly if you are taking on an abused horse. And having a good equine veterinarian is important. It maximizes the chances of recovery for your horse to have quick action for these problems.

Driving While Drunk and Dragging a Horse

Dick Francis is one of my very favorite authors. For those of you who don’t know, Mr Francis is a very successful National Hunt jockey-turned-writer of more than forty best-selling novels with plots that revolve around the horse-racing community. In one of his mysteries horses are being mutilated by having their legs hacked off. It was a hard story for me to read at times but it was only a story.

Unfortunately, equine abuse is a serious issue and one that appears to be on the rise. The most frequent problem is malnourishment but then, there are cases like this one:

The horse was in the trailer, tied with a rope around his neck. Driving along the road the trailer door came open. The horse fell out and was dragged along the asphalt road by the neck. Here’s the thing – the driver was rip-roaring drunk. And here’s the result of his liquored-up stupor….

This poor beast has an uncertain future ahead of him. Bouncing on his back, sides and legs as he was dragged has flayed his skin to the muscle and bone. With two broken ribs, three injured legs and dangerous swelling, the horse, named Lucky Chance by his rescuers, may not be so lucky as to survive. Painkillers, antibiotics and IV fluids are helping to fight his critical condition but recovery, assuming he doesn’t suffer kidney failure or other setbacks, will take three to six month.

Deputies found the driver of the vehicle stumbling around and saying he was “looking for his horsey”. He was arrested for driving while intoxicated. The man also had no license at the time of the arrest and it was discovered he is wanted for probation revocation. Humane Society officials want him charged with animal cruelty, which could bring up to five years in jail and a $5000 fine for a felony conviction. The case is still open, so no other charges have been filed as yet and may never be.

In the eyes of the law, horses (and other animals) are simply chattel (belongings). They have no rights, which means their abusers can all too easily get away with terrible cruelty. Societies that have governmental authority to take abused animals from owners are often over-worked and under-budgeted, so only the worst cases have a chance of rescue. And as long as retribution is light or non-existent, there is little to deter the brutality and neglect.

As for Lucky Chance’s abuser, the man may even be feeling remorse for what he did but, a drunk is a drunk and probably nothing will change that. So I hope he at least is charged and convicted at the highest level. And I hope that Lucky lives up to his name.

If you’d like to get involved in horse rescue, search for groups in your area or check these sites:

Equine Advocates

International Generic Horse Association

“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man”.  ~ Winston Churchill