Dead tail?

[WildLittleWren]

@NancyM

DON’T accept her for free. BUY her for a dollar, and GET a signed receipt. You should get her registration papers too, all signed just like any other sale, but if they refuse to do that, you will still have the receipt. Make it official. If, by chance, the tail miraculously recovers, and the value of the horse increases substantially, you MUST make sure that you are the owner, free and clear. You do not want this to come back and bite you on the butt. Good luck! Make out the receipt in advance, everything you want it to say, and the amount paid, all they have to do is sign it to make it good. Protect yourself, and your new horse.

Oh absolutely! I would want all my i’s dotted and my t’s crossed! I feel if I am the one putting all of this money and care into diagnosing the issue and taking the risk of potentially having a horse with life time issues, I should own her free and clear! Thank you for the reminder. I will make sure if I decide to get her that we so a bill of sale. I haven’t discussed her papers yet, but obviously she can’t be bred. The sad thing is, she DID spend the money retrieving embryos from her after this tail issue happened…which I think is weird…but I guess she wants to preserve her bloodlines and would use a recipient mare of course if she decided to use them. Not sure how that would come into play if I “buy” her and she signs her over? Hmm. She obviously couldn’t carry a foal herself, vet advised removing embryos if she wanted any offspring from her.

Which brings me to a point, isn’t that expensive? I guess for some people horses are strictly a business though and I just don’t have the same frame of mind. Mine are my babies!

[fjordmom]

If she has excellent bloodlines, would she be a candidate for having her eggs harvested, fertilized, and the embryo carried by a surrogate mare? I don’t breed and never have, so really not versed in what’s involved, but would that give her an additional purpose in life? If there is any concern about broken tail or other hind end bones I wouldn’t want to subject her to a live cover.

Nothing wrong with just being a pet, if you are prepared to take that on. She’d be lucky to have you, especially if the owner has already given up on her. But perhaps she would have value beyond that.

[joiedevie99]

I’ve seen horses with dead tails before, and they made a mess, but never one that also had issues with defecating/straining. I’d be suspicious of a more serious injury, and want some x-rays and rectal ultrasounds of that area.

[WildLittleWren]

@joiedevie99

I’ve seen horses with dead tails before, and they made a mess, but never one that also had issues with defecating/straining. I’d be suspicious of a more serious injury, and want some x-rays and rectal ultrasounds of that area.

Yes when she pees sometimes she strains, and just tonight while I was at the breeder’s farm training she didn’t even park out to pee, it just sort of dribbled out. Very strange! Sometimes she poops okay, other times she will park out and grunt a bit and seem to strain. She can’t lift her tail so it seems that sometimes to get the poop out she has to work harder than a normal horse.

[Bluey]

@WildLittleWren

Yes when she pees sometimes she strains, and just tonight while I was at the breeder’s farm training she didn’t even park out to pee, it just sort of dribbled out. Very strange! Sometimes she poops okay, other times she will park out and grunt a bit and seem to strain. She can’t lift her tail so it seems that sometimes to get the poop out she has to work harder than a normal horse.

Sounds like a more serious problem than just her tail not having movement, like there is more involved back there.

You may need to have a vet check what is going on there, maybe do a rectal examination?

[S1969]

@WildLittleWren

Yes when she pees sometimes she strains, and just tonight while I was at the breeder’s farm training she didn’t even park out to pee, it just sort of dribbled out. Very strange! Sometimes she poops okay, other times she will park out and grunt a bit and seem to strain. She can’t lift her tail so it seems that sometimes to get the poop out she has to work harder than a normal horse.

Again, it’s hard to know if this is inability, or discomfort. Horses can poop into their tail - I had one that would put her butt against the stall wall and poop…no idea why. But they don’t have to lift their tail to poop. If it hurts to lift their tail - I’d suspect a fracture.

So I am more inclined to think that there is pain involved and that is the reason for “straining” - I’d get an xray asap.

[MsM]

I could see dealing with a non-working tail. But the difficulty pooping is concerning. If there is more serious back injury causing this, it might be life limiting. You are absolutely right to make sure you have all the veterinary information before deciding if you can take her on.

ETA: Someone I know just went through something similar. Was offered a lovely horse who had an injury and the owner “didnt want to take the time to do the rehab and just wanted him gone”. Upon investigation of vet records that she forwarded to her vet, this horse had a very poor prognosis for ever being sound rather than “Just needing time and rehab”. YMMV

[WildLittleWren]

Well I spoke with my vet this afternoon while she was out for vaccines and coggins. They have heard of this mare. I guess many people are talking about her, and euthanasia was recommended by the vet who initially did the exam. Apparently she is having to have her manually evacuated once a week (which I was not aware of), I guess it’s happening during the week when I am not there.

My vet advised me not to take her on, as the prognosis probably isn’t good. I’m super bummed. I want to think with my head and logically it doesn’t make sense to take something on that is ultimately probably not going to end well. Apparently she is trying to give her away ASAP because the vet bill’s are getting excessive.

[S1969]

@WildLittleWren

Apparently she is trying to give her away ASAP because the vet bill’s are getting excessive.

What have the vet bills included? If they are getting excessive, what testing has been done?

Not trying to change your mind - I’m very curious to know what this could be.

[WildLittleWren]

@S1969

What have the vet bills included? If they are getting excessive, what testing has been done?

Not trying to change your mind - I’m very curious to know what this could be.

The word is she has the vet come out to manually evacuate her because at least once a week she is getting colicky apparently, and having trouble passing manure at times. As far as to what exactly is wrong…I still don’t know. My vet hasn’t seen her herself, so unless her owner shows me her paperwork I don’t know.

She sort of scared me, saying if she is peeing without really realizing it and parking out, and straining at other times, she probably isn’t going until it spills over. She said she thinks there has to be more damage than just the tail if she is having these issues. I am still going to sit down with her owner this weekend if she will actually produce the vet paperwork. I just feel like theres stuff I am not being told now. I have been discussing taking her for awhile now with her, and she not once has mentioned any colic episodes or having to have her manually evacuated. That’s throwing up red flags in my mind

[the_sandiest_shoes]

It definitely sounds like a more serious issue than just the tail being affected if she needs help passing manure. God, that’s so sad. Poor horse.

[Sparrowette]

This sounds really bad. I’m so sorry. It’s bad when things like this happen to good horses. I don’t know what your resources are, but if you are in a position to take her on and then let her go peacefully, it might be better then whatever else she might be made to face.

just a thought, your mileage may vary

[Kyrabee]

I don’t know. I think I would still get her and and give her a peaceful ending. I don’t know why the owner hasn’t done it already .

Susan

[S1969]

@WildLittleWren

The word is she has the vet come out to manually evacuate her because at least once a week she is getting colicky apparently, and having trouble passing manure at times. As far as to what exactly is wrong…I still don’t know. My vet hasn’t seen her herself, so unless her owner shows me her paperwork I don’t know.

She sort of scared me, saying if she is peeing without really realizing it and parking out, and straining at other times, she probably isn’t going until it spills over. She said she thinks there has to be more damage than just the tail if she is having these issues. I am still going to sit down with her owner this weekend if she will actually produce the vet paperwork. I just feel like theres stuff I am not being told now. I have been discussing taking her for awhile now with her, and she not once has mentioned any colic episodes or having to have her manually evacuated. That’s throwing up red flags in my mind

I wonder if the story is getting somewhat altered as it gets passed on from person to person. I just can’t imagine a vet doing this on a weekly basis and not recommending the horse be euthanized. Or having it result in a serious colic. Or both. Unless they have an expectation that things will change with some treatment, time, or something - based on a variety of testing and some sort of diagnosis.

I probably would sit down with the owner too and try to get some information. It just sounds so strange. Is the horse insured?

[WildLittleWren]

@S1969

I wonder if the story is getting somewhat altered as it gets passed on from person to person. I just can’t imagine a vet doing this on a weekly basis and not recommending the horse be euthanized. Or having it result in a serious colic. Or both. Unless they have an expectation that things will change with some treatment, time, or something - based on a variety of testing and some sort of diagnosis.

I probably would sit down with the owner too and try to get some information. It just sounds so strange. Is the horse insured?

I am unsure if she is insured. There is a lot I don’t know. I texted her and asked if she could please have her vet files ready to meet this weekend so I can see what I would be taking on. Perhaps the story is getting changed as it goes along. I mean, she seems like a happy horse and runs around the pasture. It’s just the peeing and pooping when I notice the difference from a normal, not injured horse.

[tipzythegreat]

That’s a tough situation.

If you’ve got the money, you could take her on and see how it goes for a couple weeks. If she is needing a weekly excavation, I think you’ll know it’s time for her to pass on. Why wouldn’t the owner do that now though? I imagine it would be cheaper than weekly visits…

Unfortunately peeing and pooping is something all creatures must do. If she was lame to trot and sound to walk, it would be much easier to keep her. But if she cannot pass manure normally… she could suffer a painful colic death

Good luck! Keep us posted.

[GraceLikeRain]

Humane euthanasia sounds like a very fair thing to be on the table. From what you’ve shared my gut is that there is far more going on than just a dead tail. She may have flipped or badly fallen and there is more significant nerve damage. If she is unable to completely void her bladder or bowels, even if weekly medical intervention could be taken, is that really a life for a horse?

[2DogsFarm]

Sounding more & more like a very sad situation, best ended with euthanasia.

Can you talk to the vet doing the weekly evacuation & ask about prognosis?
At least that info should help you decide.

As it is, and sweet personality aside, not much of a life for this mare.

[joiedevie99]

Sorry to say this sounds quite dire - some sort of spinal cord injury or serious nerve damage. This is not a horse I would consider taking on, unless it was simply to schedule a euthanasia that the owner couldn’t bring themselves to handle.

[Jax]

I would have been all for taking the horse until your more recent update. That’s definitely concerning, and potentially a very expensive path to go down. If you’re really attached and not worried about the finances I might take her anyways and put a hard deadline on it, i.e. if your team can’t at least partially sort it out inside of one month you’ll let her have a peaceful and dignified end.
It sucks that the breeder won’t step up and do this herself, it’s literally the least she could do, but good on you for considering taking it on.