Yes, thank you too, Lady Eboshi for your great advice! You are absolutely correct when asking the question if we are keeping our equine friends alive for us or for them. I’ve been around animals my entire life and “that decision” is one that is so difficult to make, but is the kindest thing we can do for our pets. While I don’t think my old guy is at that point yet, down the road I’m sure I will know when it is his time. In the mean time, I will take your advice and others advice to make sure he is as comfortable and happy as possible. thank-you!
[QUOTE=RockyStar;8267048]
@Laurieace: I’m sitting here at my computer researching all of this…so Pentosan is an intramuscular injection? If you don’t mind me asking, about how much does this cost you? Did you start out giving it once a week for 4 weeks and then tapering off to once per month? How soon did you notice a difference in your old guy? I will ask my vet of course all of these questions, I’m just hoping to gain some knowledge before she comes out.[/QUOTE]
It is an IM injection. I pay around $180 for 100mls from Wedgewood. My guy is bigger so he gets 7ccs instead of the normal 5-6 that smaller horses would get. It worked miracles for him, he has been on it for about 5 years. I guess it took a dose or two to notice a difference. It is cheap enough that I give it once per week when it seems he needs it and spread it out a little more when he doesn’t. His last dose was about 3 weeks ago at this point.
Quote from Lady Eboshi, “Put that in horsey terms and the line to be drawn lights up a bit. The main question to ask is whether you’re keeping them going for THEM or for YOU, because you lack the courage to face your own emotions of loss and life change. Many times, a horse represents much more to us than just a pet; it represents an ERA, an epoch in our lives, often the last vestige of our youthful achievements and glory, now passing before our eyes as we enter a mundane middle age. You have to separate the HORSE himself, as an animal, from “what he means TO YOU” in order to make the humane choice.”
This is so true. I read this and began tearing up. This horse definitely represents an era for me…it seems like he’s just always been around through my many chapters in life…middle school, high school, college, meeting my future husband, marriage, and now kids! In fact, my son was just riding him around yesterday. Wow, I’m will surely cherish all my time with my horse. I hope he sticks around for a many years to come!
One more thing to check, just to be sure. Go up onto your feed manufacturer’s website and make sure the formula for your feed has not been quietly changed. A friend of mine went through this over the winter. She had been feeding the same Blue Seal product for several years, always with good luck, when her horse no longer seemed to be doing well. She looked at the tag at the base of the bag, which was now blank. So she went up on the site, and found out that the formula for the product labeled Senior feed had been changed so the levels of fat and fiber were substantially lower than before, and the original formula that had worked so well for her horse was now being sold under the Performance Low Starch label. She changed over to the Performance LS and her 25 year old horse came right back into condition. So check your horse’s food and make sure that the formula wasn’t changed without your knowledge. It could save you a vet bill.
[QUOTE=Chief2;8268651]
One more thing to check, just to be sure. Go up onto your feed manufacturer’s website and make sure the formula for your feed has not been quietly changed. A friend of mine went through this over the winter. She had been feeding the same Blue Seal product for several years, always with good luck, when her horse no longer seemed to be doing well. She looked at the tag at the base of the bag, which was now blank. So she went up on the site, and found out that the formula for the product labeled Senior feed had been changed so the levels of fat and fiber were substantially lower than before, and the original formula that had worked so well for her horse was now being sold under the Performance Low Starch label. She changed over to the Performance LS and her 25 year old horse came right back into condition. So check your horse’s food and make sure that the formula wasn’t changed without your knowledge. It could save you a vet bill.[/QUOTE]
:eek: Great post!!!
They DID change the names too of a number of Blue Seal feeds a year ago or so; the old “Hunter” is now “Dynasty Pro” pellets for example. Another thing to watch out for is that their extruded “Senior” feeds like Vintage are not really a complete feed because they’ve been refined and do not have the necessary pelleted forage component to be fed without hay or pasture. It’s an easy thing to assume when you see “Senior” if you don’t read the very-fine print.
I’m feeding a 50/50 mix right now of Dynasty Pro and Hay Stretcher to supplement the harder keepers’ pasture and most are keeping great on it–I try to save the $$$ Triple Crown Senior for the “gummers.” :winkgrin:
update on horse!
So I just thought I’d give an update on my older horse since I started this thread. I had the vet out last week to look him over and after I explained his “sudden decline”, her and I immediately thought Lymes. SOOO, fast forward to today and I received the news that he is positive for it. I am planning on treating him with Minocycline, per my vet recommendation. His blood showed antibodies to OspC and OspF, which pretty much means he has acute AND chronic lymes. According to the Cornell website, chronic antibodies show up 5-8 weeks after infection, so it looks like he may have had this for that long. I feel bad for him, especially since I feel like I should have noticed him being off quicker, and I worry that at his age and the fact that he’s had this for awhile that he won’t respond to treatment as well. I guess time will tell. At least I know what is wrong with him now. I just hope he does well on the antibiotics and regains some of his spunk. Thanks again for all of the opinions and advice. I really do appreciate it!!
Interested in learning more about Cushings and Pergolide. I have a 27-year-old that I suspect of having Cushings (she never completely sheds down to the short shiny coat she once did). My vet advised against testing (said if mare was at risk for founder this would push her over the edge).
I’m wondering if I should talk to another vet and maybe do a trial of therapy.
Your vet is likely talking about the dex suppression test, that is not the only way to test. My old guy tested at the highest end of the normal range so I put him on a half pill of prascend and he did she’d better but I still had to clip him again in July. I took this about an hour ago as we await his family photo shoot this evening.
[QUOTE=SportArab;8281116]
Interested in learning more about Cushings and Pergolide. I have a 27-year-old that I suspect of having Cushings (she never completely sheds down to the short shiny coat she once did). My vet advised against testing (said if mare was at risk for founder this would push her over the edge).
I’m wondering if I should talk to another vet and maybe do a trial of therapy.[/QUOTE]
Your vet is most likely referring to the dex suppression test which is a very out of date approach to testing for PPID/Cushings, and the most inaccurate test you can do for it. December through June we test using the TRH stimulation test, outside of those months we test by doing a baseline ACTH. If your horse has symptoms and the baseline ACTH test is negative, then test again during the Dec-June window for the TRH stim test. It is even more sensitive than the ACTH (which is more sensitive than the dex suppression test).
OP where are you located ? It’s been really hot and muggy in some parts of the country, maybe he’s just not dealing with it as well as he has in the past ? The old timers seem to have more trouble dealing with the extreme hot / cold weather.
edit : i saw your post about the lymes … glad you go it figured out ! They typically respond pretty quickly to the treatment. Good on you for going with your gut !
I’m thinking it’s time to get my girl tested. I’ll see if my vet can’t run those other tests. Thanks!
