Quite suddenly after I got a new load of hay in, Mr. P started leaving balls of quidded hay all over. Honestly, if I didn’t specifically pile the bales of hay you would have no idea which is old or new, and after that even switching back led to balls of half chewed hay, so I have no idea on the correlation. It’s from the same hay guy and he said he believes from the same load, so who knows! Regardless, it freaked me out a bit and was a change overnight.
I called my regular horse dentist, a guy who does it manually. This has been my preferred method, particularly after a bad experience where Stampede got his cheek burned the one time I had him done with power tools. I’d pretty much planned to avoid a power float at all costs. Of course, my normal dental guy was off for a few weeks due to surgery, and I didn’t want to wait. So I had one my regular vets out to look, figuring I can always say no and wait. Dr. Quinter didn’t see anything too bad, but P did have a pretty good wave on the left side top teeth. I decided to trust her skill (she is one of the vets who came out frequently when Stampede was sick), and I’m glad I did because it was a very different experience. Having my almost 31 year old horse sedated was of course terrifying, but the way she worked was much different than my past experience. She said he has great teeth for his age – they are all there and look pretty healthy. She pointed me to one area to watch that showed some beginning gingivitis issues, but said they don’t remove the teeth unless something is painful and/or has a foul smell.
She gave Phoenix some bute with his sedation because she said with old horses the nerves are closer to where the work is done and it can be uncomfortable. That night P ate much more hay in his stall than usual and there were no quidded pieces. I thought that was the end of it, but then the next night he left a few and it has continued. He does actually eat a fair amount of hay, but leaves pieces behind too. I’m still playing around a bit before I contact the vet again, but I’m wondering if he has some soreness somewhere. I started him on Equioxx the night before last but it takes a while to build up. I’m interested to see what his stall looks like tonight. Either way he is eating better than prior to his float, but I’d like to get this figured out.
In other Morstone Acres news, I’m working on getting Phoenix a new friend. Sadly since fall and the disappearance of grass Cabby has been beating up on Phoenix at times and it has continued to escalate. I’m fine with a bit of pushiness, but it’s gotten to the point that P is covered in hairless, scabby patches from bites through his blankets and Cabby sometimes herds Phoenix away from the hay, water, or me. Phoenix now has to book it into the barn to get to his stall from the pasture at night otherwise Cabby will block him and I have to go run interference. Cabby also won’t come into the barn first, so it makes bringing in difficult at times. It seems to me that Cabby is quite bored, and clearly not happy with the arrangement.
I’m certainly disappointed, it was a good situation for Cabby and his owner as well as for me. Hopefully the next companion will be a better match and Phoenix can go back to the calm existence he enjoys. Just another reason to miss Stampede, those two were so good together.
With tax season ramping up my parents are cleaning the stalls for me several times a week and P is enjoying all of the extra carrots he can get from his grandparents. Frequently he sneaks into the barn so he doesn’t have to share those with Cabby too (shhh, don’t tell him).
Phoenix’s 31st birthday is exactly a month away, so I need to start figuring out a suitable celebration for my best boy. Any ideas for something special?
Get a donkey! 😀
I feel like with my luck a donkey would be the one thing P would be afraid of!
He definitely deserves the best! I wish you were closer because I unearthed the best source (LOL) for companions. But, having said that, check out some of the thoroughbred rescues near you. What I’ve learned is that often they will adopt out thoroughbreds to companion homes because they can’t be ridden due to injuries, but they have no adoption fee ($1 for ownership transfer) and take them back if the placement doesn’t work, if your circumstances change, or if you find another horse at any time. They often have had some of these horses for months and/or years (consistently or on/off) and know personalities very well. Something to consider.
https://www.thoroughbredaftercare.org/taa-accredited-organizations/
Haha, I’ve had a few people tell me they have a horse but not close enough in location. I am avoiding thoroughbred rescues because I think a younger horse would be too high energy for him and that’s pretty much what I saw when I looked. I did find a couple elder gentlemen at a local rescue so I’m working on that. Fingers crossed I have news soon!
I had all these options come through after I found one… lol. What I could with some of the tb rescues is that some so have the older guys, mid to late teens that, because they many don’t allow their pasture puffs to be sold/rehomed, come back at various points so are older. Sounds like it’s not the right option, but putting this out there for anyone else who might need it.
I wonder if steaming the hay would make it softer for him to chew? Although that has it’s own issues too. He is a grand horse and deserves the best of everything.
Hmm, hadn’t thought of that. I can ask the vets their thoughts. I do think the Equioxx is helping him to quid less which means another vet visit is probably in order to try to figure out what is bothering him. I’ll just keep trucking along trying to get all of these things figured out for him. He’d like to live somewhere with grass year round please. 🙂
I’m super behind, so I know there’s a new buddy in town, I hope it’s working out! Also hope you get the hay situation sorted. I gave Rio a chopped hay option twice a day which was easier for him to chew. His teeth were also good, but I think he had some troubles moving it around enough to chew the regular hay well.
Hopefully I will have time to post about the new guy today or tomorrow. So far so good. 🙂 I do give P a chopped hay option, but he doesn’t choose to eat it. Originally a low starch kind, but I did try a grass kind that has a little added molasses too – I’ve avoided alfalfa since it’s supposed to be hard on older horse digestion and he already has recurring winter poop issues I manage with supplements. I’m going to have my regular dentist out soon to get his opinion (and get the new guy checked out) and go from there. Most nights he’s leaving 2-5 quids behind, so not a horrible amount and he is eating a good amount of hay. The vet said it can just become a learned behavior, but I’m not sure I agree with that. Maybe the part where he sees me with a cookie and spits out a ball of hay, which he is doing sometimes.