My gelding, Brandon. 
He didn't get this shiny this summer - more Cushing's looking... furry and curly and dull coated - and loss of muscle and ribby and compared to this pix when he was in his late 20's he looks OLD.
I bought him when I was 16 and he was 8 yrs old from a nice lady in South Dakota. I still send her a Christmas card each year to let her know how he is. He was born in 1979. I have the flier his owner gave me showing his sire in my file for Brandon - his sire was an Appaloosa that threw 98% color. As you can see, Brandon is a solid, dark bay.... brown with black legs, mane and tail. Not a spot or a speck on him to show he is 1/2 Appaloosa.
His dam was a Quarter Horse...
Brandon has ALWAYS been very stout. Easy keeper. Too heavy. Cresty neck. "This horse needs to lose some weight".... He has lots of bone and huge feet that have always made the horseshoers sweat because they were rock hard which comes from his Appy heritage. People always mistook him for a Morgan or an old fashioned Quarter Horse.
This summer for the first time in his life he was ribby. Even being out on pasture all day and in at night for his beet pulp/Equine Senior mash.
I had our vet pull some blood just to make sure there was nothing obviously wrong.
Brandon with his clod hoppers on... I bought him some Cavello boots for when he's sore. They help him quite a bit.I mean, he has things wrong - I don't think a horse gets that old without something wrong.
He has high and low ringbone (arthritis) and he has Cushing's disease so he is prone to founder, tho' he hasn't all year (knock on wood)... some days he doesn't get around so well.... more in winter with the hard, frozen ground....and we give him bute (horse aspirin) to help him out. And he has an odd white spot in the corner of his eye that we are pretty sure is cancer - tho' there is no point in taking a scraping cuz that could piss the cancer off and cause it to begin growing. So far, it doesn't bother him and isn't growing rapidly. Best to just leave it alone.
This summer has been good to him. He's gotten around better than he has in a long time, the farrier is shocked to see his feet have improved and how well he's moving around. He's been seen trotting - trotting! - out to pasture and in for his mash at night....
Yesterday I left work early to take Brandon and Rosso over to the vet for tooth floating... the vet rasps down any sharp points on their teeth so they are able to eat better...
Last year, there was a tooth or two we thought might fall out with Brandon, his teeth were wearing down but overall things looked good for his age. I guess I had no idea their teeth could deteriorate so fast.... tho' I suppose a year is a long time and he is 31...
Oh the indignity of having to pose for Christmas pictures!He lost many teeth and the ones he still has are worn purt near to the gum line...
It gave me a little sharp pain in my heart.
I KNOW he's old... but you get used to a certain level of "old". This hits home that he's old-ER you know?
No more hay for Brandon. He'll get beet pulp mixed with Equine Senior and some rice bran with some trace mineral salt thrown into the mash for his meals from now on. He doesn't have enough tooth to grind up the hay and he'd either colic with impaction or choke trying to get the hay down...
Oh, he's still getting around fine. He is still top dog and keeps Rosso and Sera in line. He is bright eyed and alert - he nickers for his dinner....
He just isn't going to be here forever...
4 comments:
My Goodness,,,he is actually in very good shape for a big boy so old. 30 years with a horse is alot!! My neighbor is also our Town Vet and she has a horse that is 34 years old. Some days she looks 34 and each year she still survives these brutal winters. They really have had good long lives at that age and definitely sounds like you have a watchful hand in it. Darn the inevitable anyway, but I sure like the image of him trotting in for his feeding. You know he is still enjoying it all then!!
Gave my little heart a squeeze to read about Brandon aging.... ahhh, if only we could keep it all from happening. I'm glad he is trotting for his food. Moose is getting pretty old as well, but as long as he eats and poops... I figure we are right on track. : )
Oh hey could you do a post about those boots do you and Brandon like them? Have you tried others? I want to get some for my mare she tiptoes on the gravel when I take her out on the trails. Thanks
Kelley - I know! There are a lot of "oldies but goodies" in our circle of friends right now. Sucks, tho' I wouldn't give any of the experiences we've had with any of our oldies away for nuthin'! :)
Angie - I did get some Easy Boots a couple years ago and they didn't seem to help him much. I was hesitant to buy the Cavellos cuz they were so spendy, and I didn't have much luck with the Easy Boots, but the Cavello's really work well to keep him comfy when he is sore.
Of course he has all the foot issues with cushings. They are extremely easy to put on and take off unlike some boots, they have drainage holes along the bottom edge so if going through wet or muck, the hooves won't be immersed in water forever...
Brandon wears them 24/7 when he is sore and only lost one once when it was really really muddy. The suck your boots right off your feet type of muddy. Since it was on our property, we found it, washed it off and put it right back on... I haven't had ANY issues or problems with the Cavello boots.
Tho' Brandon wears them in pasture and in a dry lot situation so I don't know how long they'd stand up to gravel/rocks/lots of trail riding. ?
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