When I received a call about a little pony that had been down since early morning and saw a picture of her, I knew I had to take immediate action. Memories of Betsy Rose came flooding back. Jessica was at the farm so we gathered up some things and went to see if we could help her. She was still down when we arrived. It wasn’t colic but she was extremely weak and couldn’t get up. We were told she was about 30 years old.
I called the vet and she came out to evaluate the situation and run fluids. Since it was dark and the pony was dehydrated, finding a vein proved to be quite challenging. The situation was not good and time was of the essence. We opted to roll the mare over onto a tarp and pull her into the trailer to get her back to the rescue where we had more resources. I sat by her side soothing her as we headed back to Beauty’s Haven, which was less than five minutes away.
Once at the rescue, we shaved her neck and the vet was able to hit a vein in order to start running IV fluids, but then, her vein collapsed. My husband, Bob, had gotten the sling together in a stall so we moved her to the stall and gently rolled her over into the sling and secured her in it.
The vet advised that her prognosis wasn’t good at that point, but I could sense Rosie’s desire to keep going and I believed good nutrition, and time, might help.
We opted for the vet to go ahead and run an IV cocktail via another vein. I named the little pony, ‘Rosalita’ – ‘Rosie’ for short.
When the fluids were almost finished, Rosie started perking up. The vet drew some blood in order to perform tests. – we will have those results tomorrow. We offered Rosie a small amount of senior grain in warm water as a mash and that really motivated her. She was so hungry! It made me so sad to see how hungry she was. After she finished her mash, and having given her some time to collect herself, we lowered the sling and prayed she would make it on her own. She stood for a few minutes and I held my breath as she took her first wobbly steps. But she did it! She looked exhausted, but relieved. Rosie will be getting small mashes every few hours.
Rosie has a thick coat (likely Cushing’s Disease), but she is quite thin. Her teeth are really sharp which makes it painful for her to eat. She can’t grind food in order to properly digest it so her body has just been wasting away. She has diminished vision in at least, her right eye. She is drinking and becoming more vocal. She’s had several bowel movements and has urinated a few times. She certainly hasn’t given up.
Her odds are a bit better today – at this point about 50/50 but getting through the next few days is very important. I know she’s very fragile and she could take a dive at any moment, but I truly feel that she deserves a chance.
Many people think it’s normal for an older horse to be thin but that is far from the truth. While there may be some medical reason(s) why an aged horse is thin, most aged horses can keep weight on if fed the right diet with the correct frequency. Our aged horses get an annual physical, with blood work, in order to identify and address any potential issues. They also get their teeth done by an equine dentist (not by a farrier or anyone but a DVM dentist) at least annually. The older they get, the more worn their teeth get. Many have to be fed many smaller (soaked) meals a day. If not, they drop weight which can lead to being in the condition Rosie is in. They also should be fed while separated from other horses that could take their food.
And, I have to say this: if an owner is not in a position to provide an aged horse multiple smaller, mushy meals a day and provide for an individual horse’s needs, humane euthanasia should be considered. No living being should ever be starved to death. It’s inhumane!
If anyone would like to help with Rosie’s medical bills, it would be greatly appreciated. Prayers and/or good thoughts for her recovery are also appreciated, very much.
Sincerely,
Theresa
