I've nicknamed this horse "Chief". Jaye picked him up today after receiving a call for help. He needed to be rescued as soon as possible. He is a 25 year old standardbred, he raced for about 14 years, he is approx. 16 hands, and probably 200 pounds underweight. His feet are a mess and very sore. There is some type of fungus growing on the inside of his ears. It is white, hard and crusty-like and is also causing him some pain. Those are the most visible signs of neglect. He does have a nice thick winter coat which has some shine to it. He has not seen a vet since 2006 and it has obviously been a long time since his feet were trimmed but I think the weight loss is fairly recent. He does not appear to be sick, seems very alert, curious and very aware of his surroundings. Although his nose is running in one of the pictures, it is clear and was only running for a short time.
As uncomfortable as this guy must be, he is a sweetheart. He let me worm him without a fuss and then proceeded to make funny faces because of the horrible taste. Then I started to brush him. He loved it! He must be so itchy, it has been a very long time since he has had a bath. I think it felt nice and the attention I was giving him was very appreciated. He kindly picked up his feet for me but let me know that they hurt very badly. He can't hold them up for long and as I tried to clean them he pulled away immediately. Other than his feet and ears I don't think he is in pain anywhere else. I was able to brush him everywhere, I ran my hands all over him and there wasn't a place that seemed to bother him.
These pictures where taken after I brushed him:
It breaks my heart to think this guy was alone without food and care. I don't know all of the circumstances for the neglect, but I do know that he was loved and the situation was out of the owners control. Sometimes bad things happen to good people and the animals also suffer. A call for help was made and tonight "Chief" has had his dinner and is sleeping in a cozy stall with lots of hay & water. :)
3 comments:
Although the ear fungus is troublesome, don't treat it unless you absolutely have to. R told me that every horse she has ever known with the fungus has become violently headshy IF it is treated. If not treated, it seems to resolve exactly the same as if treated (which seems very random, sometimes it goes away and sometimes not). But not treating it gives the horse a better chance of not associating a lot of pain with his ears.
I found a link. They are called aural plaques. I know one other horse who has these and they look like pale sandy colored patches in the ears.
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/horsecare/1370/110175.html
Thanks for the info. It is very painful to touch. I found a few sites with some info and they all say pretty much the same thing. Not much can be done about it so not aggravating the horse seems like the best way to go.
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