Natural Horse Care in an Unnatural World

If you have been following this blog, then you recall that, on February 13th, my 27 year old Paint colicked with a strangulated lipoma and needed emergency surgery. While he was at Tufts Veterinary Hospital for Large Animals, He was scoped and discovered to have ulcers. Upon returning home (9 days later, on Feb. 22nd), he was doing well. I had him on his ulcer meds for a month. I had to cordon off a portion of his paddock so he could still go outside and be with his friends. After the first month, I opened up his paddock to about 24 feet by 30 feet. This was to stay for another month.  However, on March 8th, only 3 weeks out of surgery, I brought him in and a friend who boards at the same barn noticed that Kobeejo's right knee was swollen. I had not noticed, as he was not limping nor favoring the leg. He also had a bit of a fever. I called my vet, who came out to check. He spent more time checking his intestines and doing an ultra-sound on his gut. Nothing was wrong there. He deduc...

In the 16 years I have owned my horse (a now 27-year-old Paint), I have boarded him at barns that fall into just about every category imaginable. He has been at large barns with rules so strict I felt suffocated, private barns with rules that rivaled big barns and some that allowed me to do as I please, and just about everything in between. We have moved 13 times in those 16 years, sometimes repeating barns we thought "had gotten better." The very first barn my horse was boarded at was also the same barn where I volunteered as a trail guide 40 years earlier. Seeking riding lessons, I naturally started there (by this time the riding stable it once was had become a privately owned boarding and lesson barn). I bought my horse (who had just turned 11 years old) while I was there as a lesson student. I boarded him there on "outside self-care" board. A show horse most of his life, he now lived on a 75-acre natural pasture with 20+ horses. This was a first for him and ...

At this point in time, transmission of the Coronavirus between humans and horses is not a worry. Those of us caring for our own horses at barns with other people should, however, practice utmost caution; not over infecting our horses, but to think about the tools we use in cleaning stalls, feeding, sweeping, etc. I have all my own tools; muckrake, broom, leaf rake (for cleaning paddock), lunge whip, and all of my horse's grooming tools, etc. However, it is not unusual for people caring for horses to share tools. Even at full board only facilities that have closed to the public and to boarders, thought needs to be taken to keep yourself and others safe. Thus, I have come up with a list of precautions we should all be taking within the barn to help prevent the spread of viruses. Use only your own tools and don't share, at least for now. If you have been using the barn's muckrake, for instance, to clean stalls, and others use it as well, use sanitizing wipes or spray (i...

Yesterday, I received photos from the vet hospital where Kobeejo had his lipoma surgery. Someone in the operating room took 2 photos. One of Kobee's small intestines (not sure if that round thing is a lipoma or THE lipoma or what). The other photo is of all the lipomas they removed from him. The long stalk shown is the one that caused his issues. If you look closely enough you can see that it is really TWO lipomas, the stalks wrapped up around themselves then around his intestine. It was by the luck of Riley (and quick action in getting him to the hospital) that he had no dead intestine and thus needed no resection. I cannot be 100% sure, but in the photo of the healthy intestine, I think the small lump there is a lipoma growing on the mesentery (fan-like tissue that holds up the small intestine). Healthy Small Intestine Lipomas removed from Kobee's intestine.

Today was the big day. Kobeejo came home!! 😀 The hospital people were sad he was leaving, as he was everyone's favorite, but happy he was going home. He was known as "the famous Kobeejo" up there, which is ironic, because when he used to show, he had the moniker. Dr. Minuto, the Resident in charge of Kobeejo, walked out to the trailer with us. As usual, he got right on. Once he was home, he was all wide-eyed with head as high as it would go, ears propped forward. I think he was in awe that he was home. I placed him in his stall and he immediately tried to come back out. He ate no hay on the way back and he was not interested in the hay in his stall. He just wanted to know that he was not the only horse there as all others were outside. He was weaving and anxious, as you can tell by this video . So, I took him outside to see his friends in their paddocks, grazed him for a bit in the field, and once a couple horses came in, I put him back in his stall. He was still a...

Finally, Kobeejo is coming home tomorrow! IVs are all out and he's back on free-choice hay. Wendy picked me up about1:30pm and we went up to see him. Otis was back in his stall across from Kobeejo today, so he was moved to another wing and now he's back. I don't know why; they don't give info on other horses. There are two other horses in his wing as well now. A pretty mare named Cher who nickered every time Kobeejo walked by, and the mare who came in yesterday next to him. I spoke to a tech, Jason, who came over while I took Kobeejo out for his walk and grazing. Jason had been part of a "Toxic Plant Tour" to teach people all about plants that are toxic to pets and horses. He saw me out there and left the tour to come talk to me. He told me he was in the operating room when KJ had his surgery and he was in charge of keeping KJ's intestines wet while they were out on a table during the surgery. He told me the lipoma "stalk" was wrapped p...

Usually, the vet calls me every morning with a progress report on Kobeejo. This morning, as always, I kept waking early, waiting for that phone call. By noon it had not come, so I climbed out of bed, knowing I had a long drive. I drove myself up to see Kobeejo, as my usual rides were not available. My mom came with me, which helped tremendously. I am a nervous long-distance driver. Fortunately, the traffic was light. Having my mom to talk to made the trip quicker and easier. I took the highway all the way up, but perhaps tomorrow, if Wendy is not available, I might take I-84 to Rte 20 and follow that way up. It's only 6 minutes longer. Not a big deal and I can avoid the tolls and traffic of I-90. We arrived a bit after 2pm. There was a trailer parked in the unloading area and the parking lot was packed! Busy day, I assumed the vet had not called due to emergencies (and I was correct). We had to wait a bit longer than normal in the waiting room and there were more people there...

Today (Feb. 15th) marks 2 days since Kobeejo's surgery. Today was a weekend, so hours were 1-4pm, unless I called to make arrangements to come at a different time. But we arrived around 2pm. He was in better spirits when I arrived at the barn with my friend Wendy. They had placed a tiny amount of soaked second cut hay in a metal bin that slides in and out of the stall, but it did not look like he ate much. Knowing Kobeejo as I do, I knew it was the metal bin (he hates sticking his head into anything unfamiliar). So, I removed a handful of the hay and handed it to him. He practically tore it from my hand. I offered him more... same. He ate the entire thing from my hand, and even picked up a few bits that dropped into the shavings. I told one of the workers that he really doesn't like metal bins, but she just said, "he ate some out of it." Kobeejo gives me a kiss. I didn't want to argue, but I knew he was just too hungry not to... So, me feeding him by han...

I was awakened by the telephone ringing this morning at 8:50am, after only 2 hours sleep. When I saw the name on the caller ID, I nearly panicked. It was the woman who feeds the horses in the morning, and she knows I work at night, so for her to call me, I knew something had to be wrong. I answered the phone quickly. "Kobeejo is not feeling well," she started. "He won't eat his breakfast (not like him) and he keeps laying down repeatedly." "I'll be right there," I said quickly. Kobeejo, my 27-year-old registered grey overo Paint/Pinto, is more to me than just a horse. 16 years ago, he saved my life and he's been my life-saving grace ever since. He's also my registered therapy horse, as I have autism. This horse is the blood that runs through my veins and I have always done everything I can to take the best care of him, give him the best (and correct amount and type) of food (24/7 forage, a ration balancer and alfalfa pellets soaked). ...

Horses closed up in stalls are prone to health issues due to dust, endotoxins, urine, feces, etc. I have boarded my horse at 9 different barns in the 15 years I have owned him, moving 13 times for various reasons from lack of proper care, raised board fees, death of the owner, to simply not getting along with owners or boarders. Some were small family barns, others large public barns. All varied in the degree of airflow from too much (a wind tunnel) to not enough (stifling and hot inside). Some offered windows of various sizes or even run-outs so the horses could remain outside if they wished or go in if the weather was bad. Barns! The worst, however, (something I find mostly in larger barns), are barns with no windows and are shut up at night (one barn I was at even shut the place up and locked it all summer, the horses sweating horribly inside). Barns can get hot at night with the heat of the horses' bodies (even winter, so keep blanketing in mind). I've seen hors...

photo copyright Christine Church all rights reserved Grass! That green stuff (or brown, depending on the weather) everyone associates horses eating. Let me give you a scenario; You look out at your green one-acre field and see your three horses out there, heads down, picking at the grass. You wonder, however, why they have lost a bit of weight in recent weeks. After all, they have grass, right? It's all green out there and some looks pretty tall. I can tell you right now, your pastures are overgrazed! You NEED to start supplementing with hay right now! photo copyright Horse Journals I can't tell you how many times I have heard people say, "I don't need to throw hay out there. He/she has grass!"  Ugh. 😧🙄 Upon easy inspection, however, it is plain as day that the "grass" is mostly weeds that horses don't eat and the edible parts of the paddock or pasture were eaten to a nub (see photo above). Don't forget, horses on their ow...

My horse, best friend and soulmate, Kobeejo... and me (hint: He's the good-looking one) Are you doing everything for your horse that he/she requires as a horse? It's time for the complete truth and honesty with yourself. You will say "yes, I am," but are you reeeeally? Well, welcome to "Stop Killing Your Horse," the HONEST blog about the proper care of horses in a modern and sometimes far too domesticated world. You're probably asking yourself, "Who's this chick that thinks she can tell me how to care for my horse?" Good question. Instead of spewing off a bunch of dry text about all my years in showing, every ribbon I've received, all my qualifications working here there and everywhere, horses I've worked with, let me just say... I'm nobody, really. What I am is a woman who was born with a huge passion and natural affinity for the care and love of horses. "Who isn't?" Right?  Some of you will run away w...