Natural Horse Care in an Unnatural World

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 ...

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.

Wendy decided to drive me up to see Kobeejo today. She said she missed him. I was grateful not to have to drive as I had a bad night and was too tired to drive far. We left a bit later than I like... around 2:30. Once again, the traffic was not too bad, so we made it in an hour. Before we left, Dr. Minuto called. She said Kobeejo was eating well, and if he maintained this level he could go home Saturday. I was thrilled! Last night, I went up to the barn and filled a hay bag full with the first cut hay he loves, and a smaller one with the second cut. So, I brought all the hay in the net with me and, once in his stall, he immediately dunked his nose into the top of the hay net where I had it open. So I started filling the metal hay bin with his first cut and he was thrilled. Top of pic is his sheath, bottom his front legs. You can see the incision on the right, though the pic is a bit off center. They had removed his bandage so I got a good look at the incision under his belly....

With everything that is going on with my horse, Kobeejo, I have been doing a lot of research on lipomas. What They Are Lipomas are fatty tumors (usually benign) that grow inside a horse's intestines. Lipomas are also common in people and certain dog breeds (like Dobermans... both my Dobes from the past had them. Only one was cancerous and needed to be removed with radiation following. He survived it). In people, they are almost always found under the skin. My mom had a big one on her shoulder removed. Most of the time, lipomas in horses never cause a problem. Sometimes, however, they grow and as they become heavy, they pull down and form a stalk. Since it is on the intestine, the stalk can wrap around the horse's intestine when they roll, or lie down, run around, etc. They are impossible to detect until they strangulate or in other ways cut off the intestine and prevent anything from passing, and cut off blood supply. This is when time is of the utmost importance. Fortuna...

Today (the 17th) I went up with my mother and brother to visit Kobeejo, as I do every day. He seemed so much more depressed than he has so far. And he only took a peppermint, but reluctantly, which is very unusual as he adores peppermints. It has me concerned, but the vet had called this morning to let me know that, because of his lack of appetite, tomorrow they are going to scope him (pass a camera through and see if anything is wrong). Also, I think he has a bad tooth. Even before this happened, hay has been getting lodged into his left cheek. I had a dentist appt for him the day this happened, so he has not been able to see the dentist. The vet at the hospital told me, while he is sedated, they would look at his teeth and fix any problems. The vet who came to the barn the day Kobeejo colicked, looked in his mouth. He said he had a cracked tooth, but nothing too alarming. I wonder if the cracked tooth is causing him pain? She had also told me I could walk him today. Whil...