QUEST EQUINE WELFARE INC.

HOMED

Quest Affiliate Carer - Fiona Findlay ~ 'Bramblewood Sanctuary'

Arrived 15.05.10

*click to enlarge images.

Edward is aged 25 - 26. He has done some time as a riding school horse and was apparently favoured by nervous and beginner riders. He was surrendered along with his paddock buddy JJ.
You can visit JJ on her page.

I'm hoping that his loss of condition can be rectified with an appropriate feeding regime. He's very interested in food, (and me, since the two are usually combined), but does take a looooooong time to get through his tucker. He also has a bit of a history of scouring, and I've seen some evidence of that in the yards this morning. He has an extremely long and thick coat that masks his poor condition a fair bit.

 22.05.10

These lovelies had their first visit from the Vet yesterday.

So far as Edward is concerned we are going to see how he goes over the next couple of months before doing anything like blood tests. The Vet thinks, as do I, that we see whether his condition improves with the twice daily hard feeds and rugging at night. He's certainly very food focused and has quite a curious nature for such an old man. He is interested in everything that is going on around him and shows no sign of depression. I am hopeful that he is just an old horse that needed some extra TLC. If there is nothing more sinister at work then he should at least hold his condition - such as it is - over winter and improve in spring. Here's hoping.

He has a steady heart with no sign of murmors, and had to be sedated to get his teeth done. He was absolutely stonkered - it took three of us to hold him up - so, I don't have any photos of his extremely wavy mouth.

All in all, these two are just charming. JJ is a complete schmoozer, very affectionate and chatty. Edward is more dignified but, he's also a Peeping Tom! He spends a pretty large part of his day peering in the window of my parents' house waiting for someone to come out and feed him.

31.05.10

Edward is charming - there's simply no other word to describe him!

He loves his food, and the only thing that placated him on Friday while JJ was at the Vet was a second breakfast, morning tea, brunch, lunch and then a snack. I think he's already starting to put on condition, and once the rain stops and he gets his jammies off I'll get some body photos to post. I'm hopeful that we'll have him looking much chubbier sooner rather than later.

He doesn't do anything more vigorous than a walk but he's pretty constantly on the move. Every single time the front door opens on the big house he's up to the fence to see if he can get a feed. There's certainly nothing wrong with his hearing!

On Saturday we moved the rest of the Bramblewood mob into the front paddock adjoining the small paddock that Edward & JJ are in. Naturally we had a stampede from the rest of the maddies - even JJ tried a bit of a trot - but not too successfully. Not Edward though - he's far too dignified - walking is far more elegant!

He's very protective of JJ. When Bec Fola, (our boss mare), and JJ had a squealing competition over the fence, Edward waddled over and shoved JJ out of the way. He is definitely the dominant horse of the pair.

He has a beautiful coat - just like a shag pile rug. It's extremely long and thick and his fur is silky soft - except at his neck where he's been rolling in the mud over the last few days!

17.06.10

The Vet has been to visit Edward this morning. The elderly gentleman is not eating this morning - very unusual for him. Edward was fine yesterday - bossing JJ and Bonnie Clydesdale (over the fence). He ate his dinner last night as usual but this morning wasn't particularly interested in his brekky. He ate most of his hard feed, but not with his usual gusto, and seemed very slow and a bit distracted. At one point he walked off and stood as though he was about to pee but didn't. Came back to his feed and looked at it, then walked off with a purpose to the far end of the paddock - peed, then pooed, then stood in the corner looking forlorn. Another anxious morning.

At first glance the Vet thought Edward probably had just a mild belly ache. Not being interested in his food, feeling a bit warm and straining to pee are all indicative of that BUT (there's always a BUT) apparently Edward's heart rate was quite elevated - 84 to be precise. The Vet said that if the heart rate is above 50-60 then he starts to worry that something else more serious is wrong.

The Vet's done an internal examination, and said there was a bit of feed in a large pocket near the colon - apparently in an abnormal spot. Not a hard ball of feed but just something a bit irregular. He said that although nothing really stands out, things at that end of Edward just don't feel quite right. He's given Edward some meds, ('feel good drugs' he calls them), taken some bloods, and did a belly tap for some peritoneal fluids which he may get tested, dependent on how Edward behaves over the next couple of hours. The meds must have had some effect, at last check, Edward had finished his breakfast feed and was looking normal-ish.

18.06.10

Well the elder statesman seems to be ok this morning. He was happy enough to eat his dinner last night, and get out into the paddock after being yarded all day. He ate most of his breakfast this morning, but left a bit of his hay which is a bit weird, since the other 10 horses seem to think it's the best hay they've ever had. He then went off to graze in the paddock.

3.07.10

14.10.10