12/17/10, 12:39 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,862
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My last horse (1965-1990) was a chronic founder and loved to break out of his stall to help himself on the 18% protein goat feed. I learned really quick to get the vet out to tube him with a dose of mineral oil or we'd be in a world of hurt. He was easy to colic too. I'd call the vet even though what my horse had may no longer be the treatment of choice.
An aside re: one episode. This horse was old enough that in his earlier days, the only way to effectively worm a horse was with tubing him. Windy was a patient calm horse and he learned to stand quietly for these procedures. Once when a new vet came out after one of his binges, the first thing Bill did was put a twitch on Windy's nose. Windy started throwing his head so I took it off. A discussion ensued between Bill and me about replacing it. I promised Bill that Windy would submit to treatment without the twitch. Actually, Windy would fight the twitch far longer and harder than he ever would having the tube put down his throat and finally I told Bill I would pay double his fee if we had to replace the twitch. I could see the grin and $$ signs in his eyes. As the tube started up Windy's nose, he extended his head so the tube could pass more easily. Then he swallowed to allow it to pass into his esophagus. Bill's mouth was falling open by now. He kept going on about 99 out of 100 horses in his practice needed to be twitched and the 100th needed to be put in stocks--blah, blah, blah. After checking that the tube was in Windy's stomach, he pumped in a copious amount of mineral oil, then withdrew the tube. Windy just shook his head a bit and looked around as if to say "Ya done yet?" A few days later I heard from a friend who had had Bill to her farm said that he told her about the horse that didn't need to be twitched.
Let us know how he's doing, Heather.
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horse ate everything!
