Question about older horse?

Question

Ok so here's the deal. My family has a 22 year old Quarter Horse mare and lately she has been laying down a lot more than normal. I know it's not colic, because there are no other signs and it's been a few days that she has been doing this. The only thing that we can think of is that the horse shoer came later than he normally would have cause he got injured and he had to cut her feet shorter than usual and that caused her to be lame(we took her to the vet and found that out) and because her feet hurt she is just laying down to get the weight off of them. I just wanted to know if anyone had any other ideas as to why she might be doing this.

Thanks!

Answer 1

How old are you? Are you the only one taking care of this Babe? Rub her and brush her, talk, talk talk to her! My heart goes out to you!

Answer 2

i had a 29 year old quarter horse gelding.. they are beautiful aren't they? She may just be feeling a bit old and needing some more rest, if the weather is getting colder she might lie down more, and of course she may be getting weight off her feet. unless she remains down and rarely gets up, i shouldn't worry. if there are any signs that she is in pain or discomfort beyond her short hooves, see a vet. and try not to ride too much on her hooves!! good luck with her =]

Answer 3

She's old, she may be getting tired. We have a horse in the same situation, he is an flea-bitten gray Arabian gelding named Duncan, and he is 27 yo. He lies down a lot and falls sometimes. Once he starts falling more often, he are going to out him down so he isn't in pain.

Answer 4

Usually when you're trying to diagnose something, you go back and look for the obvious first, if only to rule it out.  If the only explanation you can come up with to explain her suddenly doing this is the trim, then it is likely to be the trim that caused it.

Answer 5

I have an older horse too (30 y.o.)  If your vet said it is from trimming her too short, then I would not worry.  I have read that turpentine is suppose to be good for putting on the hoofs but I have not tried it myself.  Keep a watchful eye on her.  Sometimes older horses get founder.  I have a horse with Cushings Disease and I have to watch him carefully for signs of founder.  If I can be of any assistance, please don't hesitate to email me.

Answer 6

If your shoer cut her feet so short that she can't walk, you need to fire your shoer.  I've never even trimmed a horse so short that they are lame.  Please have her checked for signs of laminitis as the trauma to the feet can trigger an episode and by the time you figure out that it's laminitis and not the shoeing the damage will be done.  She'd be better off barefoot getting a good trim anyway.  He should not have trimmed her short just because it was a while between shoeings.  The feet only should be cut to the length that it should be.  Your shoer is negligent!

Answer 7

I have an older gal she is 28 and she has cushings disease, she has a hard time with sensitive feet so I have to monitor her feeding regimen very careful. However she does colic but its a silent colic, she will lay down and the only reason I know she is, is because she will sweat between her hind flanks. If you can borrow some horse boots for her until her feet grow out that would help her a lot. Also why did the trimmer trim her so short? I would have a serious talk with them before they touch he feet again.

Answer 8

Its quite possible that she just wants to rest her feet - I once had a mare with a very bad abscess stay down for 3 days! What did the vet say to do? I would probably give her a couple of grams of bute, pack her feet, and keep her on very deep, soft bedding for a week or so - its going to take a while for her feet to toughen up. Obviously no riding.  

Please remember that stress can cause colic. Watch her carefully until she feels better.

Good luck! I hope she feels better soon!