Liz Howell

Archive for the ‘Mariachi’ Category

Mariachi had to be humanely put down today. Since he came here I had suspected that he had some sort of nerve damage. Every once in a while he would just twitch for no apparent reason. I figured I would have chiropractic and acupuncture performed on him once his weight got up to a reasonable amount.  I was getting so excited and had been telling Jim that I would probably be able to start riding him in a week or so as the weight was really coming on nicely.

Yesterday Jim called me out from the house and said to come see if he was ok as he was acting weird. I went out to find him holding himself up against the fence and Sudden all upset that she could not help him. I pulled Sudden out of the pasture and put her in the stall and went back to check on him. He was wondering aimlessly around the pasture and appeared to not be able to see and was confused.  I went out to try and get a halter on him and thats when the worse seizure I have ever seen a horse have.  His bottom lip exposed his entire lower jaw, he went totally stiff in the poll then his mouth flew wide open and his head jerked to his side. He went in circles like this for a little bit and then went down, his entire body was stiff with his neck still turned to his side and his legs were flailing about while he tried to get up.  This was so violent there was no way for us to get in there to prevent him from hurting himself.  He got up once only to fall again and after the third time I just lost it.

I ran up to Jim screaming we have to shoot him he is in pain and probably a bunch of other things I don't remember and went to get the phone to call the vet.  Jim went inside to get his gun while I called the vet.  By the time we got back out there he was back up but still disoriented.  He had no coordination and his hind legs kept giving out on him he also was still unable to see. I walked out to him and softly called his name but he either couldn't hear me or was so disoriented that he walked over to the other fence line and leaned against the fence.

The vet finally called and I told her all the symptoms that he was having and she said right off the bat that it was encephalitis and that usually when they are that far gone that supportive therapy (which is very expensive) would probably not work. We made the decision to have him put down as that seizure was so horrible that I would not want any person or animal to have to go through something like ever.

Well it was about one and a half hours later and Mariachi finally came back into his mind.  He still had the tremors but responded to his name and came over and drank some water. A little while later I offered him a treat that he was able to eat and put some hay out for him.  I left him in the pasture that night as I did not want him to hurt himself in his stall or in the paddocks attached to the stall. I went out at various times through the night checking on him until around 3 am when Jim woke up and took over for me.

This morning Moses an animal rendering service came out and put him down. Jim put Sudden in the far stall so that she could not see what was going on and then stayed out there with Mariachi as I had said my good byes the night before.  He said Moses was a very kind person and that it was very quick and painless for Mariachi.  Moses then stayed with Jim another half hour or so consoling him which I think is the kindest thing a stranger can do for another.

We are both torn up over this terrible tragedy but we know it was the right thing to do. After checking all the books poor Mariachi most likely had West Nile as he experienced every single one of the characteristics associated with this disease with the exception of Coma.  All it takes is a shot to protect a horse from such a terrible fate, now a beautiful horse is gone because of his owners neglect.

My other horse Sudden is so sad...she really loved Mariachi and they got along so well together. Her shots ARE up to date but I am going to give her boosters just to be on the safe side.

Well it has been a week yesterday since I started feeding Mariachi and all the other things that needed to be done to him.  He has not foundered, died or had a colic episode so I think we are on the road to recovery.  He is getting only slightly more feed than Sudden who is supposed to be on a diet as per the vet. (Sudden gets fat on air) I give him 1/2 scoop feed, 2 flakes of alfalfa and 1 flake of coastal two times per day. Extra coastal is given as needed plus I turn them out for a couple of hours a day to pick at what ever grass is left in the pasture.

I never did start Mariachi on antibiotics as I just felt that would have been too much on his system. His runny nose has left but his eye is still swollen. A lady named Rhonda that runs a local Horse rescue came over yesterday and said to just keep a fly mask on him and that it would probably clear up on its own. I have flushed it a couple of times this week with clear eyes.  I still have him on the daily wormer and the probiotics.

Today I moved my round pen panels up front and will let them graze a couple of hours up there. We don't have the front fenced so I will just move the panels around as needed. Here are a few pics, I do think mariachi has put on just a little bit of weight (might be my imagination though). Sudden really loves him and they get along perfectly which is really nice.  Check the pics and see what you think. If you click on the pictures it makes them larger.

Well Revy left and now I already have my next horse project.  He is a little Paso Fino about 10 years old that is skin and bones. He has a long shaggy coat, a runny nose and eye and cribs (which I did not know about until I brought him home). I was so excited to get him and give him a new home just to be shattered that he was a cribber. I contacted the previous owner to see if he would take him back (which I really did not want to do) but of course he denied knowing anything about the horse being a cribber so now I am stuck.

I considered putting him down but instead went ahead and purchased one of the Miracle Collars for him. It seems to control the problem although it kills me to have to put it on him as they have to be extremely tight to actually work.  If I am going to be able to get any weight on him though he is just going to have to wear it.  The problem with some cribbers is they will spend so much time hitting the wood and sucking air that they don't eat well and their food does not digest properly resulting in colic and weight loss.  Also they tend to develop a crusty neck, wear their teeth down and have multiples of other problems.  I don't care what the experts or my friends that own cribbers say, I do believe it is a vice that CAN be learned from other horses just like wood chewing and I certainly don't want Sudden to start doing it.

Here is my plan of attack with him:

1. Control the cribbing - Done with a Miracle Collar
2. Start him on Probios - Started yesterday will continue for the next couple of months. I am also considering Ulcer meds in the event there are any problems.
3. Worm him - Will do that today with Ivermectin to follow up in 2 weeks with another dose of  Zimectrin Gold.
4. Start him on Antibiotics - Will start that tomorrow if no problems are seen from the worming. Two weeks SMZ two times a day should fix the runny nose and eye. If not will have tested for allergies. Cleaned out eye with Clear Eyes.
5. Start Sand Prevention Treatment - Started yesterday will continue for 7 days as per instructions.
6. Turn out as much as possible during the day without the collar, unfortunately he will have to come up at night to the barn as I live in the Forest and am too afraid to leave them out at night.
7. Feed a good quality feed and hay - I am not so concerned about the feed but feel he needs the roughage so I have started him on alfalfa and coastal hay with only about 1 pound of Seminole Perform Safe two times daily.

Here are a few pics, his back bone and hip bones are protruding. He has what I imagine is a wormy stomach as you can see his ribs but his belly is big and his coat is long and shaggy. He has no muscle mass and even the fat that should be over his eyes is absent.  Poor guy has a lot wrong with him, crossing my fingers he pulls out of this ok.