Post by here to stay on Sept 27, 2017 1:16:08 GMT
I talked to a vet about 4 hours away. As is so frequent with horses, the answer is not as simple as I want.
My vet here is reluctant to take out any other teeth but the root of the broken one and the opposite incisor which is loose. He thinks it's too hard on the horse. He will only remove teeth that are failing as he would be forced to do it. I suspect with him it's let it go until it is clear she needs to be put down as it's a painful condition. He has always been prone to thinking that way even to the point of once telling me to put down my 4 year old horse and get a useful one. That horse went on for another 10 years pretty well. This vet is more than a bit of a general downer.
Then the vet in Redding looked at pictures and talked to me. He said that he can not make a judgement as to whether the horse can deal with the surgery and go on to more years happily. He said that depends on the horse and it is a decision that only I can make as he doesn't know the horse. He has done surgery where he has taken out all the incisors. He too says it's a hard surgery for the horse but it needs doing as all the teeth will fail sooner or later. The condition is painful and will only get worse. I have seen this doctor and know he is hugely in love with all horses and a ball of enthusiasm.
So it even a more dire decision than I thought. In my heart of hearts, I think that while Tessie is doing reasonably well, eating, not losing weight, her behavior is telling me that she is not a happy camper. She spends about half her time standing near the sheds while Hollie goes off by herself to scrounge what she can off the eaten down paddocks. Is it that she feels bad health wise or is she just unwilling to stand around because her teeth don't let her graze anyway. But she's still first at the gate for dinner.
Simply getting Tess to any place to do the surgery will be hard on both of us. This is not a drive down a main highway but a many hours long trip over the mountains on a lot of twisty, steep 2 lane roads. Which are at this moment only open three times a day for escorted trips through a wild fire.
But do I put her through the trip and surgery at age 26 or do I let "nature take it course" and put her down when it's clear that there's no other option with maybe a couple of lesser surgeries in the process? Do I have the ability to do this taxing drive in my old truck and trailer?
Well, I don't expect anyone to tell me what to do but simply writing this down helps bring it into focus for me. As with any such decison, it's hard to sort out my own insecurities and make the decisiin based on what's best for Tess.
My vet here is reluctant to take out any other teeth but the root of the broken one and the opposite incisor which is loose. He thinks it's too hard on the horse. He will only remove teeth that are failing as he would be forced to do it. I suspect with him it's let it go until it is clear she needs to be put down as it's a painful condition. He has always been prone to thinking that way even to the point of once telling me to put down my 4 year old horse and get a useful one. That horse went on for another 10 years pretty well. This vet is more than a bit of a general downer.
Then the vet in Redding looked at pictures and talked to me. He said that he can not make a judgement as to whether the horse can deal with the surgery and go on to more years happily. He said that depends on the horse and it is a decision that only I can make as he doesn't know the horse. He has done surgery where he has taken out all the incisors. He too says it's a hard surgery for the horse but it needs doing as all the teeth will fail sooner or later. The condition is painful and will only get worse. I have seen this doctor and know he is hugely in love with all horses and a ball of enthusiasm.
So it even a more dire decision than I thought. In my heart of hearts, I think that while Tessie is doing reasonably well, eating, not losing weight, her behavior is telling me that she is not a happy camper. She spends about half her time standing near the sheds while Hollie goes off by herself to scrounge what she can off the eaten down paddocks. Is it that she feels bad health wise or is she just unwilling to stand around because her teeth don't let her graze anyway. But she's still first at the gate for dinner.
Simply getting Tess to any place to do the surgery will be hard on both of us. This is not a drive down a main highway but a many hours long trip over the mountains on a lot of twisty, steep 2 lane roads. Which are at this moment only open three times a day for escorted trips through a wild fire.
But do I put her through the trip and surgery at age 26 or do I let "nature take it course" and put her down when it's clear that there's no other option with maybe a couple of lesser surgeries in the process? Do I have the ability to do this taxing drive in my old truck and trailer?
Well, I don't expect anyone to tell me what to do but simply writing this down helps bring it into focus for me. As with any such decison, it's hard to sort out my own insecurities and make the decisiin based on what's best for Tess.
