Yaaaa, soooooo my horse has been ill/injured. Basically the snark has been knocked out of me. Kind of like getting the wind knocked out of you when you fall hard.
It’s a weird feeling to hope for more poop. It’s even weirder when (warning: too much info is coming your way) you start pooping more yourself. As if somehow that will alleviate the gastro-intestinal pressure in your horse.
So, Horse, being the lovely, quirky gentleman he is, does this awesome thing where when he naps after breakfast and lunch he gets uber sleepy and starts to crumple. It’s like his body is telling him to lie down and his brain is all NO DAMMIT! NEVER LIE DOWN! LYING DOWING IS FOR THE WEEK AND SHEEP-LIKE! (To contextualize that, there are sheep on a neighboring farm and he dislikes them. Horse feels quite strongly most days that sheep are carnivorous and equipped with large, razor-sharp teeth.) Last Thursday, Horse faceplanted during one of his sleepy-spells. You’d think (at least I did) that it wouldn’t be that big of a deal – it’s not like he was running around and fell, there was no momentum to it other than, well, gravity. Sure there was an owy on his forelock but I’ve had Horse for over 15 years, it’s not like this is the first time he’s hurt himself.
The wonderful people at my barn washed out Horse’s owy and put him back in his stall. I got there a few minutes later and was heading around to his hind end and happened to touch his tail. Big mistake. Poor Horse arches his back like a cat and tries to scurry away. His whole hind end is sore and it’s almost like his pelvis is tilted underneath him. This, as you may imagine, made it difficult for him to poop.
By Saturday he was impacted and I was sympathy-pooping. So weird.
Anywho, Horse seems to be on the mend now so hopefully I will have a post for you guys next week. Although, I make no promises as I am now, officially, behind in all the writings. I somehow have to pull 5000 words out of my ass in a week. Doable, just not sure how intelligent they’ll be. Ass words are not usually known for their knowledge, wit, or plot… Wish me luck! 
31 Comments
:poop:
I just love the too stubborn to lay down ones. I’ve known several. My horse seemed to simply be oblivious to the fact that he was falling asleep, until his forehead impacted something, be it stall door, window sill, fence post. He’s had multiple stitches and lost a couple teeth to such episodes. My friend had two horses who were each the leader of the herd in their respective feilds, and neither one would lay down unless everyone else in the field laid down…which makes no sense from a horse stand point, because wouldn’t you want someone to be awake and on guard?! Maybe they were more afraid their herdmates would morph into horse eating monsters than they were afraid the the resident sheep (or the pig, god no not the PIG!) would eat them. Who knows. But it was perversely amusing to watch Captain keel over in the middle of the pasture.
Poop, Horse! Just poop! Good luck, impaction colic is a scary thing.
I think parents and pet owners are the most preoccupied with poop. I am not a parent, but I have spent a good chunk of time worrying about my horse, cats and dog’s bowel movements. So you are not alone! Glad horse in on the mend!
Hoping Horse is all better soon, my best to you and him!
And ….POOP!
aside from his injuries, have you thought about narcolepsy? i had an older horse that had it, also he may not want to lay down because he has trouble getting up ? and yes you have a classic case of “sympathy poop” at least you keep tabs on your babies “normal” elimination habits! alot of horses die i bet, because they dont do a “poop watch” hug him,gently and call the chiro. and get your credit card out! best wishes!!
We’re actually leaning away from narcolepsy since he doesn’t just pop into it and it’s at very specific times. You can pretty much run a clock by him lol. On Saturday we learned that he has no troubles getting up or lying down – he did it like 10+ times :S It’s been a super fun week. My credit card is already tired! lol
Poor Horse! I hope he gets better. Sending lots of imaginary hugs his way.
It’s not just horses, I think once you become an animal owner you become obsessed with poop (your animal’s poop that is). I find myself checking for worms and abnormalities more often than you would you think. I even watch the act pooping just to make sure the movements are normal. Does this make me weird? Perhaps. I also consider myself an involved and concerned animal owner.
I do the same thing. I know each dog’s poop method, their favorite places in the yard, normal consistency. I know it’s gross and I do my best not to bring it into conversation with non-animal people. *laughs*
But I do notice almost immediately any time something is off because of my attention to this subject, so I am unlikely to ever change.
I know – people think your weird, I mean the fact that they’re right doesn’t mean you want them thinking it
I’m the same, especially with my collie as she’s on tramadol so we have to give her laxatives so have to keep an eye to make sure she’s getting the right dose as she varies slightly over time – the glamourous side of pet ownership
My then 11 yo TBG coliced and survived surgery two months after I got him almost seven years ago. We joke that I PAID for that poop and I can worship it if I want! My friends and I love to talk about poop on Facebook. It grosses my mom out. We even bought her her own copy of Everybody Poops by Taro Gomi.
L O V E that book grandkids get a hoot out of it, its even as funny as farts!
glad to hear no narco. its a pain to predict when, & where it will happen. and sooo glad no up-down trouble either. hopefully the saying “time heals all wounds” pertains to your guy!
I live in an area where we have feral/wild horses and about 4 years ago had a herd of 17 coming to my yard on a regular basis. One morning I woke very early and looked out the window to check on the herd and the stallion was laying below my window sleeping.It was the first time I had ever seen him lay down and I was honoured. My husband and I crept around the house silently afraid to wake him. He slept quite a while and when he got up his body print was left on the frozen ground. I took that as a massive compliment that he felt safe enough to lay down and sleep, not just in my yard, but right below my bedroom window. Sadly he was eventually sent to slaughter, but I feel he gave me one of my life’s best gifts.
No greater gift than a horse’s trust!
I have come to the conclusion all horse people are poo obsessive. Is it too dry, too wet, it is happening at all ?? LOL I never worried this much about my daughter’s poo as a baby. I figure I can be a head judge in a horse poo contest. Take a great nose and keen eyesight !!!!
Now when it comes to sleeping my horse is great at scary people by looking like he is dead . Scared more then his fair share of folks at boarding barn. I hear “ Your horse hasn’t moved in hours“ He won`t get up I think he is hurt“ They have no idea that I have gone and poked him and he opens one eye then makes like I was never there. I have gone so far as to rock butt with my foot and he just gives a big sigh like God you are so annoying me. He learned to sleep like the dead from babyhood when 2 drafts used to hover over him while he slept
They make a fleece-lined leather thing that covers your horse’s face ( not his eyes or nose of couse ) to protect them from injuries just as you describe, or for in the trailer. Not a head bumper, but a frontal face protector. Perhaps you should invest in one. Could save you $$ on forehead stitches. My own horse fractured his skull by hitting it on something, he’s fine now,
seen those at Horse World Expo! They are awesome and something he could totally have used. He did sort of ‘outgrow’ the falling down thing when he retired, since he got to stay outside and sleep whenever he wanted, and unfortunately I had to put him to sleep a year ago. He was 24. I have suggested that contraption to a couple friends who’s horses tend to conk their heads tho!
Wouldn’t be a TB would he? Had a TB that throught our neighbors mini sheep would come flying over the fence and suck his blood. Same thing with goats. How an almost 1200lb animal is terrified by something that probably doesn’t weight more than, what, a 100lb is beyond funny.
bahaha well he is 1/2 TB!
My 1400 lbs. draft cross is terrified of goats. He almost stomped one to pudding one afternoon. His also scared of lead line snakes and lawn chair cougars.
Poop, on the other hand, has never been an issue with him…more’s the pity.
Yeah, my experience is that draft crosses need the ‘problem’ of a little bit smaller poop. That’d be -great-.
Mine poops like an elephant.
I was wondering if my mare had had a party with a large crowd overnight. How can 1 horse poop so much? Oh, 1/2 draft.
I give my 20 yr old cat Miralax. Like to keep things flowing easy.
I learn so much here! Here’s hoping Horse gets his front and back ends straightened out quickly. Never mind your pocketbook– it’s too hard on the nerves!
Glad everything came out OK!
As a person with Crohn’s, and a horse parent, pet parent, and human parent, I am a keen observer of poop as well.
As is the rest of my family, being involved in various medical/agricultural/veterinary/parenting pursuits. Our family dinnertime conversations are quite colorful, and it’s just one more reason I love my husband: he is not squeamish.
Miralax is good stuff. So is mineral oil, and various flax-based stuffs.
Speaking of Poop. I have one with the other problem. His is constantly soft. I think it has to do with his birth. Momma lost most of her colustrum and baby had a plasma transfusion. I am always open to suggestions how to firm up his stool. Of course I’ve consulted with my vet. (Same one who gave him the transfusion when he was a baby.) He’s on a probiotic and Metamucil. Orange flavor, he loves it. So if anyone has a suggestioin, I’m willing to listen. I’m tired of having to wash his tail all the time, and it’s really no fun when it’s below freezing.
Depending on his age this can also be a sign of an ulcer as I found out the hard way(.Long story)My young guy went from soft to projectile poop. He still gets loose the odd time when stressed so I give him Kaopectate. Works really well and according to my Vet is safe to use on horses.
Hmm, He’s three and not yet under saddle and has had this issue all of his life so don’t think it’s an ulcer. How much, how often, just how do you give your guy Kaopectate? I remember as a kid growing up on a dairy farm mixing it with water to give the baby calves in a bottle. Can you just add it to his feed?
It is about 30ml for an adult human so I give him 100 ml once a week.I sometimes wait to see how long it is until it is loose again then dose, if I want to spread it out. My little guy ( turning 3 this year and not under saddle) was loose poop kind of guy until the ulcer did a major flare up one day and we had projectile poop, I never knew. If you get the strawberry flavoured you can probably add it to food if he likes it. I also added a fat and fibre feed so he gets more fibre to firm it up.
Thanks, I’ll give it a try. Can’t hurt.