Whats wrong with my horse?

chickanddoglvr

In the Brooder
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I have a 34 year old horse named Jack, he is old but has always been in very good health. He is the trouble maker and the leader of the herd, but this past week he has been kinda slow and sluggish. Some other weird things is he seems to be having trouble chewing, and only makes left hand turns, you have to force him to go right. Any ideas you have would be greatly appreciated.
 
Does he stil have some teeth left? If so, I'd start by having his teeth checked and floated if necessary.
 
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He needs to be seen by a vet. Some of the symptoms you have described could be neurologic. They could be a result of trauma, stroke (yes, horses can have strokes) or certain diseases.

What is his vaccine history? Is he vaccinated for rabies? What area of the country do you live in and what are his living conditions? Closed herd on private property or boarding/training/show stable with lots of horses coming and going?

If he is 34, you do need to start monitoring him and possibly feeding him with choke in mind, though I don't know that the current problems are choke related at all. They possibly could be - not all chokes present with drastic symptoms. There is a pretty good chance that he doesn't have many teeth left, and what teeth are present are probably nubs. Floating isn't as big of an issue in extreme elderly toothless horses, because they simply do not have enough opposing teeth present to create hooks and waves. Anyway, he would probably appreciate water soaked feed and soaked chopped forage/cubes. He may soon (if he doesn't already) have trouble maintaining his weight.

My current horses are aged 37, 29 and 8. My old guys have been on "liquid diets" for years.
 
No his teeth are fine, he lives on private property with just one ather horse who is not showing any other symptoms. Has always been healthy, he has been wormed and is current on all shots. We live in Cincinnati Ohio, it gets pretty cold, but this winter his fur coat was a little weak.
 
He needs to be seen by a vet. Some of the symptoms you have described could be neurologic. They could be a result of trauma, stroke (yes, horses can have strokes) or certain diseases.

What is his vaccine history? Is he vaccinated for rabies? What area of the country do you live in and what are his living conditions? Closed herd on private property or boarding/training/show stable with lots of horses coming and going?

If he is 34, you do need to start monitoring him and possibly feeding him with choke in mind, though I don't know that the current problems are choke related at all. They possibly could be - not all chokes present with drastic symptoms. There is a pretty good chance that he doesn't have many teeth left, and what teeth are present are probably nubs. Floating isn't as big of an issue in extreme elderly toothless horses, because they simply do not have enough opposing teeth present to create hooks and waves. Anyway, he would probably appreciate water soaked feed and soaked chopped forage/cubes. He may soon (if he doesn't already) have trouble maintaining his weight.

My current horses are aged 37, 29 and 8. My old guys have been on "liquid diets" for years.
Mine was 37 and on a liquid diet for years. What we do for our pets!
 
I have a 34 year old horse named Jack, he is old but has always been in very good health. He is the trouble maker and the leader of the herd, but this past week he has been kinda slow and sluggish. Some other weird things is he seems to be having trouble chewing, and only makes left hand turns, you have to force him to go right. Any ideas you have would be greatly appreciated.
Maybe his eyesight is going. Maybe he injured his neck and it's stiff on one side.
 

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