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Member
Posts: 27
| i have an older gelding that i have owned and ran for almost three years now he is 21 and i take very good care of him ( injections, chiropractic..... ect) in the last month we have started having gate issues. he has always been a hotter type horse and comes in the gate on the muscle my old routine i warm up away from the arena in the pasture parking or where ever because the over crowded and too close to the alley way warm up pens get him frustrated and worked up we would then find a nice calm place to sit that is close to the alley where i have a straighter angle when its our turn he would want to run in and i would hold him and wait as long as i could before he would lung forward and then just hang on! we are consistently 2D, now he is stopping and even turning away from the alley, i have tired the buddy system it doesn't seem to be making a difference iv tried to keep him walking and that seems to make him hotter and anticipate it more, i thought maybe we were not getting a good angle but ill set him up in the middle and he still does it, the first few times he has done this once i got him in he still ran fine, but now its effecting our first barrel and we are either knocking it down or running past it.! please any help i would appreciate it i hope this is not his way of telling me he is done running he has so much heart i dont really think he is done. and i know older horses are harder but there has to be something i can do! |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
  
| Arrange to have him scoped after a run, even if it is a hard hard run at home. I have a pretty good feeling he is bleeding if everything else is UTD injection wise etc.
Either way I can almost promise you it is pain related if it came on that quickly with no warning. |
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Member
Posts: 27
| his injections are almost due so i am going ahead and having them done early but its only by a couple of weeks |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 356
| I would have a full lameness exam done. Every horse is different, and weird things pop up now and then. When we had to start injecting for maintenance on my gelding, we initially had to do his hocks and stifles. The last couple check-ups he's had, his hind end has looked great but we've had to start injecting his fetlocks on the fronts. Different things can develop, especially if they're a little ouchy in one spot and start over compensating in another area.
I'd also have him scoped to be sure he's not bleeding. With how quickly the gate issues developed, I'd be suspicious that he may have started bleeding and is having trouble getting his air. They can start at any time. My gelding is 18, and I've had him since he hit the ground and been running him since he was 5 or 6. He bled for the first time last summer and I've ran him on Lasix since. |
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Member
Posts: 27
| Thank you! im not familiar with the term bleeder and lasix can you tell me more about that? |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| EIPH - exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage
Basically when under high blood pressure situations the tiny blood vessels in the lungs burst and they bleed into the lung, creates a drowning sensation - that alone is enough to freak one out. Also opens one up to lung infections etc.
Keep in mind that high blood pressure doesn't have to be during a run - if he gets too jacked up at the gate he may bleed before he ever sets foot in the arena.
Lasix is the go to medication. It a blood thinner making it easier for the heart to push blood through the body.
There's a host of other things to consider, but that's the nutshell basics. |
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12842
 
| Get him injected more often and put him on Platinum CJ. |
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Member
Posts: 27
| he gets injections every 4 months and im afraid of giving him supplements because i dont want to make him hotter |
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  Keeper of the King Snake
Posts: 7622
Location: Dubach, LA | At 21, in shape or no, he may be telling you he is finished. There comes a time when you can't inject enough to keep one going. I sure wouldn't begin Lasix to keep on going down the road at that age. Get a good check-up at the vet and make a decision that's good for the horse. |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| Adding hugs. The good old boys are tough and it's hard not to feel totally overwhelmed by everything it could possibly be.
First step is to head to a vet and figure out what is wrong.
Second step is to weigh options.
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | I agree with him being 21 its about time to think about retiring him, he may be trying to tell you this. I have a 21 one year old also and I retired him a few years back, I wanted him to stay sound so retirement for him.. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 356
| OhMax gave a great explanation of what a bleeder is. That would be a conversation to have with your vet. They know your horse and how he's aging. I wouldn't be worried about the Platinum CJ supplement making him hotter. It's not an "energy" supplement. I would also consider trying the Formula 707 Calming Essentials pellets. It may be all in my head, but I think they've helped my horse. |
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Nut Case Expert
Posts: 9305
Location: Tulsa, Ok | Lasix is not a blood thinner. It is a diuretic used to reduce fluid, which in turn reduces plasma volume and theoretically reduces blood pressure to hopefully stop EIPH (bleeding). |
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Expert
Posts: 1695
Location: Willows, CA | I have seen this with ulcer horses. If it hurts his stomach to run, he will not want to go in the gate. You might try the ulcer pressure points as a first step. I have seen this with ulcer horses several times. |
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Expert
Posts: 3514
| OE Nutraceuticals has a product called Game Changer. It will not make him hot. Add their product align to it. It will help his stomach and actually tends to calm one. But as others have mentioned have a lameness exam. Get him injected if needed. Then start on OE. I also give Pentosen . 3 ccs once a week for 4 weeks then depending on horse give every2 weeks or once a month. |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| SC Wrangler - 2016-10-06 7:35 PM
Lasix is not a blood thinner. It is a diuretic used to reduce fluid, which in turn reduces plasma volume and theoretically reduces blood pressure to hopefully stop EIPH (bleeding).
My bad, it's always been described to me as a thinner...I'll have to remember that to correct those folks.
Thankfully I've never had a true bleeder, but did a fair amount of research into symptoms when I thought I might. Scoped clean and decided IAD so never got so far as thoroughly researching treatments. |
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