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Hofsi from Pentland Hills, was born here in 2003. A
promising colt with good big movements, strong proud character and
of a rare roan colour. I decided to use him on a couple of mares
this season with future prospects of a stock stallion in mind.
On 1st June 2005 after two weeks with the mares
he showed the dreaded signs of grass sickness - sudden weight loss,
muscle tremor at the shoulder and flanks, total lack of interest in
almost everything, noisy breathing and a stance like that of an
elephant on a drum. The vet diagnosed grass sickness - damage to
parts of the nervous system which control involuntary functions,
producing the main symptom of gut paralysis.
We made the decision not to immediately euthanize him
on the grounds that he was not in severe pain (as in acute g.s.) and
there was a tiny bit of gut noise indicating that he perhaps did not
have total paralysis of the gut. We decided to take it day by day.
Sometimes after a few days, what starts as chronic g.s. develops
into a severe case and the horse is euthanized on welfare grounds.
However Hofsi’s worst problem was his inability to
breathe properly. A horse cannot breathe through its mouth like us
and so any nasal blockage is bad news. He had a classic g.s.
condition of the nasal membranes (drying out of the membranes) and a
subsequent build up of mucous within the passages. For 13 days he
lived mostly in the garden when he would spend a few minutes each
hour or so frantically grazing grass and then lie down in discomfort
or stand for hours in the same typical stance in the same corner of
the garden. He didn’t dung for the first week at all and was never
seen drinking. The grass was keeping him from dehydrating. He
wouldn’t eat anything except grass as he perhaps knew he might choke
and we stopped offering him carrots, apples, feeds etc. He was
rugged up to keep him warm but also to stop passers by reporting us
to the SSPCA because by day 13 there was no more fat or muscle to
lose, his ribs were very obvious and his backbone was arched. It
was downhill all the way to that point. On day 13 at 8 am I decided
enough was enough and called the vet to put him to sleep. He could
hardly breathe that morning although we had tried in vain to clear
his nose in different ways, which he hated.
The vet arrived and we decided first to have one last
try at clearing his nose. He sedated him, which could have killed
him in his weak condition, but we had nothing to lose at this
stage. After a half hour session up each nostril, the vet managed
to dislodge a huge amount of mucous and debris by whatever means he
could. On the floor was a huge pile of yuck. That was the turning
point for Hofsi. When he woke up, he could breathe normally for the
first time in two weeks. We put him on antibiotics for four days
and crossed out fingers - the mucous never built up again!
Today six and a half weeks on, he’s definitely on the
road to recovery. Although still looking like a cruelty case, he
has a covering over his ribs, he drinks and dungs nearly normally
and is interested in the activities going on around him. He has a
small feed of beet pulp and special conditioning pellets mixed twice
a day and he can wander from his paddock where he grazes in long
grass, to a shed of thick straw where he sleeps and where he can
interact over the passageway with the other horses.
I am only writing this article in case it helps
someone else unlucky enough to have a horse with this terrible
disease, to make decisions. Obviously no two cases are exactly the
same but perhaps it gives a little hope in what otherwise looks like
a hopeless case, as Hofsi did on Day 13.
Hofsi has fared very well over the
winter and after recovering from being gelded, has been turned out
with pals and is more playful than ever. Donations for the
Equine Grass Sickness Fund are very welcome and we operate a second
hand book box in reception to raise money - each books costs £1 and
this goes to EGSF.
Jill Noble
Hofsi
now - tacked up for the first time!
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