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Discuss horse riding and ownership on our Horse forum.

Original poster

Old horse lying down

41 replies

Littlegreyauditor · 07/12/2013 16:32

Hello there, this is my first ever thread and I wanted to pick your collective horse brains. Sorry it's a bit long.

I have a very elderly Connemara (between 30 and 35 years old) who has been fully retired for 5 years. He is arthritic in his back end, has a couple of cataracts and a few nodules on his dock, but otherwise in rude health (literally rude, he oozes attitude from all his pores).

He lives out all summer and has recently come in for the winter. I try to turn him out most days for exercise if the weather is not too foul. Today it was a balmy 9 degrees so I let him out without his rug so he could scratch at the massive, shaggy winter coat. He spent the day bumbling about but, according to the stable owner he lay down for a lot of the day. As I was mucking him out he was watching from the field when he suddenly disappeared from view and when I went to check he was lying flat out on the ground. I called him a few times but there was no reaction. Thinking he was gone I ran over and he gave me a filthy look and stood up.

He is not agitated, not kicking at his gut, pacing, salivating etc. I know that colic is still a possibility, as is him being just plain tired and old, but it was wondering if this is maybe a warning sign of the end approaching. Sad. It is not usual for him to lie flat out unless there is some serious sunshine for him to bask in.

I am keeping a close eye on him for now but I think I may need to brace myself.

Has anyone any experience of similar?

OP posts:
EnlightenedOwl · 07/12/2013 16:47

It could be but if any comfort he's an old horse safe and secure in his own paddock...lovely way to go if he does just lie down and doesn't get up again. Equally he could simply be enjoying a bit of rest and relaxation and getting you worried in the process!
Just keep an eye on him generally as you would anyway x he sounds a lovely old chap

Original poster
Littlegreyauditor · 07/12/2013 17:00

He is. I've had him 21 years nearly.

I have always said I would want him to just go in his sleep without drama and fuss.

He is my daemon.

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Pixel · 07/12/2013 17:08

Our old shetland has been doing this for the past couple of years. She frightens us to death sometimes because she lies so still and often has a few magpies jumping about on her. The times I've rushed up the field calling her name, getting no response and thinking the worst! She waits until I almost get there and looks up as if to say "oh it's you". She prefers the sun but will do it any time.
It probably is a sign she is running out of steam, she sometimes puffs a bit going up the steep hill and we think her eyesight is going, so I'm prepared for it but not panicking iyswim, as long as she is happy and eating well.

Original poster
Littlegreyauditor · 07/12/2013 17:16

He doesn't seem unwell anyway. The stable owner has just got a couple of Llamas and he did a big strut over to inspect them and deem them unworthy today, ten minutes after faking his own death.

They were very angry, which delighted him.

I am overthinking. I hope I am overthinking.

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Floralnomad · 07/12/2013 17:24

Not to put a downer on it but it may be worth thinking about what you are going to do when the inevitable happens ,unless of course you are already sorted . The first one of ours that died had given us a bit of warning ( about 6 months) and had started off with the laying down which progressed to laying down and being unable to get up without assistance ,eventually one day there was sadly no way to get him up . Because we had been able to plan a bit we already knew which crematorium we were going to use ,and how we wanted him euthanised etc .

Original poster
Littlegreyauditor · 07/12/2013 17:28

Yes, that is true. I am not sure if there is a crematorium which deals with horses here (I'm in NI). It is worth doing some research on that.

Thank you all for your replies.

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EnlightenedOwl · 07/12/2013 18:23

I've googled for you and found this one but there seems to be others. Anyway hopefully you won't need this info for some time to come but being prepared can make a difficult time that bit easier

www.glenvinepetcrematorium.co.uk/equine-cremation-option-last

Original poster
Littlegreyauditor · 07/12/2013 18:37

That is actually really handy for where I live. Good to know, thank you.

I went there to feed him and he seems quite happy in himself, so I am continuing to keep an eye on him.

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Stinkyminkymoo · 08/12/2013 09:38

Aww, how lovely! I really wouldn't worry about it, he's old and it's lovely that he's relaxed and happy enough to feel comfortable enough to lie down. He's an old boy and old folk like a nap!

To put an opposite point across, when I got my youngster at 8 months old, he used to lie down a lot. In the field and in his stable. He was a baby and would get tired. now he's a 2 yo who likes to break through the fencing because he can and join the new fit mare 2 fields away

If he was my horse, I would ask the livery to check on him if he's lain down for an uncomfortably long period. He sounds lovely though. Smile

Original poster
Littlegreyauditor · 08/12/2013 10:14

So this morning he was very chirpy, had pooped everywhere and was demanding his breakfast. I think it might just be his age and sore aul joints rather than the dreaded colic.

Thank you all again.

I have put a photo of him up to prove his loveliness Wink

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EnlightenedOwl · 08/12/2013 19:35

Oh he's lovely - what a gorgeous little chap.
I hope you have him for a good few years yet x

snorris · 08/12/2013 19:47

It may be because he doesn't lie down in his stable at night. There are two old horses (one 25 and the other 39) at the livery yard where I keep my pony and both of them quite often sleep flat out during the day. I am currently horse-sitting the 25 year old gelding and his owner told me that he thinks he must find it easier getting up outside because of the slight incline in the ground.

Mirage · 08/12/2013 20:02

Aww! He's lovely! We have a younger version of him,complete with nodules and attitude,looks exactly the same too. Ou connie is 18,and our beloved dpony is 23.She never used to lie down in the field until we moved her to my dad's farm,now she does frequently,which I take as a sign she is relaxed and happy.I like to see them both lying in the sun.Smile

Original poster
Littlegreyauditor · 08/12/2013 21:31

I think perhaps we may have had a slight blockage or slow digestive transit because today he did a quantity of dung which would have shamed a bull elephant and is all sunshine again. The recent foul weather had kept him cooped up so hopefully he can get out and about more often this week.

I know he looks like a wee scruff, but this is the pony who cleared 5 feet 5 at a riding club puissance (with fearless, stupid, kamikaze 15 year old me) and who was a demon cross country. Once we jumped a picnic table just to prove that we could (my mum, owner of the picnic upon the table, was not pleased).

Everyone thinks I am mad to spend all my spare money on a horse I won't ride but he always did his best for me; I feel I should return the favour for as long as he wants to stay. Blush

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frostyfingers · 09/12/2013 08:49

Have you time to lead him out in hand for a short while every now and then? Keeping moving I think is the key, both to stiffness and digestion.

ReverseThePolarityOfTheNeutron · 10/12/2013 10:28

Awww, this spring I found my older mare flat out on the floor with crows pecking her Shock she was fine the crowd were pecking off her winter coat for her Grin and she really liked it.

She also only really likes to sleep on bear dirt as well in her older age. When she was young she would lie anywhere, like floor fed hay on concrete stable floor, a banked straw bed and the muck trailer.

SaggyOldClothCatPuss · 19/12/2013 11:45

We had an old boy who used to do this! He did it for years! I think it's just because it's warmer at ground level and they're tired! Grin

He used to freak the shit out of us doing it, and people used to ring and tell us he was dead! You'd hurry down the field to see him and there would be no response until you were right there, then he would swear at you for waking him up!
His most disturbing trait was 'chasing cats' in his flat out moments. He would be dreaming and look just like he was having a fit, paddling his legs and twitching, then wake up bright as a button just as you got there in a panic!
It's quite common in old chaps, unless he displays any other symptoms of being ill I'd not worry much. Smile

Original poster
Littlegreyauditor · 19/12/2013 22:39

Thanks everyone.

He's definitely not ill anyway. Tonight I was checking his weight with a tape before this weekend's worming opera and he completely flipped out and pinged round the stable like a rubber ball ( because SNAKE! obviously). Threatened my mum with the twitchy hind end and then stood glaring at me. Took me 20 minutes to determine that he is the weight of a 17.1, after fretting that he has shrunk from his usual toroidal shape Hmm

He had to be bribed into stillness with a fat carrot (which may explain his heft). My mum was suggesting that he needs ridden. Ha. He had a buck like a demon before the 5 years of no saddle and everything his own way. I value my life!.

Lovely to see so many people harbouring aul buffers in their twilight years. That makes me happy.

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KiwiJude · 29/12/2013 23:36

He's lovely! I have such a soft spot for greys :) Do be careful though that he isn't carrying too much weight, it can be hard on old arthritic legs. My old fellow passed away at 42 years old, died overnight in his paddock of natural causes, no sign of a struggle.

Original poster
Littlegreyauditor · 02/03/2015 16:48

Sorry to reinstate a zombie thread but I just wanted to say thank you to EnlightenedOwl who posted information on the horse crematorium in NI.

Harvey died this morning. He was grand until later on last night, squealing for his dinner and throwing his weight around, then went a bit colicky and distressed. During the night he had a haemorrhage from an intestinal secondary of his modular melanoma. He collapsed in the early hours and was put to sleep with his head on my lap just before 10am.

I was, and am, in bits and would have been in no state to find the information myself, so thank you so much for the suggestion all that time ago. You made a horrible time just a little bit easier and I am forever grateful.

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Original poster
Littlegreyauditor · 02/03/2015 16:50

Here he is, just because today, of all days, I am making people look at his photo.

Old horse lying down
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Lovewearingjeans · 02/03/2015 20:31

Wow, he had an amazing, long life x

PoshPenny · 02/03/2015 20:33

I am so very sorry for your loss, I can't begin to imagine how you're feeling, I wish you all the very best xxxxx

Floralnomad · 02/03/2015 21:15

Sorry for your loss and it's a lovely picture xx

fuctifino · 02/03/2015 21:21

So, so sorry for your loss, he looked a dude.

I lost my pony after 19 years. I had a painting done of him and still, 10 years after I lost him it can bring a tear to my eye.
They leave such a huge hole Sad in your life when you think how many hours a day you spent with them.

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