The Duty

Its been a while since I last posted, I've been busy as usual and not much of it is material I can post. So I thought I'd post this subject which is very important to me.



The Duty

"We order the time of their conception and the time of their death. In between we have a Duty."
~ Terry Pratchett - "A Hat Full Of Sky"

And it is true. We order just about everything in their lives. We make demands of them that is most unnatural. We expect and desire their unquestioning obedience. We use them for pleasure, for entertainment, for companionship, to make money and for our egos. We rarely give them choices unless it is a choice between what we want and discomfort.

We have a duty to care for them. We have a duty to ensure that they are safe, comfortable, happy and secure in themselves. We have a duty to provide for them as they cannot provide for themselves and we have a DUTY to learn as much as we can about them and to always seek more knowledge for their benefit.

I spoke to a person this week concerning an underweight horse. This person told me the horse was fed twice a day however in my opinion for that particular horse's circumstances she was not getting enough. The person told me that his mate had done her teeth a few months ago but this mate is not qualified nor attended any sort of course. The person told me with all the conviction of a seasoned horseman that blood tests only show if a horse has worms or not. I was completely gob-smacked. That is pretty much the only thing a BLOOD TEST can't tell!!!

This person considers themselves very experienced. Unfortunately because of this train of thought - this person is not interested in trying everything to get the horse back to proper health and is neglecting their duty as the animal's carer and provider.

And should the day come when they break down or we decide we don't want them or that they don't suit our needs and wants - it is our responsibility and our duty to spend the time, dollars and effort to ensure they go to a good home or live out a kind retirement, or are put to sleep with dignity. There's no "I don't want it, give it to the first person to come asking, I can't be bothered with the hassle." If you didn't want a hassle why did you get a horse?

We owe it to them. Just as we owe it to our children. We have a duty and we must uphold that. I know I couldn't live with myself not to and I will gladly and have frequently sacrificed something for myself to ensure my horse never goes without.

Obesity can KILL!

Being overweight can cause serious health issues and even kill a horse or pony.


Here is a dire warning for everyone, a message to be constantly viligant on your horses. Not, for the most commonly held notion of neglect - starvation... but for a just as common problem yet not as well known - over feeding.

Over feeding and having your animals (any animal, not just horses!) obese can make them seriously ill and yes, it can also be the death of them. Don't overfeed because they call to you or you feel bad for putting them in the diet paddock on rations. Don't kill with kindness. Please be careful.

Currently one of the SC rescues is fighting for her life. Right now she has a 50/50 chance of survival and getting through to live another good few years before her time comes. All because of being over fed and fed junk that I wouldn't even feed to chickens unless they were due to be eaten soon!

Second Chance's Beauty came to us from Gingin along with several others including her constant companion Velvet. Both ponies were dangerously obese, showed signs of foundering in the past and at great risk of foundering again. They had been fed some sort of pellet/pollard/bran mix which has overloaded their systems with fat.

For a while, they were doing exceptionally well. A strict diet was enforced to bring them back from the brink of founder and both were starting to be able to get around much more comfortably. And then ever so slowly Beauty began to be a little off-colour, a little listless which we put down to her drench a couple of weeks ago. When she really began to go downhill the vet was summoned immediately and she was rushed down to Serpentine Veterinary Hospital for care.

She wasn't eating nor drinking and was dehydrated and feeling very off. Blood tests and liver function tests were done and we got our diagnosis.

The scientific name is 'hepatic lipidosis' or hyperlipidemia syndrome (also called 'fatty liver'). It is quite a common problem in miniature horses and ponies and also in donkeys. It was not caused by Beauty's weight loss (which was necessary to control her laminitis) but was most likely set off when Beauty was drenched, wormed and vaccinated, which caused mild diarrhoea and she went off her feed a little, this caused a negative energy balance in her body and started the whole process.

The fat deposits in the liver and causes liver damage and impaired liver function. Beauty's liver function is still adequate for survival as long as we can prevent any further damage and control her energy balance by increasing her appetite. If she has another episode and recurrence of hyperlipidemia, she is unlikely to survive without very intense treatment (such as tube feeding her 4-6 times each day).

Fingers crossed she continues to improve and we can stabilise her current liver function.

Velvet too began to come down with the same symptoms and had the same diagnosis however she was not nearly as bad as Beauty. Another liver enzym test done today revealed that she is improving a little since she has begun supportive care with our hard working Vet so there is some hope.

But it all hinges on the next blood test at the end of next week. If Beauty is continuing to improve, she'll be allowed to come home and will have to be carefully cared for and monitored for the rest of her days. If there is no improvement, we may well have to put her to sleep.

So please, if you love your pets, go and ensure that the diet they are on is not detrimental to their health. If in doubt, ask your vet or better yet a qualified Equine Nutritionist. They are out there and getting a diet prescribed does NOT COST MUCH. It will most likely save you an awful lot of heartache and your pony a heck of a lot of pain and discomfort.

Here are photos the day we met the ponies back in December 07. Waaaaaay too fat.

Saved at the eleventh hour

A new rescue has arrived with one of our Field Officer's and foster carer's. A 9yo bay TB gelding that had suffered a bad run with inexperienced owners.

He was verbally surrendered to Second Chance literally 45 minutes before he was due to be shot and the official paperwork was signed two days later.

His owner had only had him a short time and had bitten off more than she could chew. Thinking she was doing the right thing, she gave the horse to a local farrier however 4 months later, the farrier gave him back.

Having moved to another town with no resources to do anything with him, it was decided perhaps he ought to be put down as he'd been a very difficult horse to load onto a trailer and they were concerned he may be dangerous particularly in the wrong hands. Time was running out and a decision had to be made.

And then a friend of his owner thought to contact us and of course one thing led to another and the poor boy was given another chance.

At the moment there isn't any photos available however if I get any I will certainly add them on.

This sweet natured horse is a bit of an artful dodger when it comes to getting out of something he doesn't want to do which we believe is a large part of his issues. He is however also very sore in the back and does have confidence issues and appears to be afraid of ropes. We are confident however with the right home, he'll be a superb little horse once he has completed his rehabilitation.