There comes a time in a horse's life when the limits on veterinary care, both dollars and treatments, will change. Depending on when you got the horse, this may occur more than once.
My super horse, Brat, has been with me since he was only a few days old. At one point when he was in his prime, I was going away for a few days, and I wrote care limit letters to my barn owners and vet for him and Tommy (the horse who inspired this blog). The letters were to provide authorization for treatment in the event they couldn't reach me. At that time Tommy was retired and at the point of pain management. His letter had a lower dollar amount and a "no hospital" directive. Brat's letter had a much higher dollar amount and permission to take him to the hospital if the odds favoured a good outcome.
Brat has a few well managed health issues, and is still in very good shape for his age. It's only in the last year that I've been seeing the indications that he is a senior horse. As much as I would like him to live for ever, we're at the point of having perhaps a handful of years left.
He colicked in December 2023. A month ago, as I write this. I caught it early and had called the vet about an hour after he stopped eating. It seemed a fairly straight forward gas colic, and he hadn't had time to develop secondary issues like dehydration. But he was still uncomfortable ten hours later, and still showing the tension line of pain on his belly the next morning. We had the vet out a second time, and I had to tell them that Brat was not a surgical candidate. If he had to go to the vet hospital for treatment, we would be euthanizing him.
It was a heart stopping, gut wrenching realization that my Super Brat is no longer young.
As our horses age we learn manage the issues that develop. It is easy to add one more little thing, and then another, until we have a carefully balanced house of cards. As long as nothing upsets it, we can keep things going. Brat has three chronic health issues, and has been healing a stifle injury and reinjury for over a year. Stall rest would upset the management of two of his chronic issues, and not do the stifle any good either.
It is important to regularly assess our horse's management and health, and think not just about what our dollar limit is on emergency care, but also on how current health issues and management would be affected by various treatments. While not a pleasant task, it is easier than trying to make emotionally charged decisions in the middle of a crisis. Knowing those limitations can help with treatment during an emergency. I had considered giving Brat some anti gas and waiting for an hour or so to see how he did, but because of his age and not being a surgical candidate, I decided to call the vet sooner than later.
We did get the colic resolved and cause addressed, and Brat is back to normal. And I realize that it's past time to update his veterinary care authorization letter.
