Why Did You Have a Vet Examine Him Before You Officially Adopted Him? Due to our prior involvement with animal rescue, we understand that a horses health is incredibly dynamic. He can be fine one day and on deaths door the next. As an attorney, I ALWAYS tell my client to do a pre-purchase vet exam (PPVE) before finalizing anything. ALWAYS. EVERY TIME. A second opinion is not a bad thing! Often times, a current owner is not maliciously hiding information; health changes rapidly and a health condition that is unacceptable to one owner is just fine for another. In the horse and rescue world, everyone and their grandmother has an opinion about what you should do for your horse. So, I trust my vets and trainers expert opinions. #46s condition is so deplorable, before we officially adopted him, we wanted to have a PPVE to make sure that he didnt have health issues that we could not handle (cancer, serious orthopedic problems, need to surgery, etc.). It would not be fair to the horse to adopt him and then not be able to provide for his medical needs. Dr. Brad Nunely from Animals Choice Veterinary Clinic in Iuka, MS, examined Merlin, on 01/09/2015, and found the following: Merlin is approximately 25 years old, 15 hands tall and between 700-800lbs. He should weigh about 1100-1200lbs., so he is approximately 500lbs. underweight. The vet believes he is a Thoroughbred. Heart rate 40. Lungs sounded good and clear. Some nasal discharge, so a 4-day injection of antibiotics (Exceed) was given. Temperature was 100. No abscessed lymph nodes (red flag for strangles). His teeth were in horrible condition. He had a 4 hook on his left upper side, which explains why he was not eating hay (because the hook poked him every time he chewed). His teeth were floated (ground down, so that he can eat without being poked by the sharp teeth). The vet said his teeth were one of the worst cases hes ever seen. Now that his teeth are fixed, he will be able to eat more, thereby gaining weight. Legs and feet look good, except for 2 abscesses, which are being treated with pickling lime, daily hosing and antibiotic cream. He has a pressure sore on his right pelvis from being so thin and trying to lay down to sleep. His blood work was also good: not anemic (which you would expect for an older horse, especially being so thin), WBC and RBC within normal range, and a slightly elevated liver enzyme. The vet suggested keeping him on a general vitamin supplement, so we are addressing that now. The vet further states that Merlin should be strong enough to be dewormed and vaccinated (with an emaciated horse, you often have to wait to do this because they have such compromised immune system, which is the case with Merlin) within 2 weeks to a month. Most importantly, the doc didnt see any concerns for rehabilitation: the main issue is weight. This entire exam at Dr. Nunleys clinic cost $270.00 (very reasonable) and was absolutely worth every cent!
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 00:09:30 +0000
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