I was called out to see a horse that was displaying some
concerning problems in regards to his body condition, and ability
to work, and being a very young horse there should have been
no good reason why (barring injury) he seemed so incapable of doing
the work asked, he was also steadily deteriorating.
This is what I saw
He had no qualms in showing exactly how he felt, he was grouchy
in a way no young horses should be, extremely girthy, and just
generally not happy. There were so many area's on him totally
inflamed, including his feet, that pinpointing the cause was still
a major hurdle. All credit to his owner who didnt stop looking
until she found what it was.
Here is him about 3 months later
Well isnt just the most amazing transformation? You like I would
probably never have guessed the cause - grass!
The owner now has the horse on a track system and the results
speak for themselves, no other changes like saddles etc were made,
all credit to the owner of this horse, she is one of the most
intuitive horse people I have ever met, and has a very good idea
whats going on with her horse. The first lot of pictures with the
circles on the rump, where they are white, it is my
understanding (from various professionals) that this is an area of
the lymphatic system, so it would appear the grass was actually
poisoning him. I believe this condition is something to do with
excess potassium, but best to clarify with Jenny Patterson of
Horsemanship NZ.
I personally was very surprised by the results, we all know
horses can be very silly on too much grass (like my own horses
currently!) but I wasn't really aware of the adverse physical
issues. This horse the last time I saw him, is a happy go lucky
young horse like he should be, now excelling in his work and with a
very bright future ahead. This horse is one of the severe examples
of this, most horses do not physically show like he did, but its
food for thought, if your having big issues, with no apparent
cause, I would recommend giving the track system a go, there are a
few other details to be aware of, so give Jenny a call.