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  Discussion on Choke Filly who is laying down
Author Message
Member:
evrgreen

Posted on Thursday, Jan 24, 2008 - 11:08 am:

AT the barn I now manage I have a filly who is prone to Choke and for the most part is recovering but lately she is tiring and laying down and it is making it harder on her to recover. I have informed the trainer of what I am seeing but nothing is being done, I have the right according to the contract to contact the owners and or vet but wanted to be sure this is not something more than I'm seeing.

She is a racer who has practices for 1/2 hour every other day and is on free feed of grains and 3rd crop alfalfa.
Member:
canter

Posted on Thursday, Jan 24, 2008 - 12:49 pm:

Sarah, As someone who has always boarded my horse, I'd be pretty ticked off if the barn manager /owner / trainer did not notify me if something was wrong with my horse. In fact, even if someone suspected something was wrong with my horse, I'd want to know so that I could make the decision to call the vet or not. I personally would rather err on the side of caution.

Are you saying the trainer doesn't want you to call the owner? If so, I don't understand the thought process behind that thinking. The owner has a right to know.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Jan 24, 2008 - 9:16 pm:

Hello SarahP,
I don't really understand your post. What do you mean when you say "she is tiring and laying down and it is making it harder on her to recover". Fran is right. anytime you think something is going on with a horse under your care that should be brought to the owners attention, should be.
DrO
DrO
Member:
evrgreen

Posted on Friday, Jan 25, 2008 - 1:41 am:

THE OWNER has been notified and relies solely on the trainer who takes my observations as criticism. Not to mention the language barrier I have with both the owner and trainer. They act as if there is nothing wrong and say she just resting and will not call a vet or let me in an emergency.
AS to the filly, I have noticed that this is running about a ten day course. She eat continually until she becomes agitated, tossing her head and kicking followed by a few days with her hanging her head down low and acting lethargic. By the next morning I always find her “sleeping” (flat out) hardly moving and breathing raspy. I was able to get her up with a lot of coaxing but she was pretty loopy and her eyes were dull for a few hours. Of course by the time the trainer got there she was doing better and blew me off again.
I FEEL I am in a tough spot here, am I properly correct in being concerned for this filly and what can I do to help her without going beyond the wishes of the owner and trainer. (Proper authorities keep coming to mind.)
Member:
ekaufman

Posted on Friday, Jan 25, 2008 - 3:02 pm:

Hi Sarah,

Well, the two people with the greatest interest in this filly are not concerned. If they are missing data, you could video the behaviors that concern you, and offer that video to the owner and trainer with the question as to whether it's normal.

Unless we are missing some large piece of the story, it seems unlikely that "proper authorities" would be concerned by a filly that sleeps, looks loopy, and gets agitated in her stall (all of which are pretty normal for a filly in a stall, unless I'm missing something). The owner and trainer are the proper authorities here, unless there is some kind of demonstrable cruelty or neglect.

Shame that your new job seems to be following the trajectory of your old one. Sounds like you might be happier in a situation where you could call your own shots wrt training and horse care.

Good luck with it.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Jan 25, 2008 - 8:04 pm:

SarahP I don't see anything in your post that you can take to the authorities. If the filly is sleeping I would continue to let her sleep. The rearing and bucking well horses will do that. The lethargy is more worrisome but you are going to need to have an exam done during one of the episodes to figure out what the significance is. Taking all the vital signs would be a good first start towards assessing it, see Diseases of Horses » First Aid » Taking Temperature, Pulse, and Respiration.
DrO
Member:
amara

Posted on Friday, Jan 25, 2008 - 9:46 pm:

Sarah, as a "proper authority" (albeit in another state but we all tend towards generally similar laws), like Dr. O said there's nothing really for us to go on legally, no matter how much we'd like to. Honestly most wouldnt even understand what you are talking about. Generally the law only allows us to get involved in situations where the horse is not given the basics of care (food, shelter, water). It sounds like at this point you are still far from gross negligence. You did say that your contract allows you to contact the vet, can you do it unofficially? Mention what you see off the record and see what he says?

Good luck. This is one of the reasons I stopped training professionally. People are more concerned about ribbons and what they want, rather than what is best for the horse.
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