Medical Care

 

Medical Care:

We prioritize semi-annual preventive medical measures to extend longevity, and utilize blood tests to meet healthy, safe, nutritional requirements; use our microscope to test each horses' manure for worm count for selective worming; minimize risky immunizations senior horses no longer need living in a closed herd, and monitor/adjust their appetites, food, supplements, water, teeth and poop, daily. We worm our horses seasonally, remove manure from barns, corrals, turnouts and fields daily; utilize fly masks with ear protection, and sheets, as needed for physical protection; and employ pest control measures like natural fly sprays and creams, fly predator wasps to reduce flies, and habitat reduction for vectors like mosquitoes by minimizing standing water. Troughs and bowls are kept scrubbed/rinsed/refreshed regularly.

 

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Special Feeding Protocols

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Healthy feeding is vital to horse longevity! Fats, sugars, treats, coarse or hard pellets, poor dental care, and just being alone, forgotten, and not useful, can lead to things like ulcers, lameness (laminitis), diabetes (insulin resistance), choking (from gorged pellets or unsoaked cubes); stripping of their intestinal wall lining from coarse forage, potential colic, and premature death, as they age. We accommodate special low-carb, high protein diets with balancers, vitamins/minerals/probiotics/joint supplements and hormone support as needed; soft or hard food to accommodate dental conditions and choking hazards; DNA, and their history, weight, size, activity, age and blood tests. We buy hay each year based on testing for moisture, sugar, protein and contaminant (weeds/dust/mold). On top of the "vital" list, we provide access to gallons of water a day to each horse, the same clean, tested, potable well water we drink ourselves.

 

We feed 4 meals/day while the horses are enclosed in their barns/corrals. During turnout they eat from little piles of hay dropped by hand around grassy pastures to keep them moving and reduce impact on the pasture during their social time. Dry lotted horses restricted from pasture grass have a myriad of hay balls, bags and nets to keep the horses moving, eating througout the day, as they get a change of scene, living a more natural equine life with play and hanging out together with their best buddy. The balls discourage "gobbling" as they deliver smaller bits of hay and require horses to traverse the corral or pasture as they follow the ball, pulling out chunks of hay enroute, or cleaning up the dribbled hay escaping from the ball rolling along. They also eat from wall bags with holes in them and hay nets for a.m. and overnight snacks. Some horses wear lightweight ergonomic muzzles to slow down their nibbling. We closely monitor our senior horses for equine diabetes (called "Cushings" or "PPID") and a standardized Horse Body Condition Score Guide helps us keep tabs on our horses' weight throughout their lifetime, aiming for a body condition between four and six, depending on their age, jobs, conditioin and health. 

 
The Gut
Protecting the gut microbiome before digestive problems arise in their 75' intestine also helps keep TCTC's horses comfortable, happy, healthy and ALIVE. As horses
age, they're often more susceptible to stress; simple weather or seasonal changes; allergies/itching; malnourishment, or eating sugary food like apples, carrots, oats, corn or 
green grass; lethargy/inactivity, and isolation. Any of these conditions can negatively impact horses' health, so TCTC's horses are supplemented with high quality equine probiotics, minerals and vitamins as needed, especially those prone to potentially deadly bouts of colic, like Willow. 

Proactive Therapeutic Treatments &

Holistic Care

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Chiropractic, Acupuncture, Electro-Stimulation, Bowen, Cold Laser Therapy, Equine Massage and Kinesiology; Reiki energy work, and Pranic healing energy work are TCTC's most common ongoing practices to insure the comfort and pain-free welfare of TCTC's horses, definitely a king pin of their longevity as these treatments keep them MOVING, ACTIVE,  LISTENED TO, and ENGAGED, using medications as a last, vs. first "go to" for comfort measures except, of course, for emergencies.

Work & Exercise

We insure every horse at TCTC has a JOB. Horses like to be loved, busy, needed, engaged and purposeful. That alone accounts for added years to our horses' lives, barring some more serious medical issue like cancer or a twisted intestine. TCTC keeps our older horses MOVING either under saddle (especially for special days off property on easy trail rides or on foot), driving, or with regular groundwork and turnout for pasture play. Even GENTLE exercise, with challenges to remind them to pick up their feet, is critical for a healthy musculoskeletal system and brain stimulation in our oldest horses. We are able to maintain some topline muscles on horses who can no longer be ridden, with pole exercises and ground driving. As herd animals, busy, social horses having fun are happy. Our first clue that a horse is not happy is naughty or destructive behavior or when they are standing alone, isolating themselves. When we listen and respond, the results are always enlightening!

Hoof Care:
TCTC's amazing farrier of over 23 years now, Lisa Lichte, keeps TCTC's horses on a consistent schedule for critical hoof and joint health, as well as overall soundness and comfort. Due to her amazing education from Oregon State University's farrier school (no longer available) and experience, Lisa can professionally do all the specialized shoeing and trimming our horses need as they progress in life.

Dental Care

 

Dental Care:

​Horses' teeth grow continuously. They develop points, ridges and irregularities that can impair their chewing/grinding, tear up their gums/cheeks and get infected. Regular monitoring by TCTC love sponsors and staff, supported by a qualified equine dental specialist, is especially important during a horse's older lifespan. Yearly visits determine more frequent exams, depending on each horse's individual needs and tooth growth/problems. Our equine dentist helps us preserve teeth by "floating" (filing) off the ridges and points; teaching our love sponsors to take extra measures for horses like Bobbie who needs weekly brushing using a horse toothbrush and baking soda/hydrogen peroxide paste, followed by a good rinse with clean water. Broken or decayed teeth are removed; loose ones can be preserved with a little extra work to help them tighten up again by feeding softer food and monitoring them for awhile.

Bedding for the Best Sleep!

 

We provide clean, soft bedding, dust free (ground from the

core of the tree) or extra soft, allergy free flakes. Type of bedding depends on the horse's need, and is adjusted and banked or unbanked for comfortable REM sleep for each horse.

Observational Skills of our Volunteers & Love Sponsors are Crucial!

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Every horse's immune system decreases with age, and their health can change QUICKLY! They get cataracts, go blind, lose teeth, trip, get ulcers if too isolated, get kicked during play, reinjure old, chronic injuries from their past, and need knowledgeable scratching in just the right places! Volunteers' vigilance and love can save lives! They pay attention if anything seems “off” in their horse, and contact me, our barn manager, and/or our vet tech, and/or the veterinarian immediately when needed following the signs of emergency symptoms posted on our barn walls. So care and help arrives sooner than later here. We know our horses best and advocate for them through their entire life! 

​Loving Care Bridges the Extra Mile
 

In Bugsy's case, a yearly visit to an equine eye specialist (almost an hour away) who can accurately monitor Bugsy's Ocular Pressure and overall eye health, makes sure Bugsy's twice daily medication to minimize his eye pressure is working. Bugsy was thrown on the ground by humans in "fun", much like a calf in a rodeo, prior to finding TCTC. Though some of his issue may have been genetic, by time he was rescued his eyes were damaged. For the herd, keeping each horse on a diet as close to nature as they can be for as long as possible, maintains their quality of life.