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GentlewoodFarms
June 5, 2017

Tough Old Man

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Last February, I mentioned to my riding instructor that I was looking for a gentle broke gelding for my husband. Tom rides, but he doesn't like to work at it, and he would like to go trail riding with me, but without an appropriate mount for him, it really wasn't possible. Java is a little too small for him - he's 6'4" - and Dolce is too much of a handful for anyone but me.

My trainer suggested a horse named Jasper, who had been donated to her lesson program and who hadn't really developed a relationship with anyone who loved him "special" so he wasn't being used very much. She warned me, "He's an older horse, and he's really thin. He was in good shape last summer, but he started dropping weight last fall around Thanksgiving, and we think there might be something wrong with him because we just can't get any weight back on him. The vet thinks it might be cancer, but he'd need to have bloodwork drawn to determine the problem, and it would take a lot of financial resources that we just don't have to figure out what the problem is. We've been considering putting him down because - well, you'll see when you go look at him. But if you'd be willing to take a risk, I'll just give him to you."

I talked to Tom, explained the situation, and he agreed that it would be worth a try if the horse could be saved, so one Saturday in late February, I hitched up my trailer and went to pick him up. I brought him home, took his "first day arrival photo" and threw a blanket on him so he'd quit burning calories staying warm. Then I went to town and bought 3 big alfalfa hay bales and 3 gallons of soybean oil. I put out a couple of flakes of alfalfa for him - which he dug right into - and started feeding him twice a day. I soaked his feed in the oil, threw two flakes of alfalfa at him each feeding, and waited until Monday when I could get him into the vet and figure out what exactly was going on with him.

For people who don't know, you can actually age a horse fairly accurately by his teeth if you know what you're doing. I'd had a look in Jasper's mouth, and I had a rough idea of how old I thought he was, so when the vet looked at me and said, "You know he voted for Reagan, right?" I wasn't surprised. I said yes and that I knew he had to be at least 20. Dr. J took another look, grinned at me and said, "in fact, I think he might have been in the MOVIES with Reagan." And just like that, Jasper became Reagan.

The good news was that his bloodwork was all normal. No sign of anything that might be causing his massive weight drop - other than missing a couple of teeth in the back. His teeth were in pretty bad shape and really needed to be floated, but Dr J and Dr T didn't want to do anything about them until I got some pounds on him, so we scheduled another visit in three weeks. We did do a deworming because although he wasn't infested, he did show signs of having intestinal parasites (which is really common and nothing to get all bent out of shape about unless it gets out of hand).

I explained my "weight gain" plan (high fat feed + lots of soybean oil + alfalfa hay + bermuda round bale free choice + pasture turn out + keeping him blanketed so he didn't burn calories staying warm) In other words, lots and lots of targeted calories, going in his system several times a day. Both vets agreed that was exactly the thing to do. Just lots and lots of groceries and a little prayer wouldn't hurt either.

So - fast forward 3 months to today. Reagan has gained close to 200 pounds. His teeth have been floated and while I can't do anything about the missing ones, he's eating everything I give him and lots of things I don't. He's developed a particular fondness for chicken feed and will raid the container if I don't keep him away from it. He's very resourceful, so this is a challenge.

And I've learned a bit about his history. He was a Shriner's horse, and was part of their parade squad for years. He's been shown. He jumps. He knows a few tricks and speaks a little Russian. He goes down the trail without a bobble. In other words, he's exactly what I was looking for when I started looking for a horse for Tom.

I'd love it if he were 10 years younger. But for the next couple of years at least, I have a nice, dependable tough old man to take care of my other tough old man. I'll let you figure out which one is which.


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