20/03/2026
Having older horses, and trying to give them a good retirement doesnāt mean you just turn them out and ignore them. It means keeping a close eye on their condition and how they are in themselves.
With no plans to breed any more foals in the near future Hogan, our lovely 24 year old stallion is retired from stud duties (much to his disgust Iām sure š) but I had noticed lately that heās dropped some condition, and has been quidding (dropping food) while eating, so he was booked in with our lovely equine dentist for a dental check.
In common with a lot of horses in their twenties, he had already lost 2 teeth, and another 2 fell out into the dentists hand on just a quick wiggle. There were a few sharp edges that needed a power rasp, and heās booked in for his next dental in 12 months time (or before if he looks like heās struggling.)
The 3 ābabiesā, Reuben, Scarlet and Maisie are also booked in to be done before their schooling and breaking appointments in a few months time (hopefully!)
I always panic if I can see the odd rib (although admittedly Iād be delighted to see my own!šš¤£) but it was lovely to hear the dentistās opinion that they are perfect coming out of Winter.
After his dental Hogan needed a cuddle to get over his highly traumatic (NOT) experience, had a drink and walked straight to his hay bale after a couple of treats for being such a dude, and hopefully is a lot more comfortable now.
As heās minus 4 teeth already, he will need a little additional support from hay replacement feeds next Winter, but looking at the 5 cracking children heās left us with, heās worth everything we can do to help him. He owes us nothing-we owe him this. ā„ļø
