Very recently, I experienced a pony have a cardiac episode. The pony is not young; in fact, he is older than dirt at a whopping 35 years old (and we love his old man ways). Although Andy showed up to my farm in old age, he has been around for a few years now, and has definitely become one of the mascots of the barn. In some cases, thank goodness he has been with us for a few years, so we understand and know his normal behavior.
Welp! Randomly one afternoon, I was down at the barn tending to another horse’s leg. I happened to look over at Andy’s stall. As he had been napping, all of a sudden he started rocking forward, as if to do the downward dog position, with his front legs stretched out, head down, and his butt up in the air. He did this motion about 5 times in a 5 minute period. Coming from someone who has been around horses for A LONG time, and also seen horses at the end of their lives, for the time being, I was almost convinced that Andy was calling it quits with his time here on this earth. But much to my surprise, the old man stopped the convulsive type movements and went right back to his normal stance. What still had me a bit panicked was his heart at this point was beating out of his chest, nearly a mile a minute.
Of course that was an immediate call/text to his owner and an immediate call to the vet. Luckily, Andy seemed to stabilize after his episode because why wouldn’t this also be the evening that Luke Bryan was playing in a cornfield nearby, creating downtown Chicago like traffic in the suburbs? No joke, it took about an hour and a half for the vet to make it to the barn from a distance that would usually take about 30 minutes. Andy’s vitals checked out good, except for his heart murmur now was incredibly loud and had a distinct gong-like ring at the end of the beat.
Ultimately, the conclusion: Andy is a Great (maybe even Great Great) Grandpa in horse years. He potentially had a tear or rupture of a chordae tendinae. What do you do for that? Well, horses can have echo-cardiograms performed to see more, but the protocol remains the same for old man Andy. Nothing changes for him: no new medicines, no new treatments. He just gets to keep on living out his days as part of a grumpier old men duo of old horses, who think they are more studly than the young guys.
DISCLAIMER: The content in this blog is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be professional and/or medical advice. Reach out to your licensed veterinarian or other health professional for assistance with any medical condition. Do not disregard or delay seeking medical advice for your animal based upon anything you have read on this website.