SKYDOG Senior Mustangs
Meet our older horses and learn about their special needs and extra care.
We absolutely love our older mustangs. Sadly it is an age where even a hard-working and “useful” mustang can find themselves dumped at auction or in a feedlot. When horses get older, sadly they cannot work as hard and can suffer lameness or a whole host of other ailments that need more costly vet treatment. They sometimes start losing their teeth at this age if they haven’t had dental work, and that means expensive mashes and softer food that they can digest rather than stalky hays that they can chew when they are younger.
As horses get older, they face common age-related conditions and diseases that require management and care.
Cushing's Disease
Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction, also known as PPID or equine Cushing’s disease, is a common endocrine disorder in horses. A long, shaggy coat with irregular shedding patterns is one of the most notable clinical signs and horses will need meds to manage such a condition.
Heaves
Recurrent airway obstruction, commonly known as heaves, is similar to asthma in humans. Genetics, housing and husbandry, and allergies can all play a part in causing this disease. A heavey horse's clinical signs, such as shortness of breath and coughing, can worsen as he ages. Luckily with the fresh air and lack of allergens at Skydog Oregon, we don’t currently have a horse with heaves in our roster of older horses.
Cataracts
A cataract is an opacity or clouding of the eye lens, which is the large transparent structure found midway between the cornea and the retina that the horse uses to focus images close to his head. While horses of all ages can suffer from cataracts, they are often associated with aging or trauma. Our beautiful Dani California came to us with cataracts in one eye and has to have her eye removed to prevent pain and discomfort as time goes on. She does amazingly well and both she and Rosa who is also blind, are helped around their large pasture by Storm who is their eyes.
Laminitis
Endocrine disorders, such as PPID, can make senior horses more likely to suffer from laminitis (founder). Some of our older equines such as Adeline, Casey, Vinnie the donkey, and Hailey suffer from this and need expensive boots and meds to counter the effects of their condition.
Melanomas
Eighty percent of gray-colored horses will get melanomas, which are cancer tumors. Melanoma tumors can become larger and more prevalent as a gray horse ages. Our Swayze was rescued out of a kill pen with melanomas around his rectum which he has had lasered off twice to keep everything moving back there. We keep a close eye on all our grey horses for signs of this.
Swayback
Swayback also referred to as lordosis, low back or softback is the excessive curvature of the spine and a telltale sign of aging. Research suggests genetics plays a role in causing severe swayback. Beautiful Grace came to us swayback and her daughter Sunshine also has the same condition. They both get around fine and neither need meds nor help for their condition at this point.
Dental Disease
Dental disease is common in older horses and can cause quidding, which is the dropping of feed during mastication (chewing). Poor chewing can lead to weight loss and an increased risk of choke. Handsome Lep is probably our worst case of this and he and Dorothy came to us with very few teeth and have special mash and meds as a result. Their hay is soaked to make it easier to eat and they get a wonderful combination of alfalfa pellets, beet pulp, senior feed, and supplements.
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis and joint disease are common in aging equids. Medicines can help keep an arthritic old horse comfortable as well as exercise and movement.
Weight Loss
Old horses often become unthrifty, meaning they are harder to keep weight on. Dental problems and endocrine disorders, as well as an aging digestive tract, are all possible causes of weight loss. We have taken in several horses who are skinniness attributed to old age but all have come back to good health with the right diet and lots of extra care.
Meet some of our beloved older residents
STANLEY 32 (1990)
This boy was standing in a kill pen until only a month ago. I woke up one morning and saw his photo, zoomed in on his brand and saw 90 and said heck no. He was out of there in 20 minutes to quarantine and then on to California. He was thin and starved as he has few teeth and couldn’t eat hay. He is on a daily feed of warm mashes of alfalfa pellets and senior feed to build up his weight, he gets so much daily love and attention and is in a beautiful barn up top until he and his little friend Boots the mini mule can head down below to make friends. He is one of my favorite ever saves as he is such a deserving and beautiful boy with so much heart and soul.
GANDALF 25 (97)
When we rescued the batch of senior boys from the Blue Zeus adoption event we fell so madly in love with them we decided to go back for some more when they opened up for another adoption event. We picked up four incredible Sale Authority Seniors and one of them was Gandalf. He looked like the oldest of the bunch and turned out to be just that. He was so skinny and his knees were swollen and legs were bowed. We just had to adopt him and bring him home for a soft and safe retirement. He has been with us a couple of months now and he is doing incredibly well. His knee had suffered a catastrophic injury in the past and as a result had severe arthritis. BUT he gets around, shows no signs on pain and is now living on a nice smaller flat pen where he gets extra groceries and mares to love on and retire with. We adore him.
HARRY, 32 (1989)
We recently found Harry in a kill pen in Louisiana and when we looked at his brand and saw how old he was we knew we had to help him. We understand that a horses value drops dramatically in their later years due to the extra expense of caring for them. We immediately bailed him and he is now living the high life in Malibu.
When he arrived we realized he had very little coat at all so we decided to let him spend the winter in Malibu so he can grow one and stay warm for now. He came to us with a very strange wrinkly to his skin almost like a Shar Pei dog and it most likely came from him dropping a LOT of weight suddenly and the skin not having the elasticity to respond to that. As he gets back to good weight he is beginning to look less like Mr. Wrinkles and more like Prince Harry.
All of our seniors need extra help with food, vet bills and care so we are so grateful to the incredible sponsors of our senior residents at Skydog. These horses are the least likely to be pulled from kill pens as they have no worth or value to other people. Please help us expand and grow our senior program and give the most wonderful years to any older horse who ends up needing some extra help.
DOROTHY, 26 (1995)
Dorothy, like Prince Harry above, was found in a kill pen in Kansas with no interest in her. She isn’t just old she is tiny and probably of little “use” to anyone at this point at her life.
She has become such a popular horse at Skydog Oregon due to her sweet gentle nature and love of scratches. Now that she is stronger and has gained some more weight we have added her to Sarge’s pen and he has fallen madly in love with her. Love can be found at any age without a doubt and we are glad that these two seniors have found a new lease of life and a friend to retire with.
She is just the most lovely girl and we are so glad she never had to make the trip to Mexico to slaughter.
Dorothy was named by one of our board members, Johnny Buc Lockwood, due to her location and his love of the move Wizard of Oz. She certainly has come over the rainbow from a kill pen to Skydog Sanctuary.
SWAYZE, 30 (1991)
We found Swayze in a kill pen in Colorado where he was marked as a mustang. We decided to rescue him but sadly he went down in the trailer on the way to us. We got him to a vet in Laramie WY who said that he had cancer and we should euthanize him but somehow I knew that if he got to Skydog he would at least have a chance. So the vet cleared him to travel after hydrating him and getting him feeling better.
When he got to us he was sick with strangles and his cancer turned out to be some gnarly melanomas on his butt and tail. We fundraised for his surgery and people were amazing in donating for him. He is an old boy and has a bit of arthritis which is helped being down in the summer sun of Malibu in his later years. The ice and snow are not for our boy Swayze and he lives happily here with his girl Remi who he adores. And turned out he wasn’t a branded mustang but we love him just the same.
SWAYZE is sponsored by the wonderful actress, Arielle Kebbel, who fell in love with him on a visit to Skydog Malibu so he truly has his own perfect princess to take care of him. Thank you Arielle x
BADGER, 32 (1989)
Badger has the rare honor of being our very first rescued mustang with an 8 at the start of her brand age. It says 89 as her birth year which makes her 31. It actually makes me shudder when I think about it and she may well be our proudest save just for that alone. But also for the fact that, thanks to our setting up her rescue, two other younger mustangs got out of a terrible kill pen on her freedom ride.
We were told about Badger and made plans to go and get her. These senior mustangs who get dumped just to wring the last few dollars out of them in meat money really grab our hearts. Most of them worked their whole lives in the service of people and were worked hard and then are dumped to the cruelest fate imaginable.
Badger is our senior ambassador along with Firecracker, as they are our two oldest saves. The represent all that is wonderful about these seniors. Badger has Cushing’s but is as strong as an Ox and is living out her days with a small herd of younger horses to keep her spirit young. I honestly cannot get enough of her white covered face, her feathers and her high pitched squeal if anyone gets in her way or when she sees the hay cart. She is one of a kind and we are so lucky to care for her as she gets older. I hope she has many years left to come with us.
MORE OF THE AMAZING SKYDOG “OLDIES”
Click on any of the photos to read their stories and find out more about them.
Our seniors are some of the most cherished horses we have at Skydog, I think everyone has a soft spot for an older horse who has been dumped at that age and their chances are so slim that it’s always an honor to pluck one from the slaughter pipeline before they are killed in the most painful, cruel, terrifying and brutal fashion. There is an enormous difference between euthanazia and slaughter and it is always the kindest most loving thing you can do to put your horse to sleep where they have lived and loved surrounded by people who care.
We have had to euthanize a few horses over the years, for different medical reasons, and for me it has always been a good way for them to pass. They literally are given a shot to sleep as if they would be having a surgery and once they lay down they are then given a shot to stop their heart. I have never once seen a horse thrash or fight the drugs, they go to sleep peacefully and lovingly which is the exact opposite of horses at slaughter houses.
If you cannot afford to keep you horse into old age with the special needs they have, I would always suggest that option, however hard it is consider. It is way better than hoping a rescue or sanctuary will do it for you to save you the pain. If you have ever loved your horse or are grateful for their wonderful service to you then please don’t drive them to auction hoping someone else will ever love them as much as you have. Sanctuaries like ours are very few and far between and we cannot nearly hope to ever accommodate every horse who needs a good retirement.
