Help I think my horse is having an identity crisis!

We all have that one horse who we think is one-of-a-kind…but Toddy is a horse who really takes this to the extreme. Out of Ireland by unknown parentage and standing at only 15.1hh his appearance strikes more as an over-sized chubby long backed pony, rather than the sports horse he was bought to be. I guess we should have seen the warning signs that this horse wasn’t quite right when we originally had him vetted, and the vet quipped that “this isn’t a horse - it’s a dachshund!” Although visibly shocked and upset at the time by the vet’s harsh words – this horse after all was going to be my newfound Olympic hopeful - hindsight might suggest that this description was to become remarkably true…

The first time we discovered that poor Toddy might be having a bit of an identity crises was when we managed to find his ‘sweet spot’. Most horses have that point on their withers’ where if you give them a nice scratch they’ll pull cute funny faces like they’re enjoying it. Not Toddy. This horse actually lifts and shakes rear leg in the air – just picture a dog wiggling its leg around….just a lot bigger and hairier – and with the potential to knock you flying if you stand in the wrong spot! As if this wasn’t enough, his second favourite past time is getting a full on belly rub. The visible enjoyment in his face as he oozes around in ecstasy while you tickle his tummy is seriously something that just has to be seen. No doubts about it I had clearly bought a dog instead of a horse! Unfortunately however things got taken to the next level when we made an upsetting Veterinary discovery…

Finding out your horse as a potentially life threatening tumour is an upsetting experience for any owner, especially when it affects your horse of a life-time and best friend. Unfortunately one fateful day we noticed a lump emerge on Toddy’s cheek, and it continued to grow until it erupted at the surface leaving vets very confused as to what on earth was going on – they had not seen anything like this previously in horses! At that point it was decided that a full biopsy would be taken in order to figure out what type of tumour it was, and whether or not it was going to be fatal. The news that came back however was a bit of a shock…

So the results were in and showed that it was indeed a tumour, though thankfully benign, but was of a variety that was very rare in horses, in fact so rare the surgery had never dealt with a case in horses at all. It mast cell tumours are however very common in another type of domestic animal…you guessed it DOGS! I will admit even I let out a chuckle upon finding the news, it was just typical that my ‘horse-dog’ would develop a dog related problem rather than a horse one! Unfortunately however the way forwards was complex, leaving the tumour in place was not an option as if it was to grow any larger it would press against the main optical nerve which runs through his cheek, causing potential blindness and pain. So left with surgery as the only option we sent him in and tried not to wince when we realised quite now much it was going to cost...

So surgery day came, and so be boxed up the dachshund to deliver him to the, thankfully nearby, equine hospital. Whilst preparing him for surgery the head veterinary nurse asked if there was anything that he particularly liked, or disliked so that they could give him a treat when it was all over. This was my moment to shine, ‘Let me demonstrate!’ I said far too eagerly as the nurse looked on in curiosity as to what on earth was about to happen. This was short lived however when she burst out laughing exclaiming ‘are you sure he is a horse’ as he started pulling his favourite goofing face as I vigorously scratched his belly. It was only a matter of time before a crowd of amused vets were all stood around giggling to themselves, at that point it was pretty clear when they starting asking me if he can bark too that my horse was having an identity crises! Unfortunately the hilarity was short lived as I was ushered away to leave so they could continue preparing him for surgery. It was that moment it suddenly dawned on me the seriousness of the situation and I had my hooves and paws crossed that he would make it through okay…

Three long hours later we finally received the news that he had made it through okay, and we could go visit the following morning when the vets would change over his bandages. Getting there and seeing my poor pony-dog wrapped up in pink bandage wrap, resembling bat-man in my opinion, was a relief. Thankfully the surgery had gone well, and they had removed an extra 2cm of skin around the circumference of the tumour to ensure there were no cells remaining that may re-grow. Although it was going to take another 6 weeks of box rest before any bandages could be removed he had made it through the difficult time and continued on to make a full recovery! Fingers crossed that my horse can finally identify as a horse again now rather than a dog – I don’t want any more ordeals like this one!