And it is not good!
Many of you will know that Ben was taken into hospital due to problems eating a few weeks ago. He stayed in for four days, had a CT scan and the vets were stumped because they couldn't find anything seriously wrong with him. They hoped he had suffered a trauma in his mouth that had caused such deep ulceration and hoped that it would clear up on its own. If not, they thought he may have cancer in his gums.
Last week I got a phone call to say that the senior vets had reviewed his CT scans and were in agreement that there was something very wrong. He has been diagnosed with Equine Odonclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis (EOTRH) in his cheek teeth. This is a relatively new disease (discovered by better diagnostics) which usually occurs in the incisor teeth. Ben has it in his cheek teeth which is incredibly rare. This is the clearest web page I have found to explain it: https://madbarn.ca/equine-odontoclastic-tooth-resorption-and-hypercementosis
He is on a diet of fast fibre and 3 bute per day, and has somehow worked out how eat very short grass. He is not his normal self and is stressed out. My regular vet is on holiday until next week, and before I make any final decisions I want to talk things through with him. The only treatment is to extract the diseased teeth. However there are several teeth damaged and this would involve potentially removing 4 out of his 5 cheek teeth, which really doesn't leave much left for chewing. Giving his severe arthritis and the inevitable box rest and recovery time for surgery, I don't think this is a viable option for him and I am preparing myself to have him put to sleep before the end of the month. I'm trying to be brave and pragmatic, and I know that I don't have any other choice, but it is devastating. I know horses don't live forever and we have had more than our fair share of bad luck, but I don't feel ready to say goodbye. For the last 10 years my whole life has quite literally revolved around him. I have no idea what to do without him.
Many of you will know that Ben was taken into hospital due to problems eating a few weeks ago. He stayed in for four days, had a CT scan and the vets were stumped because they couldn't find anything seriously wrong with him. They hoped he had suffered a trauma in his mouth that had caused such deep ulceration and hoped that it would clear up on its own. If not, they thought he may have cancer in his gums.
Last week I got a phone call to say that the senior vets had reviewed his CT scans and were in agreement that there was something very wrong. He has been diagnosed with Equine Odonclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis (EOTRH) in his cheek teeth. This is a relatively new disease (discovered by better diagnostics) which usually occurs in the incisor teeth. Ben has it in his cheek teeth which is incredibly rare. This is the clearest web page I have found to explain it: https://madbarn.ca/equine-odontoclastic-tooth-resorption-and-hypercementosis
He is on a diet of fast fibre and 3 bute per day, and has somehow worked out how eat very short grass. He is not his normal self and is stressed out. My regular vet is on holiday until next week, and before I make any final decisions I want to talk things through with him. The only treatment is to extract the diseased teeth. However there are several teeth damaged and this would involve potentially removing 4 out of his 5 cheek teeth, which really doesn't leave much left for chewing. Giving his severe arthritis and the inevitable box rest and recovery time for surgery, I don't think this is a viable option for him and I am preparing myself to have him put to sleep before the end of the month. I'm trying to be brave and pragmatic, and I know that I don't have any other choice, but it is devastating. I know horses don't live forever and we have had more than our fair share of bad luck, but I don't feel ready to say goodbye. For the last 10 years my whole life has quite literally revolved around him. I have no idea what to do without him.
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