I will say - I do obsess over my animals in turn, I tend to be hypervigilant, but when I get doubts I can't trust my judgement.
I don't know if I should be worried about Odin or not. First off - he is eating well, pooing well, and peeing well, and none of this has ever changed since he arrived, so there are no urgent concerns.
He never seems to gain weight. He was very lean when he came to us, put on a bit as he switched to a fresh forage diet, but over the winter has not held this - they both struggled with weight during bonding if only because of incessant humping, but never stopped eating the same amounts. But whereas Freja has continued to put on weight and grow a lot since they settled down, Odin is not. He is very fit and solid, but there is not an ounce of fat on him and he'd be lean on the condition scale. I do wonder if he'll pick up come spring/summer when he can go back on a wild diet, he does better on the days we can forage well enough to give them a good meal.
I have discovered a little bald heel, the beginnings of sore hocks. They have padded/soft flooring and bedding everywhere except travel areas ie through tunnels which are stone or concrete. I'm not sure how I could pad all of these out, they are outside so get wet etc but I'm looking into it - maybe horse mats. Is there anything that can be used on the hock itself to help it strengthen and heal and regrow hair? I use neem on the ponies for baldy bits but not keen on putting it on him.
I've never been entirely sure about his back/back legs. There was a little comment (after we'd adopted him) from one of the members of staff who said she was never sure he didn't walk funny, and it's made me paranoid watching him. He does tend to hop with both feet together, but he is also capable of walking and running with a 4 step stride. BUT he is very active, jumps very happily up and down and uses steps and ramps with no trouble. Their enclosure is specifically designed to encourage whole body exercise, and he is very active when he is active. He is only about 18 months but I don't know his history so I do worry there is some arthritis setting in.
He sleeps a lot, and sleeps like the dead! Has always spent most of the day dead to the world, and has reverted to this now fully bonded. Freja mostly joins him, but is more awake, and often is just grooming him while he sleeps through. He mostly sleeps in a loaf, though he will stretch out on his side or tummy, but this might be a winter thing - he used to stretch out more when it was warmer, and Freja is the same.
The past few days we've seen caecals - only a few, only once a day, and not every day, hubby saw him eating them once from the litter tray. I think I have seen him eating them directly but I'm not 100% sure. It possibly tallies with introducing dried strawberry leaves, but I wouldn't have expected this to be an issue as they still have fresh strawberry leaves in the garden so it's not a new food.
And lastly, he used to be very snuffly, and tended to get mild runny eyes - always cleared up within an hour or two, so other than a check when he was at the vets for other things we've never had them checked specifically. This has almost entirely resolved with a change in bedding, he was reacting to the wood. He used to be very loud when eating, but now is silent other than when he's been rooting around in a snuffle box and clearly got hay dust up his nose - we thought it was happy noises, but realise it wasn't and set to observing until we worked out it was an allergy. Occasionally he wakes up with slightly weepy eyes- like sleepy eyes - but they clear very quickly, is this still a worry, or can they just have sleepy eyes like we do?
No indication of any teeth trouble, he eats anything and everything, hard, soft, crunchy, in between.
Sorry it's a long post, but I've been watching him for so long I would just like to hear other thoughts on some of it, because it's hard to compare when he's the first, and Freja is a different creature entirely!
I could probably find a video of him moving if it helps?
I don't know if I should be worried about Odin or not. First off - he is eating well, pooing well, and peeing well, and none of this has ever changed since he arrived, so there are no urgent concerns.
He never seems to gain weight. He was very lean when he came to us, put on a bit as he switched to a fresh forage diet, but over the winter has not held this - they both struggled with weight during bonding if only because of incessant humping, but never stopped eating the same amounts. But whereas Freja has continued to put on weight and grow a lot since they settled down, Odin is not. He is very fit and solid, but there is not an ounce of fat on him and he'd be lean on the condition scale. I do wonder if he'll pick up come spring/summer when he can go back on a wild diet, he does better on the days we can forage well enough to give them a good meal.
I have discovered a little bald heel, the beginnings of sore hocks. They have padded/soft flooring and bedding everywhere except travel areas ie through tunnels which are stone or concrete. I'm not sure how I could pad all of these out, they are outside so get wet etc but I'm looking into it - maybe horse mats. Is there anything that can be used on the hock itself to help it strengthen and heal and regrow hair? I use neem on the ponies for baldy bits but not keen on putting it on him.
I've never been entirely sure about his back/back legs. There was a little comment (after we'd adopted him) from one of the members of staff who said she was never sure he didn't walk funny, and it's made me paranoid watching him. He does tend to hop with both feet together, but he is also capable of walking and running with a 4 step stride. BUT he is very active, jumps very happily up and down and uses steps and ramps with no trouble. Their enclosure is specifically designed to encourage whole body exercise, and he is very active when he is active. He is only about 18 months but I don't know his history so I do worry there is some arthritis setting in.
He sleeps a lot, and sleeps like the dead! Has always spent most of the day dead to the world, and has reverted to this now fully bonded. Freja mostly joins him, but is more awake, and often is just grooming him while he sleeps through. He mostly sleeps in a loaf, though he will stretch out on his side or tummy, but this might be a winter thing - he used to stretch out more when it was warmer, and Freja is the same.
The past few days we've seen caecals - only a few, only once a day, and not every day, hubby saw him eating them once from the litter tray. I think I have seen him eating them directly but I'm not 100% sure. It possibly tallies with introducing dried strawberry leaves, but I wouldn't have expected this to be an issue as they still have fresh strawberry leaves in the garden so it's not a new food.
And lastly, he used to be very snuffly, and tended to get mild runny eyes - always cleared up within an hour or two, so other than a check when he was at the vets for other things we've never had them checked specifically. This has almost entirely resolved with a change in bedding, he was reacting to the wood. He used to be very loud when eating, but now is silent other than when he's been rooting around in a snuffle box and clearly got hay dust up his nose - we thought it was happy noises, but realise it wasn't and set to observing until we worked out it was an allergy. Occasionally he wakes up with slightly weepy eyes- like sleepy eyes - but they clear very quickly, is this still a worry, or can they just have sleepy eyes like we do?
No indication of any teeth trouble, he eats anything and everything, hard, soft, crunchy, in between.
Sorry it's a long post, but I've been watching him for so long I would just like to hear other thoughts on some of it, because it's hard to compare when he's the first, and Freja is a different creature entirely!
I could probably find a video of him moving if it helps?
