chunk style gelding for sale

[Kristin]

Bob is a Belgian gelding, 12-15 yrs old, nice chunk-style horse, about 16.2h. Extremely well broke, quiet, good manners, easy keeper. Bought him this spring, and selling him because we discovered he is a roarer and is not able to do heavy work. He can pull wagons and cultivate, and his previous owner used him in the woods, but he can’t do heavy disking, etc. I’ve ridden him bareback, and he was calm, responsive and willing. Except for the roaring, he is exactly the horse we were looking for. I wish we could keep him, but would love to see him go somewhere where he can be useful. $1000. Email me for pictures of him hitched or for more info, or call us at 518-963-4613. We’re in Essex, NY.

[ArtieT]

Can you please explain what a “Roarer” is? Thanks!!!!

[dominiquer60]

Laryngeal Hemiplegia: Partial paralysis of the larynx causing difficulty in breathing and a characteristic noise, known as roaring as the horse breathes.

This is from the equisearch glossary, it is a permanent condition, but as long as you don’t expect an animal with this condition to set any new land speed records, they can be good workers.

Kristen and I talked about this horse at NEAPFD, he sounds like a very nice horse. A handicapped riding program that I know of would love to buy him but he is too tall by a good hand or so. I would buy him but it wouldn’t make sense for me to have a large animal without owning property first. I hope you find him a good home Kristen, and I hope there is a Bob out there for me when I finally do land a place to call home.

Erika

[CharlyBonifaz]

surgery impossible?
elke

[dominiquer60]

Roaring is the result of muscle atrophy in the larynx caused by nerve degeneration. Apparently that nerve takes the long route to the muscle and is a weak link due to it’s length. Surgery to suture the interfering flap out of the way is very technical and involves general anesthesia = not cheap. The surgery is not fool proof and the risk of food and water entering the windpipe after surgery is high. Roarers do best when worked slow and steady and should be kept fit. Fit the job to the animal and not the animal to the job, its a little like shoeing I guess.

[CharlyBonifaz]

2 more options:
using scar tissue to fix the flap by scraping the laryngeal mucosa
inserting auxilliary nerv, that eventually takes over function of handicapped nerve
I don’t have a clue how much money is involved in either treatment ;-(
was just wondering since you said he was such a fine animal……
elke

[Kristin]

Hi and thanks, Erika, for explaining this better than I could have! Surgery is beyond our means, unfortunately, and like Erika says Bob can have a good and useful life with someone else, as is. He’s just not a good fit for our farm.

There is some new research that says a permanent tracheostomy (basically a hole in the horse’s throat through which he’ll breathe) works for roarers, and is done on a sedated standing horse, so is cheaper than the other surgery. However it’s still too expensive for farmers, and moreover requires a lot of post-surgery care until the tracheostomy heals. I would like to have seen Bob blowing steam out of his neck while working on chilly mornings, though.

all best,
Kristin

[ArtieT]

Thanks to all for the clear explanation!!!

[Carl Russell]

Is the horse seriously compromised with lack of breath, when working strenuously? Or is it really more distracting sound?

I think that a roarer in good shape, would have need less air, and with a teamster who could accommodate the condition, the horse would still be productive. At least it isn’t a condition related to immune system, and the horse can still maintain a generally healthy condition.

I appreciate Kristin’s honesty, and willingness to discuss the situation. It certainly makes it more difficult to sell the animal, but the horse looks really good, and if I hadn’t already decided to cut down on the eyeballs around here, I would seriously consider him.

Carl

[Kristin]

Hi Carl –

He’s not comfortable when working strenuously. His previous owner used him a little bit in the woods and said he never noticed a problem (and I believe him). He also took him in a parade, and used him a few times for wagon rides, and spread a few loads of manure with him. All no problem. I’ve had him hitched to a forecart, no problem. The distress showed up the first time I hitched him to the disc. If the work is hard enough that a normal horse would be starting to blow, it’s beyond Bob’s ability. Like you say, the better condition he’s in, the less problem the roaring will be.

I did consider keeping him for lighter farm work, like cultivating, hauling, raking, etc., but decided that we can’t afford to keep a horse that can’t do everything for us, and I don’t want to push him. I figure 90% of the people who keep drafts don’t need them to do heavy work, but they do need a steady, safe, sane horse, and we all know how rare that is, so I’m confident there’s a place for him where he’ll be comfortable and useful. I’ve had a couple of inquiries from people interested in a ‘husband-safe’ trail horse, and that might be a good situation for him. I’m going to ride him again this week so I can better evaluate him for a beginner rider.

all best,
Kristin

[dominiquer60]

Your welcome Kristen, but really it was equisearch.com (not .net), and a couple minutes of my time. They are a great resource for quick searches about saddle horses, health and nutrition. That site should get 98% of the credit. I am sure that one could find info on grazing after frosts as well.
Erika

[Kristin]

Took Bob out for a trail ride last night. The other horses looked at us like, ‘What? You’re not going to do any *work*?’ If anyone here is interested in a riding horse, here’s some more info. He stood nicely while I mounted, and responds to gentle pressure on his mouth (he was wearing a broken snaffle), and he will move off your leg, which makes me think he might have had more riding experience than I thought. He goes at a nice, even walk, steady but not pokey. I trotted him for a minute, and it was fairly smooth. He responds to a ‘whoa’ voice command. Stands and backs. I took him past a place where we’re building some cabins, and there was a big flappy tarp there, and he passed that test, not spooky at all. He is fine with dogs, as you can see from the picture. He’d make a fine trail horse.

Did I mention he holds his feet up for trimming??

-Kristin

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