‘Perdon’ suffers from EOTRH
Whilst humans face Covid-19 where the body cannot defend itself, something is occurring in one of our horses, Perdon. His body is rejecting his front teeth. Even the top equine veterinary dentists don’t know the cause of this rare condition although it is likely ‘EOTRH’, short for Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis. EOTRH is a dental disease attributed to the body’s autoimmune response that causes the horse’s body to attack itself so the horse’s teeth fall out. Poor old Perdon is likely facing this situation, which became clearer on his recent dental check by the equine dentist at the sanctuary.
EOTRH is thought to be a result of domestic horses eating grains which experts in this area say can mess with the horse’s gut bacteria, starting from the time the food touches their mouth and the inability of the saliva to help breakdown lectins. Because the saliva is not distributed in the mouth properly over time from eating the grains, it can rot the teeth and inflame the gums and of course results in suffering and worse.
Alan has done everything to change old Perdon’s diet to help him survive so we are on edge as time goes on to see if these changes are enough to save this ‘Perfect’ gentle horse. Many of you have seen the photo time and time again of Alan gently kissing Perdon. It’s featured on this campaign and it’s a gesture that is common here at Calan Horse Sanctuary and truly shows the regard, love and relationship Alan has for the horses.
We will continue the care of Perdon and appreciate how you have helped us to keep the standard of care at a very high level. So much is unseen in regard to the care of each individual horse and his or her true state of health reveals itself over time. It’s a challenge now for Perdon because there was no way for us to know, let alone the equine dentist, that this horrible illness was under the surface and wreaking havoc on his body and mouth.
Thank you for caring and supporting Perdon and all the horses here at the sanctuary. We absolutely need and value all contributions of any kind.
On behalf of Perdon, Alan and the horses,
Mae Lee