Last week’s Meisho Doto.
Horses can develop a disease called Cushing’s, and many elderly horses have it. Doto was diagnosed last winter.
In practical terms, they lose the ability to control their coat growth, become fluffy like a stuffed animal, and their resistance to other illnesses drops sharply.
Cushing’s can be measured numerically, and Doto’s result is close to the lower threshold, but he is on medication.
Even so, judging from the unusually early and uneven growth of his winter coat for this season, and the frequent bouts of phlegmon, the effects of Cushing’s are probably there.
He will turn 30 next year, an incredible milestone for a horse.
I hope he stays healthy and makes it through the winter.