Großes braunes Pferd steigt in einen weißen Pferdetransporter (Hänger) ein.

Hanoverian Duplo

Hanoverian Duplo - out of the box, into a life full of freedom

At the age of 15, Duplo became an animal emergency. On the day he was admitted, he seemed nervous. We learnt from the owner that he suffers from regularly recurring colic. The best therapy for Duplo would be if he could lead a completely stress-free life.
Dieter Ehrengruber agreed to take him in and we were able to pick Duplo up and transport him to Gut Aiderbichl Henndorf.

Duplo and his previous owner were one heart and one soul

Duplo’s previous owner is a horse farmer and met Duplo in a horse clinic. He was a patient there and she learnt that Duplo had had a colic operation.
Nothing helped, because she had fallen in love with this wonderful horse Duplo and took care of him. In the time after the clinic, he was actually doing well, but he was diagnosed with stomach problems and colic again and again and she didn’t know what to do.

How do you recognise colic symptoms?

The term colic in horses refers to painful conditions in the abdominal cavity. Every horse shows pain differently. The typical symptoms of colic are pawing with the front legs, “flehmen” (lifting of the upper lip), lying down or rolling around. Even the slightest signs must be taken seriously and the vet should be informed in any case. Untreated colic can quickly lead to circulatory problems, put the horse into a state of shock or, in the worst case, result in death for the animal.

Großes braunes Pferd mit grauem Halfter und im Hintergrund ist eine Dame, beide stehen in einem Stall.

What does colic surgery mean for the horse?

The colic itself indicates a problem or malfunction in the gastrointestinal tract. In some cases, conservative treatment with medication is sufficient. If the gastrointestinal disorder results in an interruption of the blood supply, open abdominal surgery will be necessary. During the operation, the damaged part of the intestine is surgically removed and the healthy parts of the intestine are reconnected. After colic surgery, intensive treatment begins immediately with constant monitoring of the horse’s vital functions (Source: Colic surgery).

Duplo needs a stress-free life

The first few days at the farm meant a new life situation for Duplo. He stood in a spacious stable and, as always when new animals arrive at the estate, many free-range animals came to his stable to greet him.
The most important thing was to watch his eyes. Sometimes they roamed around calmly, other times excitedly and nervously.
The big Hanoverian loves people. If you approach his stable calmly, he will come over and let you stroke him without appearing excited.

The box = the safety zone

The noises in the yard, the mooing of the cattle, which he is very afraid of, and many other things worried Duplo and we realised that the new living situation was not yet ideal for him. So we decided to transport Duplo to a farm outside Henndorf.

Großes braunes Pferd steht in seiner Box und schaut heraus zu einem braun-weißem und schwarz-weißem Pony, alle drei beschnuppern sich.

He stood anxiously at the edge of the pasture

Duplo’s animal keeper is Birgit, on whose farm several horses have already found a peaceful home.

“He’s what you call well-behaved and clever and Duplo knows exactly what’s what!” says Birgit with a proud smile on her face. “At first he was so shy that he stood on the edge and watched everything anxiously. The great thing was that the group of horses realised how Duplo “ticks”. They don’t pressurise him in any way and it’s nice to see how they nudge him or whinny softly to show him what to do and that he doesn’t need to be afraid. This type of communication is very gentle and quiet!”.

With Birgit, Duplo has probably got one of the most sensitive horse owners and she is confident that he will soon be fully accepted into the existing group.

Duplo gets to know nature and freedom

He likes the birds that sit on the fence or fly over it. He decides for himself how he moves around the pasture and what he is perhaps still afraid of. It is noticeable that he has started to look after the other horses for a few days now and is motivated by them to go further and further into the group. The keepers notice that he likes Frieda, a pretty mare. More and more often they can be seen walking across the pasture together, albeit at a distance, but still together.
The peace and quiet and the stress-free life on this outdoor yard at Gut Aiderbichl are the very best remedy for colic and anxiety for Duplo.