22 year old pony to buy or not??

[HazyXmas]

She does look thinner in these pictures but her coat looks nice & shiny, have you been doing lots of grooming?

I would get the vet out asap (why the wait till 16th?) I'm just wondering if she's older than 22? She could be nearer 30!

If i were you, i would try & find something else for myself & offer to care & look after her for free in return for keeping your new, younger, bigger pony with her for free. I think that he is taking you for a ride & you will be saddling yourself with big bills & heartache. I don't honestly think that you will be able to ride her, at best she may be a gentle lead rein pony for your son.

It is really kind of you to take her on but will it mean that you can't have one to ride yourself?

I wish you lots of luck.

 

[AmyMay]

I agree, that she's starting to look much better in her coat, but also agree that she's possibly underweight.

Simply can't understand the delay in the vet check, though.

 

[mailme1918]

they could nt fit me in this week , and im working next week so Thursday was the only day we could both fit in.
ive already taken ownership of angel so no going back I just pay rent on stable and field now .
yes I ve been doing lots of grooming as she was a mess.
if I cant ride her I may just get her right condition wise and find her the best possible retirement home as a companion depending on her health but until she is healthier shes staying with me as this poor mare has had it rough and no care
I know ive taken a lot on but I simply could nt walk away from her.

 

[JFTDWS]

Hmm, those are better photos. She looks to me as though she's lacking muscle over her quarters - hence the sunken appearance. Putting fat on in those areas won't help her in the long run - she needs slow, quiet work (long reining/walking out depending on soundness) with sufficient feed, rather than a lot of feed for that.

However, the vet will be able to condition score her in the flesh and give you advice on that - the sooner the better.

 

[jojo5]

The sedative for dental work should not be too bad for her - she will still be standing obviously, but just 'away with the fairies'. You will need to allow plenty of time after the work to stay with her until the drugs have worn off. Cost-wise, there will be variations as different vets use different combinations of drugs to achieve sedation as some favour certain drugs over others. However, my boy has had sedation twice in the last three months for investigation of an op site and each time the cost of the whole thing (visit, drugs, investigation) has been around £97. You would need to add the cost of the dental work. As others have already said, horse-owning is expensive, and you will have a number of costs altogether at the start to get everything done.

 

[hnmisty]

The sedative for dental work should not be too bad for her - she will still be standing obviously, but just 'away with the fairies'.

My pony used to prop herself up with her nose on the wall when she was sedated

 

[mailme1918]

hello... an update on angel
so today the vet came out for a health check and dental check.
no authritis if any its extremely mild flat feet so is foot sore not lame.(so needs shoes if on hard ground)
needs another 25kg of weight on
breathing- usually a horses takes 14 deep breaths per minute Angel is taking 36 shallow breaths per minute. this is being monitiored in case it was her being nervous. heart and lungs fine vet though it was strange but as she seems healthy it will be reviewed and I will be monitoring this to see if there is a change.
skin is dry
teeth- bad needed heavily sedating due to become upset and needing a lot of work 1 tooth removed and a lot or rasping and general tidy up.
she has previously lost 3 teeth so now with 4 missing her diet has had to be changed as there her chewing teeth.
cusions test- sample taken is showing mild signs fatty pockets on mane/neck but thin everywhere else pot belly, not loosing winter coat very fast but these also could just be signs caused by her recent neglect.
vet says Angel can be ridden and lunged without problem but needs bringing back slowly to gain muscles back
diet, continue with 16+ mix glucosamine veg oil, change to fast fibre( made sloppy) and another supliment for hoof and skin(cant remember name )
go down to 1 feed a day instead of the 2. wait before turning out in the larger field until cusion results are back next week!
body score 2.5
so mostly positive she is looking great with all the grooming and is now rugged to prevent anymore rain scald with this awful weather. she is appearing a lot happier and I get some fantastic greetings and lots of cuddles.
I feel a lot happier that ive saved this girl from a miserable lonely life shes mine now and im gonna do everything I can to make this old girl happy.xx

 

[Meowy Catkin]

She'll be a lot happier now her teeth are sorted.

 

[hnmisty]

Great to read your update

I bet you will see her condition improve even more now her teeth are sorted and she can eat more easily!

 

[Highlands]

Great!

 

[Parker79]

Wow - have just read this from start to finish! so amazing that you are doing this! Her lameness issues should be helped with regular trimming, I know of a cob who was left for 2 years, although his feet weren't long they had grown in such a way that his back legs were turned in and he struggled to walk

I look forward to your updates, as others have said be careful with the hard feed, especially as you have so much grass! I would also avoid any lunging as others have said.

Have you had any joy getting someone to join you at the field?

 

[mailme1918]

Hello yes I met someone on Facebook of all places who had posted on a forum about moving to my area and struggling to find somewhere that allows 24 hrs turn out so I got in contact shes coming over at the end of the month to visit. She has 2 cob geldings that are very qiite ones 10 the other 4. And the lady seems lovely we have spoken on the phone a few times and I think were gonna make a great team on our own little private yard.
I'll upload more pics of angel shes looking alot better.
Hardfeed has now gone to 1 feed a day and ive kept her in the smaller feild with not alot of grass until we get the all clear frrom cusions disease.
Vet as also recommend lunging as no reason not to as he could not find anything wrong with her legs so im thinking all the walking ive done over the past month in the feild has been beneficial. I have nt done any lunging yet though weather has been awful. Also the new lady is going to show me to lonh rein too.
I need to think about getting her shoes on once she's fit as her feet are very flat thst was yhe reason for her going on 3 legs when stood on hard ground.
Im so glad this mare found me I feel like ive really made a difference.
The fast breathing is still a concern but vet couldn't understand it at all?

 

[mailme1918]

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[Highlands]

Really pleased for you, well done!

 

[mailme1918]

so the vets just phoned and Angel has mild cushions disease!! gutted and upset as if she s not had enough..
anyway medication being started Thursday half a tablet to begin with then retested in a month to see if that's enough.. at £1.20 per tablet I hope so!! but either way she will get the treatment she needs .. good job hubby is working away in Germany next month earning the dosh and ill be getting some overtime in .. so talk about being thrown in the deep end my first pony who seems to have found me .. gone from me part loaning to owning in a month
so her feed has now been adapted and im now learning about how to manage this disease so any help would be appreciated.

 

[Django Pony]

What a heartwarming story! Well done for taking her on and making sure she ends her days happy!
Here is a couple of links with some info about cushings disease http://www.laminitis.org/cushings.html http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/horse-care/vet-advice/understanding-cushings-disease-2/
Good luck with her

 

[hnmisty]

She is looking very pampered, lovely to see

 

[mailme1918]

so after just chatting with a few of my horsey friends .. they think I should hold off treatment for a month or so and then retest as the results could be wrong because of the recent change in feeds/lifestyle
as shes not expressing any symtoms like wavey thick coat in fact shes shredding massively she does not drink a lot at all in fact never has her bucket been empty im gonna ring vet tomorrow and chat about this option

 

[Gloi]

Treat the flat feet as a symptom of other things that have been wrong in her lifestyle. What was her Cushings score? She might have had/have low grade laminitis due to the Cushings causing the flat feet and associated lameness. Have you got her on some good mineral supplement now? Think about hoof boots for her when you take her out on the roads.
She's looking well now and certainly not thin any more. I'm sure she feels 100% better now her teeth are sorted. You are going to have to be careful the other way now and make sure she doesn't get too much grass/sugars.
I'm sure it will be a big learning curve for you getting her to her best but it's worth it. My beastie is 24 and up for anything

 

[oldie48]

I have a 25 year old with cushings and treat with Prascend. it made a huge difference to him, his coat is better and he is altogether brighter in himself. i know it's expensive to treat cushings but I do feel it gives him the best chance of avoiding laminitis and it does slow down the progression of the disease. You can buy Prascend on the internet with a vet's prescription (which they charge for) I did a deal with my vet and he gives me a 15% discount on everything I buy for the horse and he'll give repeat prescriptions without a visit. Lots of vets will do this. I know some people who don't treat cushings because of the cost but if the horse is in work I personally think they need to be treated.
also, I understand that at this time of the year the readings tend to be lower than in the winter (read this on a previous thread) and sometimes the dose can be reduced during the summer but I've not confirmed this with my vet.

 

[AmyMay]

She's looking wonderful.

I would definately not rush in to treating for Cushings. The medication can actually be quite detrimental to some horses - and if you can manage her without you may be better off.

 

[mailme1918]

Score was 50. Could the blood being taken mid day while heavily sedated alter the score?

 

[AmyMay]

Yes, because there is a drug in the system.

 

[mailme1918]

Ok im going to ring vet and querie this

 

[mailme1918]

hello yes I spoke to the vet again he really wants to start the prascend meds and insisted that her being stressed and sedated would nt of altered the result but looking up online its saying stress is a high factor also I phoned a different vet today and he said that I should have a retest when shes calm and not upset and holding off wont do harm as shes no showing serious symtoms I explained that id had the test done only cause it was free with the voucher and while the vet was there it made sense but now every retest is £9 for bloods £35 for the lad test and then the call out fee so we taking £65-£85 per test alone. he asked when she was due a booster jabs I told him September so he said leave her have her tested then, so why is my vet in a rush to start treatment?
ive also been reading up about herbal treatments cushx , vertex and cush-aid
im still really unsure my vet says itll reduce the risk of laminitis help her immune system and perk her up and make her feel better and livelier but im still not sure I don't want to start meds what can be held off for 6-12 months but im terrified of laminitis even though theres no history of her have ever had it.
im feeling deflated I feel I just get her right then get hit with more bad news I knew when she was given to me that I had work and money to spend but feel likes its 1 step forward 2 steps back, I lunged her today and she moves lovely and had a quick cheeky ride round the field her winter coat is coming off shes actually bright bay underneath..

 

[oldie48]

I'n afraid older horses and ponies can cost a lot of money to keep happy and sound but prascend has make a huge difference to my horse who is now 25. He's not had laminitis and didn't have classic symptoms of cushings but I knew there were something wrong as he was dull and lacking energy and because he is in at night I noticed he was drinking more. You are lucky that you know angel has cushings, most owners only find out when their pony has laminitis and then it's a much bigger deal. Only you can make the decision but why not look into what the cheapest option is for buying prascend before you make the decision.

 

[mailme1918]

I'n afraid older horses and ponies can cost a lot of money to keep happy and sound but prascend has make a huge difference to my horse who is now 25. He's not had laminitis and didn't have classic symptoms of cushings but I knew there were something wrong as he was dull and lacking energy and because he is in at night I noticed he was drinking more. You are lucky that you know angel has cushings, most owners only find out when their pony has laminitis and then it's a much bigger deal. Only you can make the decision but why not look into what the cheapest option is for buying prascend before you make the decision.

hello yes I ve neen looking online and with the prescription I can get them for 92p per tablet. its not the cost of medicating her that's bothereing me its more because of the conditions the blood was taken under highly stressed.
she is dull and lacking energy atleast I think she is as I did nt know what she was like before she is quite and layed back. I just don't want to start tablets unneccecery just yet as the medication only treat symtoms it does nt supress the cushions desease so what actual symtoms am I treating if I cannot see any or can I see them ? its hard because I don't know what angel was like before she was neglected if I started the tablets say for 3 month and see no difference can they be stopped. after speaking to 2 different vets and having 2 different opinions I don't know what to do im also annoyed that I ve wasted my free voucher on the wrong testing conditions... which is down to the vet but her says it wont effect but he other vet and internet says it wil..

 

[AmyMay]

Mailme it might be worth you doing a new post on Cushings to get some feedback from other posters.

 

[mailme1918]

Mailme it might be worth you doing a new post on Cushings to get some feedback from other posters.

will do!

 

[paulineh]

If you are going to wait until September to retest it might be worth trying the CushX . I have put my little New Forest mare onto the Hilton Herb CushX and it has made a big difference, not 100% but her ACTH was very high.