A teensy bit bitter and twisted...

[AshTay]

..whilst at the same time incredibly grateful that I am able to own horses at all, let alone the 3 most wonderful horses I could wish for.

I seem to have been plagued by problems with my horses for the last couple of years. I lost my old boy last May - that's a whole long other story but I really miss him.

I have a gelding who is absolutely lovely and beautiful and was going to be my all-rounder but behavioural issues, and lately (and probably connected) physical issues have meant that he's currently not in work and needs to go into the vets for a thorough investigation (once the more obvious injury caused by attempting to transport a metal gate across a field on his other hind fetlock has resolved....).

I have a beautiful mare who I bought as a "fun hack" but has proved herself to be far more than that. But in the last year she's had various physical impediments. We get so far and then something happens - mystery lameness, laminitis, then saddle fit issues, and now bruised soles and a strange intermittent fetlock puffiness.

I'm not utterly clueless when it comes to horsecare but there's a lot I don't know amd I don't hammer my horses around but I do ride them regularly but I just seem to suffer one niggly setback after another. Nothing major (since losing my old boy) but it grinds me down. Especially when all around me are healthy happy horses and riders out having fun and progressing.

My original aim for this year was to do a prelim dressage test on my mare and to have my geldimg in full work (he went away for training) and maybe an intro test by the end of the summer but my aims have since been lowered to keep alive/vaguely sound for the next week!!!!

Pointless post really as I know everyone goes through the same ups and downs with their horses and many have far serious issues than mine. And my mare has given me so much and I'm grateful for that and in total awe of her as she's so beautiful and my slightly random gelding has also taught me so much in his own "unique" way.

No imaginary food on offer but I can offer sympathies back to others in the same boat....

 

[Freddie19]

With your attitude, things will get better...because you appreciate all that your horses have given you, and its an old saying, but none the less for it "what goes around comes around" best of luck in the future and enjoy.

 

[ThreeTB's]

my aims have since been lowered to keep alive/vaguely sound for the next week!!!!

lol I know where you're coming from! It does seem ungrateful to moan when you do at least have a horse/horses and plenty of people can't even begin to dream of owning one, but it is frustrating to have them (and pay for them!) and be able to do nothing with them! My latest boy I've had for 2 years and done very little with due to various issues so like you, I've set goals only to see the time slip past and not get anywhere. Just keep positive and when you do get chance, do everything you can and seize every opportunity (we were going on fun rides every Sunday while we could even though it was a bit expensive in case they got cancelled or we had a lost shoe/lame horse etc).

And as there was no imaginary food, I had to go and get a real Mars

 

[Slightly Foxed]

I know how you feel. I realise that I'm enormously privileged to have my own stables and land and to be able to have my own horses, but, like you I've had a bum time lately.

My grade A did a suspensory; I bought a horse that turned out to be a nutter so he ended up at the blood bank; I bought a new horse, did everything right - or so I thought - and six weeks after bringing him home he's lame, x-rays show some changes in his sesamoid bones both front legs. He may, or may not come right...

I have fields full of ornaments whether retired or crock! I'd really like to get back to jumping.

You can keep the virtual food, mine's a G&T thanks.

 

[Floofball]

Hi there, had to reply to say I am in the same boat. I have for the first time in my life got the time and money to actually compete at a decent level but my horse has other ideas!! After lots of behavioural/physical issues I am now thrilled if he stays ok after an hours hack lol BUT fingers crossed things seem to be coming right atm, so hang on in there, don't give up hope (check out my signature - he was 8 when I bought him - only another 18 months till he qualifies as a veteran!!!)

Funny thing is I've just had a Mars too

 

[Goldenstar]

It's just horses , it's normal it's what they do.

 

[AshTay]

With your attitude, things will get better...because you appreciate all that your horses have given you, and its an old saying, but none the less for it "what goes around comes around" best of luck in the future and enjoy.

Thank you

Just keep positive and when you do get chance, do everything you can and seize every opportunity (we were going on fun rides every Sunday while we could even though it was a bit expensive in case they got cancelled or we had a lost shoe/lame horse etc).

Good plan! As soon as a vet says the word "sound", we're heading out....

I know how you feel. I realise that I'm enormously privileged to have my own stables and land and to be able to have my own horses, but, like you I've had a bum time lately.

My grade A did a suspensory; I bought a horse that turned out to be a nutter so he ended up at the blood bank; I bought a new horse, did everything right - or so I thought - and six weeks after bringing him home he's lame, x-rays show some changes in his sesamoid bones both front legs. He may, or may not come right...

I have fields full of ornaments whether retired or crock! I'd really like to get back to jumping.

You can keep the virtual food, mine's a G&T thanks.

Is it wrong to feel better reading about other people's problems I hope your boy comes right - or at least the next one you get stays right

Hi there, had to reply to say I am in the same boat. I have for the first time in my life got the time and money to actually compete at a decent level but my horse has other ideas!! After lots of behavioural/physical issues I am now thrilled if he stays ok after an hours hack lol BUT fingers crossed things seem to be coming right atm, so hang on in there, don't give up hope (check out my signature - he was 8 when I bought him - only another 18 months till he qualifies as a veteran!!!)

My gelding is 8 now.....

It's just horses , it's normal it's what they do.

My head tells me that but i'm on a yard with 20+ other horses and it just seems to be mine......

 

[pinklilly]

Much in the same boat, my tb whom I bought as a 3yo 3 and a half year ago has been ridden about 2 dozen times, he has PSD, foot problems, laminitis and sarcoids treated twice and though the vet says he can be ridden I haven't managed to do more than 2 weeks rehab work with him in one go without having to stop because of lameness / field injury and I have given up and he remains an expensive and high maintenance pet.

My tb mare broke her leg last year, another tb had bone scans which were inconclusive... and the list goes on... Give up or just give up tbs!!

 

[AshTay]

My tb mare broke her leg last year, another tb had bone scans which were inconclusive... and the list goes on... Give up or just give up tbs!!

You have my sympathies.
My gelding is half tb.

 

[Embo]

Yep, know just how you feel! Got my horse in February with grand plans to get him fit and ready for some low-level competitions to 'break us in' by summer, ready for the local winter dressage series...

A bad back, abscess & lameness which lasted a month, huge gash on his shoulder which extended to saddle area, bruised sole and 2x wrenched-off shoes later... and I've only just now started to get the plan off the ground! All the while, every other horse seems to be just fine.

As said, this is just horses... but when it seems like it's only your horse getting injured it is very disheartening. Onwards and upwards, just got to make the most of the time you have when they aren't lame or injured.

Good luck with your lot, I'm sure things will get better.

 

[AshTay]

Yep, know just how you feel! Got my horse in February with grand plans to get him fit and ready for some low-level competitions to 'break us in' by summer, ready for the local winter dressage series...

A bad back, abscess & lameness which lasted a month, huge gash on his shoulder which extended to saddle area, bruised sole and 2x wrenched-off shoes later... and I've only just now started to get the plan off the ground! All the while, every other horse seems to be just fine.

As said, this is just horses... but when it seems like it's only your horse getting injured it is very disheartening. Onwards and upwards, just got to make the most of the time you have when they aren't lame or injured.

Good luck with your lot, I'm sure things will get better.

Thank you! I hope it's plain sailing for your boy for the foreseeable xx

 

[Goldenstar]

It may seem that it's you and everyone esle on the yard is having a trouble free time but they are just on a good run and you are on a bad one.
I had a great run till about two months ago now I am on a moderately bad one with four out of four having treatment ATM , your luck will turn.

 

[AshTay]

It may seem that it's you and everyone esle on the yard is having a trouble free time but they are just on a good run and you are on a bad one.
I had a great run till about two months ago now I am on a moderately bad one with four out of four having treatment ATM , your luck will turn.

Four out of four! Yikes! Hope your good run returns soon. Thank you for the rationalisation! xxxx

 

[tabithakat64]

Another one who is having a crappy time of it with horses. Had one pts age 12 in April due to spavins, I miss him so much, had to sell my project horse as I couldn't afford to keep her, can't find a rider for the small useless ginger pony who now has a lump so is no good for in-hand showing. Bringing my semi retired gelding back into work, he spent last night chasing new liveries show pony round the field and the leg where he did his tendons is swollen. Everyone at the yard has fallen out and people are leaving.

I know that's what life with horses is like but the last four years has been like this and one thing has gone wrong after another and I've only just managed to clear the debt.

Sometimes I just think it would be easier to give up and take up knitting, but realistically that's never going to happen.
Virtual hugs for everyone else who is in the same boat

 

[pippixox]

i have 2, so tend to joke i have a back up one! (once i realized my girl had lost a shoe so quickly tacked up my boy and took him out on the lorry to training instead!) but at the moment by boy has mysterious lameness and it is sooooo frustrating, at least when you know what is wrong you can treat it and sort it. had vet and farrier out yesterday and they can find nothing except a small bruise on his right fore, but he is hopping lame in trot, so shoe off and poulticed and nothing is showing, and this morning heat has suddenly disappeared and he is nearly sound!? on Saturday he was suddenly lame on his hind, think he pulled something, but that seems to have cured itself from box rest. yes i can ride my girl (touch wood at the moment!) but he is my straight forward well behaved happy hacker, who i can also lead a youngster off, and i really miss riding him. one thing after another at the moment. think all the shows will be over by the time he is sound

agree your luck will turn, horses always seem to go through phases!

 

[melbiswas]

Another one here who had a bad run. Luckily( touching every wooden object within reach) we are on the up again.

Couldn't even moan at home either as the other half was starting wonder why we have these damn horses!

I'm afraid it does leave you with a Post-Injured-Horse-Syndrome where you obsessively watch your horses' way of going for a while.

 

[pippixox]

completely agree with Post-Injured-Horse-Syndrome: i also get paranoid and now watch my mare (who touch wood has not been lame since an abscess last winter) as keep thinking she will go lame too! i don't watch them walking in the field and think how lovely, i start staring at each leg!

 

[melbiswas]

Ooh me too Pippixox !

 

[vam]

Can completely relate and it doesn’t matter how much you know it could be worse, that you are grateful to own a horse in the first place and that it will (should!) get better it is still gutting when things go pear shaped. Again.
I bought my boy 3 years ago with the plan of doing 1.10/12.0 in 3 or 4 years, so far he spent most of last summer off while trying to sort out his movement, treated his stifles, was kicked 2 times last year needing stitching which set us back but was going great guns and I stupidly started to think we had cracked it. Got kicked again and now just coming back into work after it damaged the bone. Gutted.
He now feels like I'm back where I was last year, but worse because I now know how good he can/could be. Still once we get the all clear I'm hoping it won’t take us as long to get back to that point as I know how to now.

Oh and the paranoia! You watch them as they walk off in the field just waiting for that slight misstep, then you spend the rest of the day thinking the worse, go up that evening and they are fine but you’re a jibbering wreck!

*sigh* still its worth it for all the good times, right?

 

[*Maddy&Occhi*]

Massive hugs OP. I completely sympathise and was in a similar situation not long ago. Sold first horse in 2011 (I only had her 9 months) as she was a bit nuts and was just completely the wrong horse for me at the time. Bought my beautiful second mare shortly after who was perfect and a cracking eventer (took me through the dressage levels and took me to portugal to do some training, which is where I fell in love with spanish horses), but she was constantly plagued with health issues and cost over £5000 in vets fee's, varying from severe collic- to navicular- to nuerological issues, and then she was sadly put to sleep in June last year (one year after purchase). I felt like horses were completely against me, they had been since I bought my first at 16, and 3 years later it had only got worse (I was in debt at 19 because of the vet bills) ...I had a break from horses after I lost my late mare, I was devestated and feeling very low. And then my beautiful andalusian mare found me in December 2012 and we haven't looked back since. As much as at the time it was all extremely heart-wrenching and very sad, I learnt huge lessons from it and the saying is very true "what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger", I was forced to grow up and take responsibility, and I went through things not many teenagers go through. I miss my late mare dearly and wish she was still here, but my new mare has given me a new lease of life, and I've achieved things I never would have dreamed of doing before. I definitley found my "break" when I found my andalusian, and I know my late mare would have given her blessing, and is looking over us now

Stay strong OP, there is light at the end of the tunnel even though it may not seem that way now, things will get better. I promise. Hang on in there and keep positive

 

[Renvers]

I totally agree the last 18 months I have had both out of work due to breaks, strains, pain and growths

Have determined to look for the good inevery situation and have learnt how wonderful, patient, well behaved (even when in great pain) mine are.

And that moment when you get back on and are riding your horse again ... Priceless. For all the Vet bills there is Master Card

 

[soulfull]

Oh Hun I really feel for you!
As you can see your not alone.
My first horse broke with a bone cyst. Second one I had 8 years but in between some good times he had a lot of time off for lots of different injuries
Then I smashed up my ankle which took 4 lots of surgery over 2 years to even remotely fix
Retired 2nd horse and got a new one. 12 months later he broke. Sadly I lost him just before his 8th birthday
18months ago I got current horse. We are just starting prelim after 2 lots of ulcers and a respiratory infection that took 3 months to resolve
In between this I've had a few confidence issues due to him having a huge powerful buck (caused by pain from ulcers). Literally yesterday was the first time I had the guts to canter without hooking my thumb under my chicken strap
All through this I've had friends who have been out having fun on the same horses none stop for over 8 years

It will get better x

 

[longdog]

We know exactly where you are coming from. Since our lovely girl was kicked in Jan, we have not been able to get her sound. The vets fees are now up to £10k with half being covered by ins, but we have also had to deal with colic, a very bad abcess, cellulitis & now possibly stress induced laminitis.........& yes, she is a TB!

 

[A Musing]

Maybe it's true when they say misery loves company, this thread is a little bit of therapy for me too!

Can def sympathise with the post injured horse syndrome as I am toally paranoid now and getting pretty good at spotting lameness and when my horse isn't right (which seems to be a lot of the time).

And renvers, I do like the bit about Mastercard for vet's bills! I haven't quite hit my limit but it's not far off sadly, but I have been saving as I kind of know there are more bills to come.

I know there are tons of fit and healthy TBs out there but tbh I will steer clear of TB types in the future.

I have been very lucky in the past with years of sound horses never needing the vet apart from the annual jabs, but boy am I suffering for that now.

It seems to be one thing after another, for the past year, and when I'm having a down time, I find it hard to remember the times when he's been right (there have been some).

I get by by hoping that this is just the low patch, that things will come right, by knowing that I have a lovely horse underneath all the health issues, and that I am lucky to be on a great yard with great friends around me. But it can be tough as you invest so much time energy and money in them, it can get a bit overwhelming.

Do lots of nice fun things outside of nags too, pamper yourself, spend quality time with your horse without asking anything of them, surround yourself with positive people (and good vets!) and, if all else fails, Mars bars seem to help

 

[pip6]

Thank you all, now I feel more 'normal'!

I bought my mare aged 4, produced her for endurance, had 4 lovely seasons on her & just as she started doing distances of 100km+ she mullered a tendon by kicking herself as I lead her in from the field one morning. Endurance career over. I waited 8 months to the following spring, & put her in foal (as she was very talented). Waited, & got lovely filly foal 5 years ago, to be my next endurance horse. Accepted it would be years before I could compete again. After 2 years off, mare sound but I'd never risk her in anything beyond 40km again (which she could do in her sleep), she means too much to me. I just reach the point where I have my youngster backed, need to start hacking her out & schooling, & have her mum to enjoy fun rides on, when I break down! Have had 4 surgeries on shoulder (now have screws in it), in march had emergency surgery for strangulated hernia that appeared few days before, ruining my core muscles. Then in may big surgery on hip. Since then have knackered other shoulder, verdict next week but very certain will be more surgery & another hernia has appeared. I am just a wreck! Not been able to sit on my youngster this year as felt so rough (would rather not sit on her than give her a bad experience), & only done one pleasure ride (hoping for number 2 in couple of weeks before more shoulder surgery). I waited all these years for my youngster to be ready to start, & when the time comes I'm not up to it! So annoying! Where can I get a mars bar from at work....