Absolutely fuming and upset

dressagelove

dressagelove

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Mum's horse has been chronically lame on and off for months. Had out vet out back and forth and he kept diagnosing abscesses. We kept poulticing holes up even though there was little to no pus coming out.

Had a different vet out today because he has been chronically lame again over the weekend, wouldn't put a hind leg down and couldn't even walk.

New vet has diagnosed chronic laminitis in all four feet. Mum has made the decision to have him put down tomorrow, because he is old, not ridden and is in so much pain, its just not fair to the poor lad. Im so upset and absolutely furious at the initial vets who did not follow up any clues that it may have been lami, and just kept faffing about digging for abscesses that weren't there.

Should I complain or just leave it alone.
 
Oh that's awful! I'd definitely complain. It doesn't sound like it was a one-off diagnosis either if they kept saying the same thing. I'm so sorry :(

Would you mind pm'ing me with which vet it is? I'm in 2 minds about which vet to move to or whether to stay with my old one.


Also, complete side note, but I think that 2nd pic from the left in your sig is at my instructor's yard!
 
Is the new vet sure though? One of ours was diagnosed with laminitis in both front feet a few years ago by a not very capable vet, he was back on his heels and not comfortable at all. The reason? Huge abscesses in both front feet :(

Have you had a farrier look at him, they often have a 6th sense for these things, and can put many vets to shame :)
 
Complain! Write to the governing body of vets or whoever the powers that be are, and if it was me I would push to get this vet struck off!!!!!
 
OMG, I'm so sorry - dreadful !

i think you need to do what you have to do for the horse first (which obviously you are doing), and try and get through that as best you can. I would ask the current vet for full xrays prior to PTS as evidence.

Then once you are strong enough to handle it, I think that yes, you must persue this first vet, IF you have evidence of mis diagnosis.

My heart really goes out to you, so very sorry xx
 
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I wouldn't PTS without Xrays as proof, otherwise it might just be an abscess/something else.

Hugs though, it's not an easy situation to be in. If you know it's lami, and have proof etc, then definitely complain.
 
My horse had laminitis and my vet treated for colic, just because he had an increased heart rate. Showed no other colic symptom, but was shiting weight really badly, he never even walked him out of the stable or hoof tested him. As angry as I was I just changed vets.
 
Barney&Buzz said:
Complain! Write to the governing body of vets or whoever the powers that be are, and if it was me I would push to get this vet struck off!!!!!
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I think that is a bit harsh - vets like any one else are only human. They will make mistakes, from time to time, maybe raise it with the practice. That is as far as it should go. I had a vet operate on the wrong leg, a bit more serious. I certainly raised it with the practice, but I did not call for him to be struck off. I did change vets, but mostly because I was unhappy about the way the complaint was handled. (I had been a client of the practice for a long time, with no isues previously.) Had changed to their practice, because previous vet missed bone chips in x ray. Again I did not call for him to be struck off.
 
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I think it's a bit hasty to PTS. What about getting him off the grass and on soaked hay? Some horses recover quite quickly. Unless xrays show he's a sinker?
 
I think your mum's being sensible. I hope everything goes smoothly.

IIWY I wouldn't complain, with hindsight vets have let me down many, many times over the years, but they don't do it on purpose, they just often don't know as much as a) they make out they do and b) we hope they do.

I hope your new vet is a really good one and your horses get the very best of care in the future. :)
 
You should see him, he is in absolute agony, its awful to watch. The vet gave him a powerful painkiller and its not even touched it. I can't bear to see him in such pain. He has been in off the grass for a while now.

I don't know what went on with the vet today, i have been in uni, and mum has been dealing with it all, so dont know the details. Will find out before I go shouting the odds.
 
Poor lad. If he's been off the grass for a while and there's no improvement then he may have cushings or insulin resistance. However, if he's in agony, best PTS.
 
It's very annoying and upsetting when vets get things wrong but they are human and you can't be sure the first vet was wrong or even if second vet was wrong it's possible abscesses were present and laminitis followed. (unlikely if they couldn't find anything but still) Sounds like your doing what you can for him, poor boy. If you do complain it's probably best to decide what you want to get out of it.
 
Flame_ said:
I think your mum's being sensible. I hope everything goes smoothly.

IIWY I wouldn't complain, with hindsight vets have let me down many, many times over the years, but they don't do it on purpose, they just often don't know as much as a) they make out they do and b) we hope they do.
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i would definitely complain about whichever vet was proved wrong in this instance and id seek an apology and a large proportion of the vets fees you have paid for the treatment of the incorrect diagnosis refunded.

Of course vets don't misdiagnose 'on purpose' but to be fair, vets charge and we are paying quite a lot of money for the benefit of their expertise so its not unreasonable to have more than just 'hope' to rely on that they know what they're doing.
 
Little Fat Pony said:
I wouldn't PTS without Xrays as proof, otherwise it might just be an abscess/something else.

Hugs though, it's not an easy situation to be in. If you know it's lami, and have proof etc, then definitely complain.
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Faracat said:
I agree with this. I would X-ray to confirm the diagnosis. It would also give you piece of mind and evidence to give weight to your case against the first Vet if laminitis is confirmed.
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As above. get proof from x rays first.Poor horse.
 
Pts by all means.

But how long into the initial problem did you ask for x rays of the feet? And a progression of treatment?
 
dressagelove said:
I don't know what went on with the vet today, i have been in uni, and mum has been dealing with it all, so dont know the details. Will find out before I go shouting the odds.
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:rolleyes:really?

many people are jumping on the bandwagon here, including one asking for the vets name and you dont know what when on with the vet today are already blambing the previous vet

speak to your mum find out what went on, discuss getting xrays if not already done, take a deep breath and fingers crossed. hope it works out ok
 
whilst u cant tell without the xrays......if horse is in such pain and nothing is helping it, and as you say , he is old and not ridden etc, then whos to say he would be fine after either diagnosis. I do think that if he is clearly suffering then your mum is making the right decision.
 
There are loads of horses coming in with abcesses just now, my friends horse had bilateral front abcesses and was cripplied, fine when dug out, poulticed and in a deep bed, i think id need a more definitive diagnosis before id pts, cause at the moment from what you say, its just 2 vets with differing diagnoses.
What a horrible situation to be in, i hope you find some resolution soon
 
jeeve said:
I think that is a bit harsh - vets like any one else are only human. They will make mistakes, from time to time, maybe raise it with the practice. That is as far as it should go. I had a vet operate on the wrong leg, a bit more serious. I certainly raised it with the practice, but I did not call for him to be struck off. I did change vets, but mostly because I was unhappy about the way the complaint was handled. (I had been a client of the practice for a long time, with no isues previously.) Had changed to their practice, because previous vet missed bone chips in x ray. Again I did not call for him to be struck off.
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So what happens if this vet genuine mistake or not is making a lot of mistakes and everyone who s/he makes them with think along these lines... how many animals suffer in the process??

They don't strike a vet off for a genuine error of diagnosis but they do keep a record for repeat offenders and should at bare minimum offer re-education.
 
horseloaner said:
So what happens if this vet genuine mistake or not is making a lot of mistakes and everyone who s/he makes them with think along these lines... how many animals suffer in the process??

They don't strike a vet off for a genuine error of diagnosis but they do keep a record for repeat offenders and should at bare minimum offer re-education.
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the op does not even know what went on toady with the 'new' vet so how can op say which vet is right and which is wrong?

if the new vet is wrong and this ony has abcess' then it will be put down for something easily treatable, I would want xrays before making the decision to PTS or report the first vet
 
You need xrays on this before you start complaining or getting yourself upset. The important thing is to make your horse as comfortable as possible and on pain relief in between time as you may PTS....which I am sure you are doing.
My lad was diagnosed with an abcess in a front some years back, I went through the stage of poulticing etc for a week and a half and then got the vet back out as nothing was appearing. They were convinced it was an abcess and said to continue with the treatment for another week and then they would have to look at xrays.
I got my farrier out for a second opinion (he is a remedial farrier) and he was sure it must be an abcess too.
In all I treated him for an abcess for 3 weeks and once xrayed it was found that he had actually got laminitis with 12 degress rotation in the 'abcess' foot and 9 degrees in the other front.
My horse (and I) went through hell on earth trying to make him better for several months after this and I am sure if he had been treated for laminitis from the start he would not have had the rotation and long recovery period. But complaining would never have achieved anything other than to make me more stressed than I already was...these things happen, human error does happen and the only way to truely diagnose feet for anything is through xray - no vet no matter how good they are can surely diagnose and be 100% clear of a diagnosis without xray.
I hope your horse is ok and makes a good recovery.
 
pottamus said:
You need xrays on this before you start complaining or getting yourself upset....... no vet no matter how good they are can surely diagnose and be 100% clear of a diagnosis without xray.
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Agree with this basically; tho' it beggars belief that ANY vet could fail to diagnose laminitis TBH and/or order X-rays etc.

Personally I think another opinion is needed before you/your mum commits to an irreversible decision like PTS.

I would seek another opinion ASAP and go from there.
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