am i right?

hol089 said:
Of course you want to mask the pain... it is exactly the same as in humans you have pain you take pain killers especially when it's a chronic condition. If I was to withold pain relief from a patient I'd be in court. Side effects from danillon are rare and the pain free existence they can give a horse easily outweigh the risks.
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I could not agree more it's unacceptable to keep lame horses with no pain relief.
 
Can not understand your vets reasoning. There is a risk of stomach irritation with Danilon that can lead to ulcers but if he is monitored for the symptoms and you are aware isn't it worth giving the horse anti inflammatories which could improve his mobility and quality of life.
I had an old TB who would be lame if he stubbed his toe even if the vet could find nothing wrong, of course I gave him Danilon even if there was not obvious cause. I know horses are not human but anticipation of pain can almost be as bad as the pain that is actually felt.
 
ok i know i asked for advice but feeling a little attacked here. i only want whats best for my horse and i am following what my vet has told me. after reading these comments i will get a second oppinion, but as i have said he does get severe reactions to certain substances which is why im not comftable using Danillon when my vet has advised not to. he has been on medication before and i nearly lost him through the reactions hes had to countless drugs. also last time i changed wormer he collapsed in his stable and had to be on a drip as it made him so unwell. (i do regular worm checks to make sure he is not carrying worms instead and stick to same wormer every time now, again vets advise.)

obviously i dont want him in pain but i dont want to jump straight to pts if he is happy and comftable like ive been told and how he acts. when he starts struggling to keep up with the others in the field or if he starts to get miserable then yes i wouldnt hesitate to pts. but he acts like a 2yr old colt in his field and when being led at the moment,

and in answer to LynH, yes i have been in severe pain before, ive got sciatica and also suffer from Chondromalacia. ive also got dodgy hips and have had to have my leg streched twice to help cure this.
 
I don't myself see how a horse can pain free when it has been so lame for such a length of time that it has caused muscle wastage! I honestly don't see how he can be keeping ip with others in the field like this. It is purely my opinion but I think keeping a horse going like this who isn't even field sound without adequate pain relief is equal to cruelty, if my boy gets like this he will be given Danillon and if that didn't work to good effect he would be pts. I'm not trying to attack you but this is my opinion! All the best with whatever happens.
 
Dreamer515 said:
ok i know i asked for advice but feeling a little attacked here. i only want whats best for my horse and i am following what my vet has told me.
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I'm sorry that you are feeling attacked but the very fact that you posted asking for advice suggests that at the back of your mind you are not comfortable with keeping the horse in the manner that you have described.
The only other advice i can offer is to try magnetic leg-wraps. I have had almost miraculous results using them, with one horse but they don't work for all horses/conditions.
 
Goldenstar said:
I could not agree more it's unacceptable to keep lame horses with no pain relief.
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I'm afraid I agree with this. :(

OP - Your vet doesn't see your horse every day. You do. And in your opinion he is 'very lame'. That being the case I strongly believe that you have a choice to make - you either medicate or you PTS.

I'm sorry that you feel under attack and I'm sure you only want the best for your horse, but to allow him to go in to another potentially very cold Winter in so much pain is unethical.
 
Dreamer515 said:
ok i know i asked for advice but feeling a little attacked here. i only want whats best for my horse
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It's pretty obvious that you adore your horse and want what's best for him. I can see both sides to this. I am in a slightly similar situation to you with my 19yr old gelding. I used to event him (he previously was a 3* horse) at the low levels and had only had him about 7 months when I took him in the show jumping and he just stopped dead about five strides away from a fence. I knew something wasn't right so took him straight home and got the vet out immediately. Anyway, we found out he had arthritis in his pelvis and stifle joints and retired him. He was never lame at all and until that point had never given us a reason to think anything was wrong with him but it would have been developing for a long time. I knew retirement would be best because A, I was told that his back end could just go at any time whilst being worked and B, he was a fruit loop to ride at the best of times and hacking was not for the faint hearted!

That was about four months ago and he has had a lovely summer turned out with my mare still without lameness. However, he looked miserable when I rode the mare and he didn't get to go to any parties.

I noticed a few weeks ago that he was starting to get a little stiff in his back end and, although not hopping lame, was uncomfortable so put him on Danilon. A couple of weeks ago while picking up one of his back legs he struggled to stand on the other so I have decided that this is totally unfair for him to go down hill like this so I will be putting him to sleep so that he can go with his dignity.

This may sound harsh but I don't believe in keeping a field ornament that is 16.3hh. He is costing me rather a lot of money to feed, on vets bills and if I keep him through the winter I would have stabling costs. Now I love him to bits and the thought of losing him is heartbreaking but he owes me nothing but I owe him a pain free existence. I am 19 years old and I don't earn a fortune so I simply could not afford to keep him buted up his whole life. Like you, I do NOT believe in MASKING symptoms at all, I am purely doing it so he can live his last days as the horse that he used to be.

I once owned an ex racer who had severe reactions to certain wormers and medication so I totally understand why you are concerned. Ultimately it is your choice what you want to do but I have seen animals that have had to have prolonged agony. My advice would be to do what I did and when he visibly starts to struggle then you have a decision to make. I really wish you all the best, it's an awful situation!
 
xcharsx said:
It's pretty obvious that you adore your horse and want what's best for him. I can see both sides to this. I am in a slightly similar situation to you with my 19yr old gelding. I used to event him (he previously was a 3* horse) at the low levels and had only had him about 7 months when I took him in the show jumping and he just stopped dead about five strides away from a fence. I knew something wasn't right so took him straight home and got the vet out immediately. Anyway, we found out he had arthritis in his pelvis and stifle joints and retired him. He was never lame at all and until that point had never given us a reason to think anything was wrong with him but it would have been developing for a long time. I knew retirement would be best because A, I was told that his back end could just go at any time whilst being worked and B, he was a fruit loop to ride at the best of times and hacking was not for the faint hearted!

That was about four months ago and he has had a lovely summer turned out with my mare still without lameness. However, he looked miserable when I rode the mare and he didn't get to go to any parties.

I noticed a few weeks ago that he was starting to get a little stiff in his back end and, although not hopping lame, was uncomfortable so put him on Danilon. A couple of weeks ago while picking up one of his back legs he struggled to stand on the other so I have decided that this is totally unfair for him to go down hill like this so I will be putting him to sleep so that he can go with his dignity.

This may sound harsh but I don't believe in keeping a field ornament that is 16.3hh. He is costing me rather a lot of money to feed, on vets bills and if I keep him through the winter I would have stabling costs. Now I love him to bits and the thought of losing him is heartbreaking but he owes me nothing but I owe him a pain free existence. I am 19 years old and I don't earn a fortune so I simply could not afford to keep him buted up his whole life. Like you, I do NOT believe in MASKING symptoms at all, I am purely doing it so he can live his last days as the horse that he used to be.

I once owned an ex racer who had severe reactions to certain wormers and medication so I totally understand why you are concerned. Ultimately it is your choice what you want to do but I have seen animals that have had to have prolonged agony. My advice would be to do what I did and when he visibly starts to struggle then you have a decision to make. I really wish you all the best, it's an awful situation!
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What a wonderfully mature, sensible young person you are.
 
My point about you being in pain wasn't to make you feel attacked but to highlight that even in severe pain it doesn't look as bad to other people and the doctor cannot tell the amount of pain you are in. You can be in quite severe pain without looking miserable to other people. What I didn't understand was how your vet could say that a very lame horse only had an ache. When a person is in pain you can decide whether to take pain relief or not or whether to lie down and rest. A horse's natural instinct is to keep up with the herd no matter how much pain it is in. If it is in a lot of pain then it needs the herd more than ever.
You are in a difficult position if your vet advises against pain relief but I do think you are right to ask for a second opinion as there are a lot of other treatments than just Danilon. Is he ok with non prescription pain relief like Buteless, Devils Claw etc? Rather than jumping straight to PTS, your vet should be offering alternatives as you are clearly don't want him in pain.
 
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