:( any ideas? Vet will be called next week

I would 100% have Rob come and treat him. I'd have personally gone for Tom in your shoes, but Rob is still very good and if he can get out to you quickly then do it.

If he doesn't walk away completely sound and stay that way then you MUST do the referral still. I've had one who have posted videos of before on these threads, who also had a weird not quite right gait that people thought might be neurological. No one really knew what was going on and Rob came out before we went for a very expensive vet referral and work up. Rob took one look and knew what was wrong.

He did walk away sound after Rob treated him and he stayed that way for a significant period of time, so it is possible. But if he doesn't walk away completely sound and stay that way then you MUST do the referral still.

EDITED TO ADD Rob wont come and just look and diagnose. He will come and look and treat if he feels he can fix him, if he cant he will refer you back to your vet. Hes not there to do diagnostics, hes an osteopath and hes a very good one, but his diagnostics are limited to what he can see and subsequently fix.
 
The strategy of 'fix the symptoms and wait and see if they stay fixed' is only a sensible strategy for the uninsured, when it's a reasonable strategy for the first 'fix', though I've seen and heard of it fail time after time.

For an insured person with the clock fast approaching six months of time left, it is senseless not to use the insurance to try to find the source of the problem rather than fix the symptoms and risk that they recur just after the insurance times out.

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I would go to Rossdales every time! I have used them a lot with a variety of horses and they really are top class. In my opinion you won’t find better. They are very easy to deal with, good value for money and their communication is second to none. Whether it is a Shetland pony or advanced eventer, mine have all been treated exactly the same.
 
Leo Walker said:
EDITED TO ADD Rob wont come and just look and diagnose. He will come and look and treat if he feels he can fix him, if he cant he will refer you back to your vet. Hes not there to do diagnostics, hes an osteopath and hes a very good one, but his diagnostics are limited to what he can see and subsequently fix.
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Karen, what are you going to do if this is true? It could completely mess up the referral.

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Personally I think an osteopath needs to be last chance saloon at this stage, if you find yourself uninsured or all insurance money spent. The horse might look better but doubtful he will be able to identify the root of the problem.
 
I feel like you are really trying to do whats best but you feel a bit overwhelmed.

If it helps I had Rob and Tom out to my mare. Rob before the diagnosis and he didn't "find" anything, but did some manipulation. It didn't help much as she had several problems. I had Tom after the diagnosis and he did help her quite a bit.

What I am saying is if he does have issues, which clearly he does, you need to find out what they are as otherwise having Rob out before this could just be putting a plaster over something that needs stitches (if that makes sense).

Please please please just get him booked in to a hospital, one of the big ones as suggested here, as soon as you can. I wouldn't worry about working him inbetween as I got to the point I wouldn't sit on my mare as she would explode, they worked her during the week and found what they did.

Honestly I cant stress this enough, get him booked in whilst you have the insurance to do it. Please feel free to PM me if you want any kind of support, I'm happy to offer it as I know its a horrible situation to be in, especially when your local vets are telling you nothing is wrong.
 
Ball is rolling, cancelled Rob, He is being dropped off Sunday night for his referral on Monday. They are going to try a few things to see if he shows, they mentioned sensors helping as it is intermittent they can help see things the eyes struggle, bone scan if they cant clearly see something. He will likely be there for the week so he settles a bit and doesn't strut out the stable like a 17'2 100% sound grand prix dancer screaming his head off lol

Doesnt matter where he is going as im happy with the place. Vet has said it is very odd what he is doing and its not going to be easy but have agreed that as he was better on the bute there is pain.


Rowreach said:
In my head I keep going back to the photos of Strawberry when (a) he was a muscled, fit driving horse and (b) when he was very skinny and weak, with no muscle and looking frankly sick. I also question why such a super looking driving cob would be sold on as a riding horse to an inexperienced owner, and I genuinely wonder if there was some sort of traumatic event (not unheard of with driving horses) which resulted in injury which is now over the long term getting worse and worse.

Plenty of people patch a horse up after an accident and then quietly sell it on while it's looking ok, and it's the subsequent owner who has to deal with the consequences.
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I have never really looked at it like that before, i sort of assumed that most cobs like him tend to come from a traveller background and are more in demand if they are ridden, i guess he would (if he didnt have all these issues) be a dreamy driving horse being a big trad cob, do you think Leo, Ester? I know a tourism barge pulling place wanted him but the owner didnt want him to go there. But yes that is a really good point, perhaps something has happened to him at some point, been hidden and this is why we have issue after issue.

I really hope we get to the bottom of this!
Thanks for all the advice as always. Will provide an update as and when :)
 
Horsekaren said:
Ball is rolling, cancelled Rob, He is being dropped off Sunday night for his referral on Monday. They are going to try a few things to see if he shows, they mentioned sensors helping as it is intermittent they can help see things the eyes struggle, bone scan if they cant clearly see something. He will likely be there for the week so he settles a bit and doesn't strut out the stable like a 17'2 100% sound grand prix dancer screaming his head off lol

Doesnt matter where he is going as im happy with the place. Vet has said it is very odd what he is doing and its not going to be easy but have agreed that as he was better on the bute there is pain.




I have never really looked at it like that before, i sort of assumed that most cobs like him tend to come from a traveller background and are more in demand if they are ridden, i guess he would (if he didnt have all these issues) be a dreamy driving horse being a big trad cob, do you think Leo, Ester? I know a tourism barge pulling place wanted him but the owner didnt want him to go there. But yes that is a really good point, perhaps something has happened to him at some point, been hidden and this is why we have issue after issue.

I really hope we get to the bottom of this!
Thanks for all the advice as always. Will provide an update as and when :)
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Well done.

Don't forget to take your tack with him, it would be a good idea for them to be able to ride him too.
 
Horsekaren said:
I have never really looked at it like that before, i sort of assumed that most cobs like him tend to come from a traveller background and are more in demand if they are ridden, i guess he would (if he didnt have all these issues) be a dreamy driving horse being a big trad cob, do you think Leo, Ester? I know a tourism barge pulling place wanted him but the owner didnt want him to go there. But yes that is a really good point, perhaps something has happened to him at some point, been hidden and this is why we have issue after issue.
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I think its something I've mentioned before. A good driving pony has a value and is in demand. His value was as an experienced driving pony, so what happened that they suddenly didn't want him for driving and didn't want to sell him to a driving home and he became a green riding pony instead? I am about as sure as I can be that my similar one had an accident and that's why he was gotten rid of.

I also would point blank refuse to sell my current pony to a riding home. She can be ridden and does the odd bit, but shes a driving pony, that's what she does and what she enjoys and what I've invested my time and money into.

There might be an innocent explanation, but my money is on something happening and that's at the root of all of these issues.
 
I'm glad he's going to be looked at. I'm sure you are aware about your insurance. If I were you id get all the tests scans xray s etc done asap as once your insurance runs out that's it. They may well question it anyway if this problem has being going on a while. You really do need some answers at this stage or you will shortly find yourself with a lame pony and no insurance which unless you are very wealthy will rule out a lot of options.
Good luck and I hope you really do get to the bottom of things this time.
 
Horsekaren said:
Ball is rolling, cancelled Rob, He is being dropped off Sunday night for his referral on Monday. They are going to try a few things to see if he shows, they mentioned sensors helping as it is intermittent they can help see things the eyes struggle, bone scan if they cant clearly see something. He will likely be there for the week so he settles a bit and doesn't strut out the stable like a 17'2 100% sound grand prix dancer screaming his head off lol

Doesnt matter where he is going as im happy with the place. Vet has said it is very odd what he is doing and its not going to be easy but have agreed that as he was better on the bute there is pain.




I have never really looked at it like that before, i sort of assumed that most cobs like him tend to come from a traveller background and are more in demand if they are ridden, i guess he would (if he didnt have all these issues) be a dreamy driving horse being a big trad cob, do you think Leo, Ester? I know a tourism barge pulling place wanted him but the owner didnt want him to go there. But yes that is a really good point, perhaps something has happened to him at some point, been hidden and this is why we have issue after issue.

I really hope we get to the bottom of this!
Thanks for all the advice as always. Will provide an update as and when :)
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Very, very well done HK.

I hope you get a clear answer, and I hope the answer is one that's easy to fix. You are such a caring owner, best wishes for you both.


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