Arthritis, laminitis or both??? Any thoughts/advise

[millimoo]

I have a 25yr old Shetland. For the last 2yrs he's had small episodes of being very slightly un-level.
He's had mild laminitis for a week the last 2 summers, but the footiness is periodically present in the middle of winter.
His feet are trimmed every six weeks, he's not overweight and no crest to his neck.
My (very good) farrier gave his feet a thorough check last week, and he says his feet are fine, and applied pressure, checked for heat etc, and thought knee or shoulder lameness, not laminitis.
I had the vet to him this morning, and she's saying mild laminitis. My concern is she had to apply a huge amount of pressure to his front feet to get a reaction with the pincers, and she agreed he's not overweight etc. He stabled at night all year round and is muzzled March to October.
Im left a bit undecided by it all. Shes a young vet, not long qualified, and im not 100% convinced with her diagnosis.I trust my farrier, and i trust the partner at the vet (who has been on paternity leave).
My plan is to get a lameness work up done next week when the main Partner is back, and in the meantime I've had him tested for cushings (although he's not showing any other cushings symptoms at all).
Does anyone have any other ideas, or suggestions. Poor little man is now in his stable, very stressed at being in without his chum, and buted up.

 

[Dolcé]

Difficult one, I want to say go with your farrier as I feel some vets are far too quick to call laminitis without checking for anything else, eg our Hanoverian who actually had an abcess, they did the same thing with navicular before laminitis became 'fashionable'. But, if you don't treat it as laminitis and it is then you could do a lot of damage by not taking precautions. What are his pulses like, although they may be 'up' anyway if he has something else going on? If it is any consolation our boy, who had never been separated from his mare settled quickly into his stable when he had to go on box rest, it only took a day or so for him to become resigned to it and he grew to love being in.

 

[millimoo]

Thanks for your reply, and I agree that laminitis is sometimes too quickly used as a diagnosis.
I want to bottom it out, as he's now lame on his near fore.
And thanks for passing on your experience with your horse. It doesn't help that my pony lives at my parents, with her warmblood (I'm 37 with a very full time job) and she's disagrees with the vet completely. Shes livid at how hard she had to use the pincers.
I want him in and stabled to treat as Laminitis until ive ruled everything else out, but I also know she has the hassle day to day - she hates them in full time, and the restrictions he's under food wise (he's not being starved, as he's slim already)
As for being stabled on his own, he hates it.... He was quite sweaty this teatime when I mucked him out, and he climbs his 5 bar gate if he's that way out.
Plus my mums horse is a clingy sod, and can't be put out alone asks he threatens to jump the fate. We've got round this by leaving the gate onto the yard, but it's not ideal as he starts to get into things, and likes to bite the Hayledge bags.
All a nightmare really, and thankfully I'm on leave next week so can get up to their house twice a day.
I think my mum stresses me more than my pony???

 

[millimoo]

And apologies for my miss spelt words - using my iPhone and it's changed things. I was also referring to my mums views in the first half of my 2nd post ..... Need to go to bed I think

 

[Dolcé]

Is there no way you can make a small pen (with electric maybe) so that he can be out alongside your mum's horse but not able to move around too much. I suppose it would have to be somewhere without grass too so that he could just have hay. It is so difficult when things are not clear cut, I sympathise with your mum too as I am the one that ends up dealing with all this stuff when they have to be in or need stuff doing, other than the normal day to day stuff, so I know how she feels. I hope he has just tweaked something and that it isn't laminitis, it really is a curse of an illness.