At what point is it unfair to keep a 'lame' horse

[canteron]

My horse of a lifetime, who I absolutely adore, is lame and has been for 6 months now. She is sound in walk but in trot it is a bit uncomfortable in trot (about 2/10th) and you wouldn't want to ride her. Over the past few years she has been lame on hard ground, but this Winter had another very deep abscess and has been lame ever since.

To me, she seems fine in her field with her companion, if a little bit bored. i do try and bring her in once or twice a week and have a 'session' because she loves it.

I am happy to keep her as a field ornament (I am lucky enough to have quite a lot of grazing), and to be honest she seems quite happy and still interested in everything and still loves attention, but she is a horse and running around it what they do, is it unfair to keep a horse, long term, who gets sore every time they trot/canter?

The vet knows this horse very well and we are both agreed, for various reasons, that the lameness does probably stem from the hoof and there is very little point in investigating further as the treatment options are so limited.

Maybe, who knows, she will come sound with time, but I would just be interested in peoples thoughts/experiences.

 

[Equi]

This sounds a bit like the situation my old retired loan cob is in. He is in a field now living out his days, with the odd walk about with his owners 7yo kid on him (so literally walking about the field) he is sound in the field, but sore in trot on hardground and walking down hill on hard ground. I don't have the say to what happens to him, but if he was mine he would still be doing what he is now but i would have him on turmeric or a danilon/bute now and then if he was really feeling anything. If they are field sound and you have the money and space, let them be.

 

[Joyous70]

Providing they are field sound and happy, and you can afford to keep them as field ornaments i don't see an issue, however, my boy wasn't field sound, he wasn't happy doing nothing and wasn't sound on bute, so i made the decision to have him PTS.

If i was in your situation, i would see how they get on for now, assess the situation if you think that the quality of life has dwindled or is dwindling then have a re-think.

 

[madlady]

My old mare is currently classed as 'field sound' - she has a tendon injury and the beginnings of arthritis (she is 23)

She is fine in walk and trot and will even occasionally have the odd canter, if they have been hooning around then she needs bute. She is happy and bright enough in herself but she will never be ridden again.

I'm happy for her to keep going as long as she is happy. If she gets to the stage where she needs 2 bute a day to keep her field sound then I'll re-consider, likewise if her tendon comes up again I may have to re-think. She had to do 3 months box rest over last summer due to her tendon - given that she is an old lady and was already retired then I don't think I'd put her through that again. While she is reasonably sound and happy she can carry on as long as she likes.

 

[vam]

I think it depends on so many things, it's hard to answer. For me i tried for 18 months to get my boy sounds after a fracture and ligament damage in his knee, it got to this Christmas where he was being ridden again only hacking as that would be all he would be able to take, when he damaged it again and when pretty much back to square one. Although it got to the point of him being about 2/10 lame i knew that it was time to call it a day and he was pts at the beginning of Feb. He loved work and wasn't good at being a field ornament, he would get himself into trouble even on his own, he loved work and he just wasn't the same after Christmas.
I knew that he would never come sound enough for full work but had hoped it would be enough to do a bit of hacking, as it was even that wasn't enough for him but all horses are different. In all honesty even if i had grazing and he hadn't re damaged his knee i wouldn't have kept him going for long. The knee was always going to get worse and i wasn't prepared to let him get to a point where it was more painful than it was.
But that is me and my situation, only you will know what to do. I spent a lot of time agonizing over what to do with him, right from the moment he did his knee. Try not to second guess things and really go with your gut, I'm always of the thought of give them time but know when to stop.

 

[mastermax]

Master Max was paddock sound for 12 months after he was written off. He was happy as an ornament even though he had a very, full and active life previously. He did need to be stabled in the winter at night and he became steadily worse at this time. We had him for 12 years and just knew that Max would let us know when the time was right. He did. He was PTS the same day. We miss him everyday. I wish you all the good luck in the world with your situation.

 

[leggs]

I don't know if you told us the full story in the OP but if there is only 1 vet that has designated this horse as a field ornament then I would certainly seek a 2nd opinion before I "wrote her off" as lawnmower.

Not trying to be nasty, but been there, done that, my horse of a lifetime (lost to colic at 26 last year) was "given up" by 5 vets at one horse clinic, just by looking at her x-rays....when she was 3, not even broken in yet. In the +30years i've owned horses and dealt with rescue animals i've learned that vets are a tool, but they don't have a crystal ball, they don't know everything.

They told me I would never ride this horse, or only for a short while, but if the colic had not happened we would still have gone for a ride in the forrest this weekend, she was sound (after finding a really good farrier) for the rest of her life.
My other horse of a lifetime was diagnosed with spavin and given up when she was 17yrs, when she was 18 I was still jumping her against the horses (she was an arab pony) at 18+ and we continued to ride 100% sound, until she also died of colic at 29

Especially as you say the lameness stayed after an abcess, I would want to investigate this further.

 

[Pebble101]

My wonderful horse has been retired due to injury for nearly 5 years now. He is happy, he rolls (lots), he has no trouble lying down, he gallops round the field when something upsets him but he will never be ridden again. He isn't on bute but I have kept an old lad on 2 bute a day before - without he would have been PTS years before he was.

I am lucky - I have my own land and can let him live out the rest of his days with me. I'm sure he would be classed as far more than 2/10 lame, but two very experienced vets don't think he is in pain but it is a mechanical lameness (tendon slipped off both hocks) - they don't think he would look so well if he was in constant pain. And I am sure he is a happy chap.

I enjoy having him around and he has an important job as a companion - because he is generally calm, sensible and polite he is perfect.

 

[Theocat]

I think it depends on how you define "field sound", and I think that can vary with the horse. Mine is a regular hooner / player - if he was permanently and significantly lame in anything other than walk I wouldn't consider it fair to keep him going. Something older and steadier that spends more time with all four legs sensibly on the ground would be different, though.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

My horse of a lifetime, who I absolutely adore, is lame and has been for 6 months now. She is sound in walk but in trot it is a bit uncomfortable in trot (about 2/10th) and you wouldn't want to ride her. Over the past few years she has been lame on hard ground, but this Winter had another very deep abscess and has been lame ever since.

To me, she seems fine in her field with her companion, if a little bit bored. i do try and bring her in once or twice a week and have a 'session' because she loves it.

I am happy to keep her as a field ornament (I am lucky enough to have quite a lot of grazing), and to be honest she seems quite happy and still interested in everything and still loves attention, but she is a horse and running around it what they do, is it unfair to keep a horse, long term, who gets sore every time they trot/canter?

The vet knows this horse very well and we are both agreed, for various reasons, that the lameness does probably stem from the hoof and there is very little point in investigating further as the treatment options are so limited.

Maybe, who knows, she will come sound with time, but I would just be interested in peoples thoughts/experiences.

I would muck on as she is ok field sound - she will tell you if it gets too much.

 

[Boulty]

If she's field sound and happy I'd carry on as you are doing. The point I said enough was enough with my previous horse was when he was no longer sound in walk pottering about even on a high dose of bute (he also started struggling to move out of the way of the others when they were playing and arsing about). In your situation I'd pull shoes (if you haven't already) and let her have her retirement as long as she is otherwise healthy, happy and enjoying life. You could perhaps discuss with your vet putting her on a low dose of bute if you feel she's sore

 

[Tern]

I can't deal with anything being kept that isn't sound in the field. If the horse is always lame in field (not just because they have been hooning about) then I would not keep them as a field ornament and they would be pts asap. After all, horses are not just lame for the fun of it - they are in pain.

Your mare seems to be sound so why not, if you can afford it. I know I wouldn't be able to though.

 

[kez81]

My older horse is rising 28 and has arthritis and a tendon injury which means he is always technically lame on off hind, however he is not in any pain and needs no medication and it certainly doesnt stop him hooning about like a mad man! The day he is in pain is the day I will PTS. I dont believe in keeping horses medicated and masking pain so will let him go when his arthritis/tendons start giving him too much trouble. If your horse is not in pain then let her enjoy being an ornament but if she is in pain then you have a duty to end her suffering IMHO.

 

[Dexydoodle]

My mare went lame (arthritis) and didn't respond to any treatment. She was in fact becoming more lame. If she'd have just been a bit stiff she could have retired to the field but she was noticeably lame. She still used to whinny at me and come trotting across when i arrived at the yard, but she was visibly lame even in the field. It broke my heart, she was my first horse, but she was pts 3.5 weeks ago. It was an easy decision for me to make, i couldn't leave her like that but its horrible having to make it. Im still sure it was the right one though.

I think for me it comes down to occasional stiffness / soreness after hooning vs lame and in pain

 

[Auslander]

They tell you when it's time. Lola made it as clear as day that she had had enough. Nothing changed, she didn't go lame, or get sick - she was just exhausted with the effort required to go about her daily business. She had a couple of days in a great big straw bed in the shelter, with food, hay and water in front of her, and lots of fuss from her owner, and was pts quietly with her boys near her.
I currently have two that wouldn't pass a vet - Alf is fairly sound, but has days where he's not quite right, and the other guy has a restrictive/mechanical lameness, which doesn't cause him pain, but affects the way he moves. They are both as bright as buttons, and definitely not ready to go yet. I'll know when they are.

 

[paulineh]

I have an Arab mare that is now 21 and has been on and off lame for the last 2 years. There has been several reasons for the lameness , firstly she was diagnosed with Navicular and now we think it is in her shoulder due to compensation from the opposite side.

I am lucky to own my own land so do not have to think about livery for a horse sometimes I can not ride.

My girl is still interested in life has at the moment on 1 Danilon a day (Although she has only been on this for a week), but this is being stopped on Monday as Hopefully the "Buteless" kicks in. She enjoys walking in the woods and we often take a camera and the dogs and have a wonder.

My feelings are that as long as the body if functioning and they are happy to wonder around and you can afford to have a field ornament that allow them to continue. the day will come when "They" will tell you that they have had enough.

 

[AshTay]

My boy had made a full recovery from sdft injury and had been sound for about nine months before he started to go lame again. We put him back on bute and that helped for a while but it was at the point where he got kicked that I realised it was time. He'd always been top horse so to see him falling down the rankings was so sad. It was also becoming evident that he couldn't stand in a stable for very long without becoming uncomfortable (he was living out). It was the hardest thing I'd ever done and I struggled with the decision for a very long time afterwards but I knew it was right.

 

[lisaf]

My horse of a lifetime, who I absolutely adore, is lame and has been for 6 months now. She is sound in walk but in trot it is a bit uncomfortable in trot (about 2/10th) and you wouldn't want to ride her. Over the past few years she has been lame on hard ground, but this Winter had another very deep abscess and has been lame ever since.

To me, she seems fine in her field with her companion, if a little bit bored. i do try and bring her in once or twice a week and have a 'session' because she loves it.

I am happy to keep her as a field ornament (I am lucky enough to have quite a lot of grazing), and to be honest she seems quite happy and still interested in everything and still loves attention, but she is a horse and running around it what they do, is it unfair to keep a horse, long term, who gets sore every time they trot/canter?

The vet knows this horse very well and we are both agreed, for various reasons, that the lameness does probably stem from the hoof and there is very little point in investigating further as the treatment options are so limited.

Maybe, who knows, she will come sound with time, but I would just be interested in peoples thoughts/experiences.

My mare was from upto October last year then she got abscesses in her back feet she was put on box rest with bute and was poulticing her hooves she was fine from end of November to know.
She is now limping on her front left leg even with padding on her hoof (there is no abcess) she is on danilon 2 a day and on box rest this started last week.. Not sure what to do

 

[be positive]

My mare was from upto October last year then she got abscesses in her back feet she was put on box rest with bute and was poulticing her hooves she was fine from end of November to know.
She is now limping on her front left leg even with padding on her hoof (there is no abcess) she is on danilon 2 a day and on box rest this started last week.. Not sure what to do

You really need to start a new thread and give a bit more information if you want to get some helpful answers, but I will get started by asking questions, how old is the horse? are you certain there is no abscess as they are not always easy to find and bute may suppress it. Has a vet been out? apart from the abscess in Nov does she have any other health issues that need to be considered?

 

[Chuffy99]

If I can keep my oldies comfortable on a Bute a day I’m very happy to keep them in retirement but when the day comes they need two I think I’m keeping them alive for me and I call the hunt

 

[Pearlsasinger]

My mare was from upto October last year then she got abscesses in her back feet she was put on box rest with bute and was poulticing her hooves she was fine from end of November to know.
She is now limping on her front left leg even with padding on her hoof (there is no abcess) she is on danilon 2 a day and on box rest this started last week.. Not sure what to do

Have her tested for Cushings. My mare had recurrent foot abscesses until she was on Prascend.

 

[Leandy]

Mmm. I think if I was having to ask it would indicate in my heart of hearts that the balance may not be right. Personally I would not keep a horse that was in constant, even low grade, pain (ie discomfort), or a horse with intermittent moderate to severe pain, with no or very little prospect of improvement. Some temporary discomfort is acceptable if the prognosis is good for a comfortable and useful future. If there is no such prognosis then I don't think chronic discomfort is acceptable. So there is a balance there. If movement is inhibited such as to stress a horse as a flight animal which may feel very vulnerable if they cannot "run away" if they need to then that is a real consideration. If a horse cannot defend itself or keep itself out of trouble in a group turn out situation then that is a consideration. Personally I won't medicate for comfort alone (ie not as part of treatment aimed at improving a condition), as I don't see it as money well spent, although some are prepared to pay the costs to keep a horse comfortable when otherwise it wouldn't be. Long term and continuing box rest without good prognosis is also a welfare issue, particularly when it is repeated and therefore clearly not indicating a good prognosis.

 

[criso]

I kept mine going as long as he seemed happy to move around the field and interact with other horses, galloping, play fighting etc with a little bute as needed. There was a head nod in trot (some of it mechanical) but he was often the first to instigate canters and play when he wanted to. That was important to me as there is a difference between a horse cantering because his instinct is to stay with the herd even if in pain and one that wants to. His antics didn't make him worse, it wasn't that sort of injury.

His favourite thing was eating though and he loved being out, very much a free range Frankie. He came in at night in winter (not his choice) and day in summer, he hated flies so he was very happy with that.

Then in autumn he got what seemed to be an abscess on his good leg, sore in walk, poulticed and treated and seemed to come right. After a couple of weeks came in lame again. He got a little stretch of box rest and came out looking really good but went lame after a couple of days of going out so that was when I called it a day.

 

[lme]

My mare retired in her early 20s after a field injury (the first of many - she was an idiot in the field) and was field sound on a bute a day until the week she was PTS at 33. For the last few years, she switched to being stabled over winter and out full time the rest of the year and that seemed to work well for her.

 

[Annagain]

I would take another look at her. This time last year I thought I was facing this decision with my 23 year old. He's had problems with his front feet for years but he was showing very odd intermittent lameness behind which, coupled with the issue in front, I thought would be the end of him. I got the vet to take a look and he couldn't find a problem behind at all. He thought it was all linked to the same old problem with his front feet. A lot of people would just have accepted that and retired him or had him PTS but I felt he was still happy and enjoyed work when not lame. We x-rayed his fronts (about 8 yrs on from the last set) which showed arthritic changes which have probably developed due to his other issues, so we injected the coffin joint and he hasn't looked back. He's only hacking but we've built up to about an hour and 15 minutes twice a week with no issues. I'm lucky that he's come back to being ridden but my main aim was to get him comfy in the field. As soon as he's showing signs that he's not happy in the field and the injections don't make a difference, I'll have to make a decision. In theory, I'm not a huge fan of bute to keep them going with degenerative conditions (long term stable conditions are a bit different) as you're just delaying the inevitable but I've never been in that position - I hope I'm brave enough to act on it if/when the time comes.

 

[Tarragon]

To me, there is a difference between being mechanically unsound and "ouchy" unsound, and a huge difference between having your own grazing and paying for livery. If it is "ouchy" lameness and you are paying for livery then the advice would be different to "mechanically" unsound and owning your own land. I do think it is unfair to pile guilt on to someone who is not in a position to keep an unsound horse. The only thing that matters is that the horse is kept in a horse friendly way and is kept pain free while it is alive.
I am pretty sure that the horse will tell you if it is not happy.

 

[Nasicus]

The vet knows this horse very well and we are both agreed, for various reasons, that the lameness does probably stem from the hoof and there is very little point in investigating further as the treatment options are so limited.

Have you at least done x-rays on the hoof? As long-term management of one condition can differ greatly to another.
And I don't mean that in a 'manage the issue and voila! Horse all better!' kind of way, I mean that in a 'providing the right environment, support and care to keep them happy and comfortable in retirement' kind of way.