Bert is very lame.

[criso]

That's better news. Hopefully bringing back into work soon

 

[splashgirl45]

I was reading all the bad bits of this thread and was feeling very upset for you especially as you took so long to find him, then I saw the good news , what a relief for you .. hopefully you will soon be riding again which will be good for you after all the upset with your family and work

 

[SO1]

That sounds promising.

Given he's only 5 could he be going through a growth spurt? Baby cob has had a few wonky moments over the past 18 months and had a horrible locking stifle time at one point - he was a very odd shape and I just ended up doing a lot of walk work until his body remembered where his legs should be.

He is bum high and I think he is definitely growing. When I looked at him last night I thought he looked bigger.

Look cute Bert.

 

[ycbm]

Has he got a shiny nose or are his nostrils topped with white? He's a smashing pony.
.

 

[SO1]

Has he got a shiny nose or are his nostrils topped with white? He's a smashing pony.
.

His nostrils are slightly lighter. You can see a bit clearer here.

 

[Clodagh]

How is he now, @SO1 ? Sorry if you have updated elsewhere.

 

[SO1]

Vet did his review last Tuesday and was pleased with his progress. His stifle didn't lock on the lunge and he had gone from 6/10 lame when he first went lame to 1/10 lame.

So he is now being bought back into work starting with walking a combination of water treadmill, riding and horse walker for two weeks. I rode him on Friday and he was good as gold. I was away this weekend gone as I was with my parents as it was my birthday and also they have needed some help still. Next weekend I am also away as it one of my friends 50th and she is having a big party and lots of friends from uni are travelling to up for the party in the Cotswolds so won't be riding much anyway but my instructor will ride him a bit. Then vet back to review him next week.

Vet thinks as the lameness has improved so quickly that it was just a tweak or could have been that his stifle locked really badly and he got sore from that.

Main thing is he has been back in the field and hopefully will continue to progress with his walk program and be back fully sound again when vet comes back on Tuesday.

He is really filling out and looking chunky.

 

[splashgirl45]

That’s good news , he is looking very well

 

[criso]

That's good.

My last horse, we think slipped in his stable not long after I got him. He was so non weight bearing lame, he ended up at the RVC being monitored in case of a fractured pelvis. A few days and a 4 figure vets bill later, it was concluded he'd slipped or knocked himself, no serious damage just a haematoma and a bit of rest and Bute. Never had any problems with that leg or his hind end at all for the rest of his life.

Sometimes you get these dramatic incidents that turn out to be nothing but you never really get an answer to.

 

[SO1]

Vet came last Tues and said he could start trotting again, he was not 100% but a lot better and apparently very lively.

My instructor has been riding him as I was away at the weekend and because I have not ridden him in the evenings on my own in the dark yet.

Unfortunately he went lame in trot again yesterday. YO has spoken to vet as I have been in Board meetings and still struggling with family issues due to my parents help. Vet says continue to ride in walk and he will return on Tuesday to review. He still thinks it is stifle but will need more investigation. They moved fields on Wednesday to the winter fields and he had been fine with his walking and had trotted up sound on Tuesday.

I have come to the decision that I won't do box rest and rehab unless it is life and death situation. I just don't have the energy to do it after doing two long periods of rehabilitation/box rest in 2020 and 2021/2022 with Homey. I just do not have the energy to do more with what is going on in my personal life and work life.

I would rather turn away and revaluate in 6 months time.

 

[tda]

Was hoping this would be a more positive update, but good vibes from us and agree with the turning away.

 

[Peregrine Falcon]

Sorry he's not improved. Turning away seems the best plan for you at present

 

[Red-1]

I think turning away for the winter is a good idea. It will give you a breather. Save some £ too.

Turning away was what we used to do when I was younger. Many, many horses came back into work with no issues.

 

[Orangehorse]

So sorry to hear things are not going too well. My gut instinct would be to not ride him at all until after Christmas and the days are getting longer. He is still growing and it has been work - lame, work - lame I would feel like turning him out and let it all heal up without the weight of a rider.

Of course there are injuries where it is necessary to keep in work, but so long as the vet says a great big NO, then in your current circumstances it would take pressure off you. You can still go and see him and spend time with him.

 

[criso]

I would be inclined to do a full work up at your nearest hospital to see if you can pinpoint exactly what is going on and eliminate anything that needs a costly procedure while the insurance is still active.

Then if it's something that doesn't need intervention but rest and rehab, turn away for the winter.

Is turning away an option where you are or would you have to find somewhere else.

 

[SO1]

I would be inclined to do a full work up at your nearest hospital to see if you can pinpoint exactly what is going on and eliminate anything that needs a costly procedure while the insurance is still active.

Then if it's something that doesn't need intervention but rest and rehab, turn away for the winter.

You are probably right. He is insured and I need to know what is wrong with him before I make any decisions.

He is not as badly lame as he was before more unlevel rather than the 6/10 he was before. Vet wants to see him under saddle when he returns on Tuesday. He wants us to continue riding him in walk for time being and continue on field turnout as if it stifle locking then he needs to be kept moving.

When the vet saw him the second time after a week of box rest his stifle locked 3 times on the lunge though his lameness had improved from 6/10 to 1/10. He then had a week of field turnout vet came back and said 2 weeks of walking and then back and said sound enough to start trotting that was Tuesday.

So my instructor rode on Tues pm and he was fine, Wednesday he went on water treadmill as vet said do that twice a week from when he started walking. They also moved to the winter field that day. My instructor rode him again yesterday and noticed he was unlevel in trot. So vet was called for advice.

One of his field mates has been lame also around the same time as Bert. So we have been sharing call outs. Vet wondered if the two were connected.

They don't do grass livery where I am so he would either just stay on his current routine but not be ridden if I gave him a break or I could possibly send him to a friends but that is not local enough to see him on a regular basis.

 

[SO1]

He trotted up sound today. Vet asked to send video of trotting under saddle so I rode and he was looking quite good in trot with me on so now wondering if his saddle is a bit tight as he has put on weight.

 

[little_critter]

Could it have simply been that the trot work started a bit early / was a bit too hard for him and he was a bit sore? Did the trot build up slowly?

 

[ycbm]

He trotted up sound today. Vet asked to send video of trotting under saddle so I rode and he was looking quite good in trot with me on so now wondering if his saddle is a bit tight as he has put on weight.

The symptoms you have also fit with other things, and at this stage if he shows any unsoundness again I would be asking for x rays of the stifles and hocks if you can afford it. If nothing is found it's unlikely that your insurers will pay.

I don't want to worry you, but a chip in the joint that migrates in and out of places that it hurts produced exactly what you are seeing in a horse of mine a long time ago. Intermittent lameness which can be very severe, with no external symptoms. They're also pretty common in young horses and these days, usually easily whipped out through an arthroscopy.

Fingers crossed he never takes another lame step. Sorry if I've set you worrying again now.
.

 

[SO1]

The symptoms you have also fit with other things, and at this stage if he shows any unsoundness again I would be asking for x rays of the stifles and hocks if you can afford it. If nothing is found it's unlikely that your insurers will pay.

I don't want to worry you, but a chip in the joint that migrates in and out of places that it hurts produced exactly what you are seeing in a horse of mine a long time ago. Intermittent lameness which can be very severe, with no external symptoms. They're also pretty common in young horses and these days, usually easily whipped out through an arthroscopy.

Fingers crossed he never takes another lame step. Sorry if I've set you worrying again now.
.

His hocks were x rayed as part of his 5 stage vetting but not his stifles. But absolutely I can afford to x ray stifles if needed. I am a livery on a rehab yard and instructor and yard owner both have a good eye for lameness so even subtle lameness normally gets picked up. So we will keep a close eye on him.

 

[Tiddlypom]

I’m sorry that he’s still not right.

As he’s insured, and your 12 months to claim already started ticking when he first went lame, I’d definitely get a lameness work up done ASAP. As it is, you are very likely to be getting exclusions put on at renewal anyway.

Turning away often does put a horse right, but you’d kick yourself if it turns out that he has done something which would have benefitted from early intervention.

Good luck.

 

[criso]

If nothing is found it's unlikely that your insurers will pay.

I've not had issues with payment for X rays for elimination purposes as long as it's associated with a clear lameness. I think it's where you have a not quite right performance type work up that it's more difficult.

 

[Pinkvboots]

If his not right get the workup done now because if you leave it until spring he won't be covered by insurance for that problem, you only usually have 90 days to claim usually from the day the problem started.

 

[ycbm]

If his not right get the workup done now because if you leave it until spring he won't be covered by insurance for that problem, you only usually have 90 days to claim usually from the day the problem started.

I'm not sure what the 90 days refers to but once a claim is started you have a year from the time the problem first appeared.
.

 

[Widgeon]

I'm not sure what the 90 days refers to

It's a thing some insurers do. If you don't notify them of the problem within X days of it first occurring, you may struggle to claim. I was advised of this last time I posted on here about a potential claim (I'd never heard of the practice) but when I double checked my own paperwork, the reason I'd never heard of it was because my insurers don't do it.

 

[AmyMay]

If nothing is found it's unlikely that your insurers will pay.


.

That’s never been my experience.

 

[ycbm]

That’s never been my experience.

I'm pretty sure it's a written condition in mine that they can refuse to pay if nothing is found.
.

 

[Tiddlypom]

IME insurance will only pay a claim if an issue is found.

SEIB told me that when I took the late maxicob in for a work up after he started pissing off in canter. Vet had thought it likely that it was behavioural, but when he turned out to have bilateral hind PSD the insurance paid out in full for the workup plus all the treatment, scans etc for the next year.

 

[criso]

IME insurance will only pay a claim if an issue is found.

SEIB told me that when I took the late maxicob in for a work up after he started pissing off in canter. Vet had thought it likely that it was behavioural, but when he turned out to have bilateral hind PSD the insurance paid out in full for the workup plus all the treatment, scans etc for the next year.

But in that case, the initial symptom was behavioural that was found to have an identifiable physical cause. However if they hadn't found a cause, they could have said behaviour and not paid.

In SO1's case there is clear lameness in a specific leg and my experience is that insurance companies will pay for investigations for an obvious physical symptom. If the cause isn't obvious you can end up with some diagnostics that eliminate rather than identify.

That's with NFU, SEIB, Amtrust and Towergate.

 

[Pinkvboots]

It's a thing some insurers do. If you don't notify them of the problem within X days of it first occurring, you may struggle to claim. I was advised of this last time I posted on here about a potential claim (I'd never heard of the practice) but when I double checked my own paperwork, the reason I'd never heard of it was because my insurers don't do it.

I believe not all of them do it mine does.