LankyDoodle
Well-Known Member
As some will know, Lanky was found lame in the field on 18th August. The farrier was called because 2 weeks beforehand, he'd lost a shoe, and we felt he may have an abcess as same leg. Vet came next day and prescribed penicillin but no foot problems were found by either him or farrier. Vet referred him to clinic on 24th, due to no improvement and NO clue what it could be. Easier to get all tests done in one place and at one time. He went to the clinic that day and the next day they did the investigation. They found OCD on xray (in his near side stifle) and said the lameness was being caused by a meniscal tear, probably from an injury in the field, but could equally have been caused by a shard of bone breaking away.
He had the op on 15th September. An ortho surgeon travelled down from Liphook to do the op. They did double arthroscopy and found that while the off-side was only minorly affected by OCD, the nearside looked catastrophic. OCD had been developing since he was about 18 months old, there was arthritis and the meniscus was completely torn and had to be removed. We were told by them that the horse may come sound but that we would need to give him time, patience and rest, and even if he came sound, only very light work was advised. The horse is 8 years old and 17.3hh so not ideal for acting as companion or field ornament.
I'd only had the horse 11 months when all this started, and so was still bonding with him. Since he's been on box rest, I've really struck up a bond with him (dangerous in the circumstances). I said at the time of the op that I would have him PTS if the prognosis was poor, but the vets gave me a good chance that he would come sound and said that under BEVA guidelines, he doesn't meet the criteria for humane destruction (I don't really care about that - the insurer is refusing to pay for the op at the moment anyway!).
Anyway, to get to the point: Lanky spent one week on rest at home from 18th-24th August, then between the clinic and the op spent another 2 weeks on rest, then he had the op and had since then had another nearly 9 weeks of rest. He is onto about 12 weeks of rest now. We have done our best to make it easier for him - put George in a paddock next to his stable so they can talk to each other, groom each other and see each other etc. We spend time grooming him and have made him as comfortable as we can. 6 weeks after the op we were to start walking him out, which we did, and he coped OK to begin with, however he has recently started exploding every time the stable door is opened (he is walked out in a bridle).
This horse coped great with the box rest to begin with and I was really proud of him - he was really settled; but over the last week or so, he's started chewing wood that had already been criboxed and more cribox does not deter him, he's started to spin round and round in his stable and calls and calls if he can't see George for any reason. He broke the partition in his stable the other day by charging at it, and then on Monday morning he charged at his stable door (while my husband was in there mucking out), broke the bolt off and escaped! He is far from calm - he looks sad and is getting worked up, running circles in his stable. When he is led out, he doesn't want to walk out calmly. This cannot be doing the leg any good.
When we initially started walking him out, he was very stiff, understandably, but he is now actually sound. When he went trotting off when he escaped on Monday, he wasn't hopping at all and again, looked sound (I am sure there is still some lameness there). He has no shoes on so on rough ground he struggles a little, but that's understandable.
Anyway, the long and short of this is, he has to stay on box rest for another 3-4 weeks, and I just cannot see this working as he gets worse every day and is doing his legs no favours. On one hand, if we let him out and he goes lame again, the insurer will refuse to pay out on PTS of animal (like I care really though, about that) but on the other, the animal is bored, worked up and causing himself and his environment damage. Either myself or my husband are going to end up injured as a result of this, and being pregnant I cannot take the chance of getting kicked by him. I cannot blame him for his exuberance - he is a horse and is trying to tell us he feels well.
What would you do? I can talk to my vet, and they can advise me what is best for the horse, but at the end of the day, I am also at the mercy of the insurer. However, put it this way: if the horse was to go lame again in the next few weeks, it's likely he'd have done that after eventually being turned out anyway, in which case I'd want him PTS regardless of what the insurer says, as I cannot keep a horse in pain and in this level of distress.
He had the op on 15th September. An ortho surgeon travelled down from Liphook to do the op. They did double arthroscopy and found that while the off-side was only minorly affected by OCD, the nearside looked catastrophic. OCD had been developing since he was about 18 months old, there was arthritis and the meniscus was completely torn and had to be removed. We were told by them that the horse may come sound but that we would need to give him time, patience and rest, and even if he came sound, only very light work was advised. The horse is 8 years old and 17.3hh so not ideal for acting as companion or field ornament.
I'd only had the horse 11 months when all this started, and so was still bonding with him. Since he's been on box rest, I've really struck up a bond with him (dangerous in the circumstances). I said at the time of the op that I would have him PTS if the prognosis was poor, but the vets gave me a good chance that he would come sound and said that under BEVA guidelines, he doesn't meet the criteria for humane destruction (I don't really care about that - the insurer is refusing to pay for the op at the moment anyway!).
Anyway, to get to the point: Lanky spent one week on rest at home from 18th-24th August, then between the clinic and the op spent another 2 weeks on rest, then he had the op and had since then had another nearly 9 weeks of rest. He is onto about 12 weeks of rest now. We have done our best to make it easier for him - put George in a paddock next to his stable so they can talk to each other, groom each other and see each other etc. We spend time grooming him and have made him as comfortable as we can. 6 weeks after the op we were to start walking him out, which we did, and he coped OK to begin with, however he has recently started exploding every time the stable door is opened (he is walked out in a bridle).
This horse coped great with the box rest to begin with and I was really proud of him - he was really settled; but over the last week or so, he's started chewing wood that had already been criboxed and more cribox does not deter him, he's started to spin round and round in his stable and calls and calls if he can't see George for any reason. He broke the partition in his stable the other day by charging at it, and then on Monday morning he charged at his stable door (while my husband was in there mucking out), broke the bolt off and escaped! He is far from calm - he looks sad and is getting worked up, running circles in his stable. When he is led out, he doesn't want to walk out calmly. This cannot be doing the leg any good.
When we initially started walking him out, he was very stiff, understandably, but he is now actually sound. When he went trotting off when he escaped on Monday, he wasn't hopping at all and again, looked sound (I am sure there is still some lameness there). He has no shoes on so on rough ground he struggles a little, but that's understandable.
Anyway, the long and short of this is, he has to stay on box rest for another 3-4 weeks, and I just cannot see this working as he gets worse every day and is doing his legs no favours. On one hand, if we let him out and he goes lame again, the insurer will refuse to pay out on PTS of animal (like I care really though, about that) but on the other, the animal is bored, worked up and causing himself and his environment damage. Either myself or my husband are going to end up injured as a result of this, and being pregnant I cannot take the chance of getting kicked by him. I cannot blame him for his exuberance - he is a horse and is trying to tell us he feels well.
What would you do? I can talk to my vet, and they can advise me what is best for the horse, but at the end of the day, I am also at the mercy of the insurer. However, put it this way: if the horse was to go lame again in the next few weeks, it's likely he'd have done that after eventually being turned out anyway, in which case I'd want him PTS regardless of what the insurer says, as I cannot keep a horse in pain and in this level of distress.
