Broken 7 year ols ex-racer - what to do?

honeymum

honeymum

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My sister's 7 yo ex racer has been lame for a few days and today my mum had the vet out, it seems she has at some point in her career possibly fractured a bone in her shoulder. Other than this she is fit and healthy. My mum and sister don't want her PTS as they feel she is happy and not lame unless ridden, she only retired from racing in February and they have had her 3 months. However they can't afford an expensive field ornament. Does anyone have any ideas on what to do with her?

We have considered blood banks but can't find any near Somerset (where they live) or Bucks (where I live) as we'd like to visit occasionally. Does anyone have any contact details at all as I can't find them on google, just lots of reports about them from forums but no contact details.

Any other ideas welcome, mum was considering loaning as a brood mare, she has quite a good pedigree but was very slow herself so probably not good for that.
 
Would loaning her out as a companion be an option? If she has fractured her shoulder before then a broodmare is probably not a good idea. All the extra weight she will be carrying would put strain on her shoulder and might make it sore for her.
 
I thought it might cause problems, I was just googling about embryo transfer mares and they say no horses with severe lameness, plus they have to be over 16.2 and Lacken is only 15.3.

We were thinking about companion but didn't know id she might be a bit of an expensive one, although she is out 24/7, rugged with access to shelter and hay, so not too bad. Just depends on whether people would want something so big as a companion.
 
Echo Bravo said:
I'm surprised the racing stable didn't know she had an injury
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She was sold by them to a dealer, nothing was said to this lady, she was quite surprised when mum told her today. I suppose it's a case of buyer beware as she didn't have her vetted. They may have known and just not said anything:(, she was sold from a single owner in Ireland rather than a yard.
 
Can you afford grass livery somewhere? If rugged up well, TBs can do really well living out and if necessary supplement with hay? Or what about retirement livery somewhere? I found retirement livery for my boy at £145 per month - living out in a warm place down south - sounded great, only I then decided that he wasn't ready to retire. If you want details, please PM me.
 
OK, so you have the land,so no livery cost. If you have horses shoes taken off which is a reasonable expectation for a horse living out retired, then minimal farrier bills - TBs feet don't grow fast, so you could get away with a trim every 10 weeks. So you could get away with just hay........companion would be a better option though if there are no other horses at the farm....trying to think of other options.....
 
There are others she could be turned out with but unfortunately my mum is desperately trying to sell a 3 year old as she has no money for him either. There is my mum's pony, who is barely ridden as she doesn't have time, the ex-racer and the 3 year old, problem is hay, farrier etc for 3 is expensive and my sister would like a horse she can ride. There is also a shetland out on loan that could come back at any time, so although on a farm land is needed for the cattle too. :(
 
How has the vet diagnosed the possible previous fracture? have they x-rayed? I assume so otherwise it'd be difficult to come to that conclusion unless there is a visible lump/scar but then I would have assumed that would have been noticed when they purchased or went to purchase her.

Has she only just become lame? To me that would seem odd that it's to do with an old injury as I would have thought hit would have been noticeable before 3 mths down the line. There is no real reason whythe horse should necessarily be suffering lameness from an old fracture unless new bone has grown or the damage was actually more the tendons/ligaments.

Is it possible that due to the old injury the horse has been compensation and the issue is more muscular?

Sorry, I don't know the full details obviously but I think having the horse PTS is a bit drastic after only 3 mths as there's surely nothing to say the horse won't come sound again is there? I would be inclined to give it more of a chance than that. Try having a physio/chiro have a look at her. I could maybe understand if the horse has been lame for a long time with no chance of coming sound but surely they can afford to keep the horse on grass livery for a certain period? Horse do go lame after all, you can't durely consider that because it's been lame for a short while it needs to be PTS or palmed off to someone else because they can't 'afford' to have a 'broken' horse on grass livery but would be able to should it be sound!!!

As I said, I don't know the full circumstances but that's how it comes across.
 
Just read your last post - sadly that's how it IS with horses sometimes!!! I would concentrate on selling the 3 yo (not sure why if your mum was struggling already though they bought another horse a couple of months ago?!)
 
I sort of agree with ladyt25. Most people can only dream of having their own land to keep their horse on. With no shoes and only being fed hay, how can it be that expensive? I know that if I had my own land and was in your position, I would just turn it out. I currently have two, both at livery - one has been ill since ealy June and after initial illness which has only just ended appears to have developed a leg injury which is still awaiting diagnosis. Even though I have to pay for livery and I have to muck out, feed and get up at 5.30pm every morning, I would not even consider PTS unless the horse had no quality of life. I bought the horse, I will deal with it's illnesses and injuries until the vet tells me to stop. There has to be another option for your horse.
 
ladyt25 said:
How has the vet diagnosed the possible previous fracture? have they x-rayed? I assume so otherwise it'd be difficult to come to that conclusion unless there is a visible lump/scar but then I would have assumed that would have been noticed when they purchased or went to purchase her.

Has she only just become lame? To me that would seem odd that it's to do with an old injury as I would have thought hit would have been noticeable before 3 mths down the line. There is no real reason whythe horse should necessarily be suffering lameness from an old fracture unless new bone has grown or the damage was actually more the tendons/ligaments.

Is it possible that due to the old injury the horse has been compensation and the issue is more muscular?

Sorry, I don't know the full details obviously but I think having the horse PTS is a bit drastic after only 3 mths as there's surely nothing to say the horse won't come sound again is there? I would be inclined to give it more of a chance than that. Try having a physio/chiro have a look at her. I could maybe understand if the horse has been lame for a long time with no chance of coming sound but surely they can afford to keep the horse on grass livery for a certain period? Horse do go lame after all, you can't durely consider that because it's been lame for a short while it needs to be PTS or palmed off to someone else because they can't 'afford' to have a 'broken' horse on grass livery but would be able to should it be sound!!!

As I said, I don't know the full circumstances but that's how it comes across.
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Sorry, didn't mean to come across that we don't care, I understand that horses do go lame.
Basically the vet has found a bony lump on her shoulder, and if you look at her from the front apparently you can see one shoulder is bigger than the other, my mum didn't notice it when she bought her. He said she could be rested til Spring but will probably never jump again ( she was bought to showjump, as this what my sister wants to do), she may possibly be okay as a light hack, his words were ' the prognosis isn't good'.

I'll definitely suggest that she gets the chiropractor out soon and see what they suggest re x-rays etc, the vet doesn't seem to think it's worth it.

Also I was not trying to say we wouldn't keep her just because she has gone lame, it's just that 3 horses that aren't doing anything are too expensive for my mum to keep herself
 
ladyt25 said:
Just read your last post - sadly that's how it IS with horses sometimes!!! I would concentrate on selling the 3 yo (not sure why if your mum was struggling already though they bought another horse a couple of months ago?!)
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Unfortunately they lost the last pony my sister had on loan last year (the owner needed him back to sell and my sister has now outgrown my mums pony), my mum is able to keep a maximum of 3 ponies but would be more comfortable with 2, one for her and one for my sister so they are trying to sell the youngster. This means really they both need to be rideable.

My mum will not hear of her being PTS which is why we are asking for other ideas. The dealer we bought her from did offer to px her for a different horse but mum won't hear of it as she is worried she will end up PTS.
 
IMO it is unlikely that any-one else would want a 'broken' ex-racer that can't be ridden. Unfortunately the horse belongs to your family and it is their responsibility.
I'm not quite sure how it is possible to afford a horse when it is sound but not when it is lame. I do think that most farms could accommodate more than 3 horses, unless they are arable farms. Horses and other livestock complement each other, as they eat different grasses.
I kept an un-rideable horse for several years at livery before we moved to our small-holding. She was certainly much cheaper to keep after we moved.
As some-one else said, remove the shoes ( our farrier charges us £20 every 16 weeks to trim our retired horse), rug well and she should winter out well. Unless she has on-going problems, she is no more likely than any other horse to need the vet. Of course if she is likely to need on-going treatment, that is another story altogether.
Good luck!
 
Pearlsasinger said:
IMO it is unlikely that any-one else would want a 'broken' ex-racer that can't be ridden. Unfortunately the horse belongs to your family and it is their responsibility.
I'm not quite sure how it is possible to afford a horse when it is sound but not when it is lame. I do think that most farms could accommodate more than 3 horses, unless they are arable farms. Horses and other livestock complement each other, as they eat different grasses.
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It's not that she could afford to keep her when she was sound but not when she isn't, it's just that my sister would like another horse to ride, if she does that then my mum cannot afford to keep all of them. Hopefully the youngster will sell and then she will be ok. She is keeping her for the time being to see what happens, as I say the vet has suggested she be rested until spring, I will also suggest mum gets the physio out as previously suggested, and also takes her shoes off.
Grazing wise it is okay but my mums partner does not like the horses out on the farm in the winter as they poach the ground (it's his farm so she can't really argue) so they end up on a small paddock and get through a fair amount of hay.
I hope I haven't come across badly in these posts, we do care about her but my mum has got into situations in the past where she has had far too many horses that cost far too much money and she had almost got it down to a manageable level this time, I'm just worried for her as she will go without herself to ensure the horses are ok (like I would myself if the need arises!)
 
in my experience get a damn good back person out and i mean damn good - do not ride before they come out but a good back person can perform miracles lol my big lad told me that :) x good luck x
 
How old is she? A lot of horses come right after he few years, though i must admit with the horse market as it is you have to face facts. If can't afford the horse, can't find it a home and its in pain then PTS is the best option. I would much rather have one of my horses PTS than pawn it off to god knows where.
 
Just to give you a little hope:)
I had tb for 4 yrs he was lame on and off for 3 yrs he did everything he could to injure himself.Hock spavins tendons ligaments collateral /soft tissue damage the list is endless.Every time I brought him back to work he broke down again.He was getting very depressed as paddocks werent great size so I advertised as companion on project horse.Found a lovely lady several hundred miles away unfortunately, but I picked best home rather than visiting rights.Several people told me pts but this wasnt option he was only 8 and deserved more.It was money that played huge factor I had spent £11000 on him and just couldnt afford anymore even though he was horse I wanted for life.She turned him away barefoot for a year and now has a light hacking horse.Originally she wanted horse to play with on the ground and with homeopathic medicines as she was doing natural healing course for horses.He has 20 acres and runs in herd of 6 I keep in regular contact and its lovely to know he has great quality of life.
There are good homes out there .I hope you are as lucky as me and find perfect companion home.:D
 
Here here Dominobrown. OP your mum now doesn't want the horse now because she is lame? How sad. I went horseless for years because I had an old pony to look after and I couldn't afford another one that I could ride. I owed it to her - she was mine so I went without to look after her. I just find it very callous that now the mare is of no use she wants to get rid of her :-(

If your mum won't pay out for any further diagnosis work on the mare then she should bite the bullet and have her PTS, it's not cruel it's a very sensible option. There are way too many unwanted horses on the market already and lord knows where she will end up if she gets passed on. I know you are trying to do the best for the horse but seriously the market is pretty depressed as it is and noone will want to take her on.
 
It's extremely rare to have a completely fractured shoulder - it's a huge bone and would be a catastrophic injury. However, what is common is a fracture of a bit of the bone which leaves a floating bone chip, and floating bone chips can aggravate and cause lameness. I know cos our old TB has one on his shoulder. We've left it be - he's field sound, he's retired, in his 20s and has liver disease so isn't a good candidate for surgery to remove the chip. However, had he been younger our vet said removal of the chip would have been very possible and is generally unproblematic minor(ish) surgery.

Might be worth getting more detailed veterinary advice.
 
Horse is not companion material - too many unwanted horses around at the moment that ae sound and can live out with no rugs etc.

A friend of mine had a horse that broke it's wither - it went to one of the worming companies for a research animal (kept very well!).

Sadly I have no idea where but it may be worth some research.

Realistically - if you don't want to have the horse put to sleep, then you will have to keep her as this is the only way you can guarantee that she is cared for. If you give her the winter to see if her shoulder improves - then you've given her a chance?
 
Whilst I am symapathetic to your situation, I am afraid that is horses, and something that every single one of us should consider when purchasing them.
I would concentrate on getting the 3yo sold or consider PTS.
I do get very frustrated with people who do not want horses once they cannot be ridden, as you say, she's not really the sort of horse someone would want as a companion. Ex racers that can be ridden are ten to the dozen, so taking on one that can't be, would make no sense.
Considering you have your own land and costs would really be rather minimal, I think you should do the right thing here, and continue to care for her. If people are prepared to buy horses, then they should be prepared for the eventuality that they can't be ridden one day, and it is their responsibility as an owner to continue to care for that animal despite this.
If you find somewhere that wants to take her on, then great, but make sure it's a good home, don't let her go to just anyone. It's not really fair on her.
Failng that, and if your sister is insistant that she HAS to have something to ride, then I'm afraid you will have to deal with PTS. Thats the price you pay.
I would definately want an xray of the shoulder, and investigate it at least. It may not be as bad as you think, and to write her off so fast without looking into it is a shame. Even if she gets the ok as a broodmare then that is something, especially as she is sound without a rider, but that is something you need to discuss with your vet.
Good luck.
 
You have the land, I don't see what the problem is. Your costs are minimal.

Get a proper dianosis on the horse, and the all important prognosis and go from there. It may be six months in the field - it may not be.

And if ultimately the prognosis is poor - put her down.
 
Sorry, went to bed early after my last post. I'll definitely get mum to get a 2nd opinion/x-rays, also to get her back lady out, she sorted out my sister's loan pony for us and is highly recommended.
I am not sure of the full vet diagnosis/explanation any more than I have given on here as I am 150 miles away and just trying to get some ideas to help my mum out.
Thanks to every for the advice, I'll call my mum now and let her know.
 
We've had her 5.5 nearly six months lol, and the vet came and said; she has loads of extra bone on her knee and her shoulder, from a fracture in a fall when racing, and she was fine for 5 months because all the jumping and galloping she was doing was loosing the bone and its started moving about thats why she cant be jumped any more!
and me+my mum really want to keep her but my mum cant afford to keep her because her feet need new shoes every 3 weeks usally, and if you was 13 would you want to wait for a year with no horse, then MAYBE be able to hack them out, and plus Lacken wont hack anyway she just rears unless she goes out with another horse and i have no- one to ride with.
i do really want to keep her, i was heart- broken when the vet told us :(
so were proberbly selling her to a blood bank so we can get her back whens shes 15 and either have a foal from her or just walk down the road! .
 
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