broken horse what would you do

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cellie

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I have a 7 yr old tb that I have had since he was 4 1/2 he was a ex racer so probably had a hard life.He is a lovely horse and we have come a long way he was very naughty when I first had him.He has been out of work for 18 months of the 30 months that I have had him.
My question is if said horse constantly broke down what would you do ,bearing in mind that I am on diy and have a pony on loan for my daughter and can only afford 2 horses.
Some of you will already know that he has done curb ligament tendon front leg cannon bone bruising has collapsed heels and has just had surgery for spavins.This week he has done his front leg suspensory ligament and the vet has found a splint.The vet thinks he might be one of those horses that keeps breaking down.I should point out that because of rest and rehab he has fully recovered from all but the most recent injuries.
The other consideration is that he will be excluded from any injuries on his legs after the latest disaster.
He doesnt seem in any pain although I know they mask it well and he is on pain relief .Is it the right thing to do to keep bringing him back into work if he keeps breaking down .He has only hacked or done light schooling because of history so I havent hammered him .I think most of his injuries he has done in the field being a p***T.He is not a candidate for a happy hacker unless he went to a experienced home if he has a adrenaline rush he can be a real handful.I want to do the best by him but have to consider insurance his spavin alone cost £3500 he has cost in the region of £6000 not all my money of course.Im trying to be sensible and just cant think of a way forward.My only consolation is that he has loss of use .I dont want to get rid of him because hes bad but I really dont want him going from home to home because of his disasterous luck.If I had a guarantee that this was his last injury then I would feel completely different .
Any ideas!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Personally if it was me I would have to pts...... I am lucky that through merlins problems I have been able to ride, but only want one horse. So with so many problems I would be very sad but there would be no alternative... other than someone wanting a companion that I could keep an eye on
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sorry, prob not the ansa you wanted
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Poor you doesn't seem like you are having much luck. If you want a riding horse and he isn't fit to ride perhaps you should pursue a loss of use claim and try to re home him with a charity. I agree that it probably wouldn't be a good idea to sell him on as if he can't stay sound he'd end up somewhere awful. It is a shame as he is young but if it was me and I couldn't find a permanent solution I was 100% happy with I'd have him PTS rather than risk him being shoved from pillar to post.
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field companion. no riding at all ..
let him end his days doing nothing.. i personally couldnt have him pts.
but thats others opinions . me im too soft.
..ask the vet what quality of life he has left if you were to consider pts
 
Been there and worn the T-Shirt !!!!!!!
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You won't like what I say.....these horses end up being money pits,and there is two ways to go either retire completely.....or you know the other one!
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Sadly!

I took the last option....after four years of a lovely TB mare I owned....she could break herself,with busting both her eyes(major surgery to one!)....bone spavin in both hinds,and high ringbone.....endless box rest,endless shoeing bills,endless transport cost's(To the vets to be either ex-rayed,scanned or kept in for weeks on end while fixing her up,yet again!)

And,I my own health suffered,along with the relationship to my OH.......Petplan where fantastic....however,I could not take any more,and spent six months weighing it up......and made one of the most heart breaking,but kindest decisions ever.
Only you can decide...and every one will look at this different,hope it works out OK for you.
 
I've got oe just the same at the moment. She was operated on for PSD in the back legs - came sound back in work, going to first show, came in from the field lame and she's done her front suspensory. Vet told me to turn her out and see what happens.

Like yours the happy hacker route is not an option as she is horrible to ride unless she is jumping. I think she will come sound again, she might be already, I haven't checked. But I'm not sure how long she will last. So I'll ride her, try to jump her again and if the leg goes I'll probably end up giving her away as a broodmare - she has quite a good competion record and the injuries are because she was hammered as a youngster.
 
Give him one more try, then if he breaks down again then a horse charity or PTS I think. very hard decision, but would try the charity first, tell them you will have to have him PTS if they can't take him. Hugs xx
 
I'm really sorry to hear whats happen...

From my experiance I would give it one last go... if all else fails then it would come down to giving the horse to a charity/retirement ( there are some lovely retirment homes with people trained for injuried horses) loss of use<font color="purple"> </font> <font color="purple"> </font> <font color="purple"> </font> or pts... Its a really hard thing to do as I know i've been there with my horse... I didn't have the opition to keep him as a field companian he had to be pts due to the injurys being so bad... You need to think what you feel will be the best in the long run for the horse how ever heart breaking its going to be...

But don't give up hope just yet... I haven't given up on my horse now who luckly has done a majour turn around and is now ridable again...

my thoughts will be with you... let us know how you get on... hope this helps alil...

if you want to chat pm me
 
Thanks for feedback.Im not going to rush into anything .Vets on thursday see what he says about new injury.
I would rather he went to charity but they are not interested unless hes a neglect case.Pts is my last option I would rather try a companion home but it would need to be permanent dont know if we would be that lucky.If I could find a good home that wasnt worried about old injuries that had new insurance policy so no exclusions it would be a miracle.This is his last warning such a shame because he is so talented when injury free.
He is so accident prone 2 weeks ago he stood on a 4inch nail and it only just missed laminae what are the odds on that happening.Ill try to keep being optimistic .
 
I've heard of people sending horses to the blood bank. They're well looked after and live in herds and their blood is used to help save other horses lives. Might be worth some research.
Sorry you're in such a heartbreaking situation. Only you can come to the decision. Good luck.
 
Ollie is kind of an injury magnet isn't he? You probably couldnt even turn him away for a year or so to let nature take over &amp; try to heal him, as he would probably injure himself terribly in the field. We are planning to turn Marco away but knowing him he will injure himself or his feet will fall apart so not sure where we will go from there.
Really do feel for you as you were hoping things would be back to normal this summer.
 
Why does the vet think he will keep breaking down? Is he just thinking Sod's Law or does the vet think he has too many weaknesses due to conformation and old injuries? If the vet's just being cynical because you've had a lot of bad luck, I'd be inclined to ignore him and focus on fixing the horse again. If the vet thinks this horse is now actually physically pre-disposed to more injuries which would not be covered on the insurance, I think I'd go for LOU and then PTS. IME existing problems only get worse with age and if you can't get the horse sound as a seven year old, what chance have you got when he's a twelve year old?
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Personally if it was me I would have to pts...... I am lucky that through merlins problems I have been able to ride, but only want one horse. So with so many problems I would be very sad but there would be no alternative... other than someone wanting a companion that I could keep an eye on
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sorry, prob not the ansa you wanted
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I agree, id have have PTS by now too
 
Kvs The vet cant believe how unlucky hes been and feels he might be one of those horses that keeps breaking down.Hes not a cynical man just a realist in my opinion and has been very supportive.At no stage has he told me to give up on him or get rid of him,but like you say we have had a terrible run of bad luck .With regard to conformation problems,he has collapsed heels which is conformational he is in natural balance shoes as we are trying to get the toe back and the heel up.Maybe this caused the cannon bone and tendon injury which makes sense.
The curb ligament might have been because he had early stages of spavin undetected at that time which could have put more pressure on curb .
I have just looked into suspensory ligament and read that it can be caused when compensating from injury to another leg which would relate to spavin as well.
With the tendon fortunately was only a 10 % tear and because I picked it up immediately it has completely repaired as did the curb.
I will focus on getting him up and running again I dont want to lose him and dont want another horse .I have two vets looking at him and they will both give me a honest opinion on the latest injury and what we can expect .Although he is lame there is no heat or swelling and the splint must be small because I cant find it.Although he has been very unlucky I keep hoping that we can move on and leave the problems behind.I could go for loss of use and use the money to buy another horse for my daughter and I to share whe she grows out of her 14 1 we have on loan.I just need him to stop being silly in the field .Maybe I will have to section it so he cant bomb around.Hes better in with daughters mare but she is a cob and is on restricted grazing this time of year.I realise tbs take a long time to grow up and he has improved I ll wait another 6 months.I found a retirement home for tbs ex racers I have put his name on the list although they have 39 more waiting.
Its all wait and see
 
Keep in touch we need the support to get through this hope things improve for your boys.I just wanted some different feedback or even ideas .Sometimes outside your group of friends you get varied opinions with no emotional involvement.
 
Cellie, you have been through a lot with him, and I can see you dearly love him and want what is best for him.

What an awful situation you are in, with awful decisions to make.

Sam was broken for 18 months and vets aid to retire him. Now I know he isnt a competition horse but we are hacking again and touch wood (touches head) hasnt broken again

Whatever we say on the forum as unemotionally attached to Ollie, you are very much attached to him.
If he were mine,and this is my opinion, I would keep him, claim loss of use and as long as vets think he has good quality of life then he shouldnt be pts for that reason.

Good luck, healing vibes and big hugs to you and your lad.

xxx
 
Such a difficult position to be in, I really feel for you. I am having the same dilemma over a 32 year old!

Realistically you know should cut your losses and pts. Same as me. But it isnt that easy is it?

There are people looking for companions. I may well be in that situation myself soon and i will not be looking for a shetland! Not with my grazing. So it is a possible route to look into.
 
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