cresty pony lame on all 4

J

jhg

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Hi,
I'm new here but need advice. I work on a yard that has a very obese cresty necked (now solid) pony that is lame on all 4 has blood stains in the walls of back feet what I consider strong pulses as I struggle to find them on our boy.
The owner is convinced he is a bit footy although he hasn't seen a farrier recently but agreed to get a vet out. Pony has got worse in my opinion he leads it out every day on the concrete and it is obvious he doesn't want to leave stable and trys hard not to have his feet picked up.
Vet came from what is in the main small animal practice said thrush in front foot didn't even put hoof testers on basically listened to the owner and went along with him. Even said don't ride for couple of weeks and turn out with a boot on or strong bag!
He doesn't want to turn and when vet picked up his foot eventually! he lifted his head in the air and looked in pain he also shifted his back feet lifting each one slightly in turn.
Now owner thinks all is ok I am worried about this pony any advice please. I have said I will not turn him out on pasture as I'm not convinced the diagnosis is correct but the owner will. There is also a slight depression above coronet band on both fronts vet didn't even feel the coronet band! I thought this to be a sign of pedal bone rotation if so how long befoer it comes through the sole without treatment?
Sorry for long post really worried but with hands tied feel helpless !!
 
That sounds like a serious case of Laminitis to me too. I would strongly suggest they get a second opinion from an equine vet and fast. Did they give any painkillers to the pony do you know? It sounds miserable and in agony :(

If the owner doesn't know much about Laminitis, I'd be inclined to print off some information for them to read and make up their own mind. I am not sure what else you can do?
 
Unfortunately owner will not let me I have even offered to get my vet out at my cost he thinks he knows everything and is convinced its not laminitis. Vet has left bute for him. He say's he hasn't got typical lami stance so can't have it.I tried to say that he is lame in all 4 and probably can't relieve his fronts that way because of the pain in his backs. Owner thinks I'm meddling and have stuck my nose where its not wanted. Yard owner won't do anything ether.
 
I would report it to a welfare organisation and I wouldnt care if they knew it was me that did it, poor pony must be in agony stupid bl**dy owner.
 
Might be my only option He has never had laminitis how long before the pedal bone fully sinks or is that a silly question like how long is a piece of string?
Been saying all the time I've been there pony needs to lose weight but deaf ears.

Thanks for your help
 
perhaps you should mention the yard owner that they have a legal duty of care.... but def ring bhs, we ended up taking care of and then ownership of a pony whose owners didn't manage her lami through them.
 
Vet said to get farrier out for a trim hopefully he will know straight away? I am in a lousy position but I will contact BHS tomorrow if owner won't let me get my vet at my cost. Probably lose my job but if it saves him it'll be worth it.

Thanks for advice x
 
Just bang yuor head against a wall. These sorts never listen until it is too late. Have just had someone else i know go through this.
 
Do you have a friend who'll contact BHS welsfare or similar for you? That way you can say, hand on heart, that it wasn't you.

To me it sounds like laminitis in all four feet, the fact that he hasn't had it before means absolutely nothing - the first attack can progress rapidly & be fatal. If he's not wanting to move or lift a foot when asked & you've got depressions above the coronet band then he's in serious trouble & needs help asap if he's to stand a chance.
 
Agree with Nari...sounds like pedal bone dropped, laminitis in all four feet....hopefully the farrier will pick it up straight away ( if hes worth his salt) Otherwise...ring or get someone to ring the relevant bhs/whatever to try and rectify the situation before the pony has to be PTS...Maybe tell the owner that is the likely outcome if he doesnt resolve the laminitis..is that what he wants?
Good luck with it all, keep posting..
 
I would wait and see what the farrier says, hopefully he's coming soon and certainly not phone any welfare agencies. It's someone else's horse, he's seen a vet and a farrier is coming, try and keep the horse in and give him the bute and wait .....
 
Bonny she can't stop the owner turning out & with bute the pony may move about more & do even more damage. This pony sounds like it needs treating straight away & there's no telling when the farrier may be booked for, if he's been booked at all. The vet, to put it bluntly, sounds like he hadn't got a clue about horses - to quote YasandCrystal "I can't believe that a horse owner would be so stupid to use a small animal vet" - and has done more harm than good imo. I'm very much afraid that getting a welfare agency involved is this pony's only hope.
 
I had a similar situation a couple of years back. Lady I knew bought a little fat Sec A, then turned it out on 5 acres of lush spring grass. 2 days later the poor thing was crippled. I told her it was laminitis and that he needed a vet and she said he was fine. She eventually got him in a stable after another day in the paddock and posted videos on facebook of "how cute" he was. The poor thing was in agony and the video showed it. I said I would call my vet at my cost as they were skint, they said no. So I called a couple of different welfare charities the next day as they had no clue what they were doing with the pony and I was just meddling and told to do one. I sent them the video off facebook and they came out to see her the same day. She didn't know it was me as she'd had a few comments on the video about it being cruel she didn't have the vet. Long story short is that the pony was put to sleep the same day. Very sad, but I have no doubt it would have suffered a lot longer if I didn't make those calls.

It's a tough one as it isnt your pony, but it is also awful to watch them in so much agony and know nothing is really being done to help :(
 
YasandCrystal said:
I can't believe that a horse owner would be so stupid to use a small animal vet - madness.
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A novice owner may not realise how important it is to get a specialist horse vet out. However, I would have hoped that the small animal vet would have declined to visit the horse, and instead recommended a specialist vet, even if from another practice.

OP, well done for trying your best in a difficult situation. It certainly sounds like an veterinary emergency.
 
Yes it's true, a novice or someone not familiar with the signs of laminitis may well be confident in the attending vet.

I hope you have managed to make some progress op and that the horse is no worse.
 
amandap said:
Yes it's true, a novice or someone not familiar with the signs of laminitis may well be confident in the attending vet.

I hope you have managed to make some progress op and that the horse is no worse.
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It gets worse apparently vet is a family friend!
 
pony bit easier today but on bute. Vet is apparently a family friend of the owner. YO says to stop worrying as vet say's its thrush. Has anyone seen thrush in all 4 feet that cripples a pony ? Any way farrier coming tomorrow so hopefully he will say something. Heat in all 4 feet today red flushes on hoof walls on all 4 as well. A friend who is a livery agrees with me and she is experienced with lami said depending on the farrier outcome she will contact the welfare

thanks for all your support its been a tough few days x
 
Do report to bhs, you can always deny it, but really the poor pony is suffering and abuse isnt just thin unfed horses it is fat overweight ones as well. Have the strength to speak on behalf of the horse.
 
Argh this is soooo sad :(
Well done for caring jhg...Let's hope the farrier see's what seems to be the obvious and if not that you can get someone to see him ASAP.
 
jhg said:
pony bit easier today but on bute. Vet is apparently a family friend of the owner. YO says to stop worrying as vet say's its thrush. Has anyone seen thrush in all 4 feet that cripples a pony ? Any way farrier coming tomorrow so hopefully he will say something. Heat in all 4 feet today red flushes on hoof walls on all 4 as well. A friend who is a livery agrees with me and she is experienced with lami said depending on the farrier outcome she will contact the welfare

thanks for all your support its been a tough few days x
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Thrush can be very painful but with the heat, red on the hooves etc. it sounds more likely the pain is from laminits. When all 4 hooves are affected they cannot rock back in the typical (front hoof) severe lamintic stance as the hind feet hurt as well.

Bute is all very well but diet is key to reducing inflammation and pain causing laminitis symptoms we can see.

ps. Some more info and I highly recommend the emergency diet described on this site. A good quality balancer will also be needed to add to the diet at some point. http://ecirhorse.org/index.php/laminitis
 
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He doesn't think he needs to diet he thinks he is perfect for a sec D He is apple shaped from the wither's so much so his spine is inside fat pockets all the way from wither's to tail!!
 
jhg said:
He doesn't think he needs to diet he thinks he is perfect for a sec D He is apple shaped from the wither's so much so his spine is inside fat pockets all the way from wither's to tail!!
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The diet is to treat the (undiagnosed) laminitis. It will help weight loss as well. I live in hope they get a good shake up from the farrier and you can give them the diet instructions. Fresh water for every soak btw.
 
What a strange tale .
Bute is not the normally used treatment for thrush .
What else are they doing for the 'thrush'.
The yo does have duty if care but would never be held responsible for the wrong diagnosis of a vet .
Not sure what you can do though .
 
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