Desperatly need some help!! Should pony be PTS

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tillsmum

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Firstly can I just say this is already a hard situation so please don't judge me I just need some advice on weather she will have a good life.
A month ago she badly damaged the ligaments in both her stifles although her left is the worst. She has been on box rest and has had the physio and the vets out. They have both said she is badly damaged and neither will commit to commenting on her long term diagnosis. She is very quiet usually and has been going out in a small hardstanding area for the last week where she happily mooches around then she comes in at night. In the stable she can become a bit of a bitch and double barrels the stable walls and does slidding stops to attack her neighbour. She is happier being stabled away from the others but the shed floods in the winter so that isn't an option.
BUT I can't do anything with the other 2 cause she flips out if I take them away, I have no-where to turn her out 24/7 as we live on a very wet farm and 3 times now her patella has popped out. Yesterday it was really bad and she couldn't move her leg properly, her leg went from underneath her and she generally looked in pain.
What do you think the chances of her ever coming completely sound again are???? Yesterday she was so bad we made the decision to have her pts but then today she looks better than she has in a couple of weeks. Its so hard to do the right thing. And life all round is a bit pants as we have no fun with any of the ponies due to trying to keep her quiet, to which she repays us by beiiing a pleb in the stable which is obviously not helping the healing process.
Any advice would be gratefully recieved.
Thanks
 
my old boy had a disease in his stifle joint. one day he would be fine and the next he was struggling to get up after rolling. i decided that was the day he had to be pts as it wasnt fair on him and i didnt want him to suffer. he was retired for over a year after being diagnosed and mainly lived out...though through october november he came in at night as he wouldnt stay out! you also have to consider the ground. if there is a problem with the stifle then ive been told that wet muddy ground makes it harder for the horse to move about.

i got told by my vet when he got diagnosed that he is ok and not in pain as such but the day he starts struggling to keep up with the others or looks miserable is the day you have to decide. unfortuantly that day arrived 4 weeks ago. what finally pushed me is the fact that he may have looked fine when i left him but who's to say he wouldnt get down the moment i left and not been able to get back up. he could have been down panicking all day had i left him to do and it wasnt fair on him.

if its making the other two suffer because she cant be left alone then you also have to think about their quality of life aswell. can you not find a field with a shelter locally possibly and see about a companion pony from WHF or something for her? she may be better behaved turned out and will also help her to not get stiff.
 
Tell the vet straight that they need to give you a decent diagnosis now regarding the likelihood of her ever recovering. Make sure you explain how she is behaving too. If they keep umming and erring, then get a different vet. This needs sorting now, for everyone's sake, especially the pony.

Best wishes with her.
 
I agree with Arizahn. If your vets are umming and erring get a second opinion. Then you can make a desition based on all the facts. Also Dreamer515 is right you need to consider the others to.
(((((((((hugs)))))))))) to you I know it's not easy and you want to do whats right for her but you can't if you don't have all the facts. I hope you get some answers soon. xx
 
Arizahn said:
Tell the vet straight that they need to give you a decent diagnosis now regarding the likelihood of her ever recovering. Make sure you explain how she is behaving too. If they keep umming and erring, then get a different vet. This needs sorting now, for everyone's sake, especially the pony.

Best wishes with her.
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This is good advise but also you have to man up and make a decision as this isnt fair on her, you or the others. Best of luck and hope things get better for you x
 
You definatly need to get the vet to talk to you clearly about prognosis .
On working the other horses I in your situation would not hesitate to use oral sedation so I could work the others .
If she a complete pain and not helping herself I don't think your wrong to consider PTS .
 
Sorry for what you are going through at the minute.
I was in a similar situation a few months ago. The main thing that helped me make my decision was a completely honest and straight answer from my vet. (They didn't say yes do it, or no don't). They just told me straight how it would get worse and what would happen.
I found huge comfort in this, and helped reassure me I was doing the right thing. A vets opinion means a lot to me (rightly or wrongly).
I would find a vet who will tell you honestly, even every scenario. At least then you can make an informed decision with all the facts.
You know your mare, whatever you do you will have her best interests at heart.
 
If you can't manage her condition in a way which allows her to heal, and she won't behave in a way which allows her to heal (her behaviour in the stable doesn't sound very good for damaged legs) then you may have to consider pts. I've known a few horses now with ongoing similar issues in the same situation - one day will look awful and decision is made to pts, then look a bit better, then look bad etc and it can continue for years with no improvement
 
Really sorry your in a bad situation. Realistically we have got another two to three months of bad weather where she would have to be in or be restricted. If you can not solve that problem, it wouldn't matter what your vet said, they do not have to look after them, I would have her put to sleep. Horses live for the moment and she does not know she will get better, just her stress now.
 
Good advice above, so sorry you find yourself in this situation, and you do need a clear prognosis from the vet.

Remembering that horses are flight animals by nature they will always try to look normal, to confuse preditors, so her normal may only be less pain not pain free.

If you decide to let her go and be free of pain and stress, it would not be the wrong thing to do, and if this would removed limitations and stress from the other ponies and yourself, then that would help me in your situation to decide pts.
 
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honetpot said:
Really sorry your in a bad situation. Realistically we have got another two to three months of bad weather where she would have to be in or be restricted. If you can not solve that problem, it wouldn't matter what your vet said, they do not have to look after them, I would have her put to sleep. Horses live for the moment and she does not know she will get better, just her stress now.
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This without a doubt.
 
I think that the vet/ physio not being willing to comment on the prognosis speaks volumes. From my experience they tend to err on the side of "it will be OK". Put yourselves in their shoes, PTS is a very emotive subject, and if they said the horse would not recover, and recommended pts, then you kept and did a successful rehab, they would always be the vet/ physio who recommended pts, or that recommended the horse/ pony would never get better.

In a lot of physical issues there is no crystal ball, and often even an experienced practitioner simply will not know.

If you would like one, get a second opinion, but be prepared that they won't know either.

I guess it boils down to your choice. I agree that it comes down to quality of life, but that has to be the quality of life for your pony, the other equines in your care and YOUR quality of life too.

There are worse things you can do to an equine than pts. I think they don't mull over it as much as we do. Better that than an uncertain future certainly. Are you being fair to yourself to keep? or to pts? Do you have any other options.

Good luck with your decision. X
 
Thank you all for your kind replies and it does make the decision easier to make. The physio did tell me yesterday when I pinned her down that she believed she would be rideable but will always have a stifle that clicks and locked. She will also have to be worked reguarly to keep her rear end muscles strong to stop it popping in and out. So although a positive answer in that she will be useful as a hack also not an ideal outcome in that she was destined to be an fun allrounder mother daughter share.
 
awful situation for you. I agree with the others who have answered that the vets need to give you answers i hope they are not just hanging on until your insurance runs out!sorry if i sound sceptical but you have to think of her your other ponies and also yourself. i do hope all works out well for all of you, vibes for the pony that she heals and big hugs for you all
 
IME if vets are umming & erring it's for 1 of 2 reasons:
1) They don't have the experience to know
2) They are worried how you will take their real opinion (I always think that judging how the owner will react is probably the hardest thing a vet has to do).
You need to know which it is & you will only find out by having a no holds barred conversation with your vet.
 
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