Devastated and needing some advice (sorry v long)

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Hovis_and_SidsMum

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If I explain the situation first then perhaps it will make more sense:
Sidney is our 11 yr old gelding, we bought him two years ago knowing he had a very slight nod on a 10m lunged circle on concrete. No lameness since and no problems. Vets view he was fine and just "short" in his right leg.
13 weeks ago he was kicked in the field and fractured his leg about 2 inches above his knee on the right leg.
He did 7-8 weeks box rest and then was turned out in a steel pen, then a small paddock then the big paddock next to the boys. He got the all clear to start lunging work and light riding. All looked fine - no sign of lameness.
He then had his shoes put back on the front (they were taken off at the start of box rest). The farier commented his feet had changed shape but put his old shoes back on.
10 days ago he rolled and got stuck in the fence. He was rescued, seemed ok but on vet examination was very lame on the right leg.
Has done another 4 days box rest then turned out again. On saturday was lightly lunged seemed ok. Sunday same again looked unlevel on right leg. The vet came again last night still lame in trot on concrete.
Vet did a nerve block test which has now shown the problem is not the fracture but something in his foot.
The vet gave us three options last night:
Retire him
Turn him out for 6 months
Investigate the foot.

It appears we face the following situation
He was always carrying an issue in that foot and 8 weeks box rest has made it worse or
The farrier has done something to his foot or
He's now started with a new problem in the foot.

Any which way it doesn't look good at all does it? Is it still the case that foot problems are the death toll to having a fit horse?
We are both devastated. Just after christmas he was pinging around a course of jumps at a competition without a hint of a problem. Obviously we're going to have the investigation done - we have to have a full set of info before we can make a rationale decision.
But in reality we can't afford livery for a horse we might not be able to ride, he can't be turned away at the yard as they all have to come in at night. I just don't know what we're going to do. He's so gorgeous and I stood there looking at him this morning - the sun was just coming up and he was cantering down the fence line with my other boy and you'd never know anything is wrong. Facing the thought of what we might have to do is breaking my heart.
Its heart breaking.
 
Calm down and stop worrying till vet investigations are done and you know if you have something to worry about or not. The fear of the unknown is invariably worst than dealing with a know problem. Good luck xx
 
If I have read this correctly, he was sound without shoes? and then became lame when the farrier put his old shoes on, despite the fact his feet had changed shape?

I would get investigations done on his foot and maybe with some different/remedial shoes on he would be fine?
 
What a horrid time you are having.Is there anywhere or do you know anyone who has a field you could turn him out on to for 6 months??.It seems it is going to be a prosses of elimination as to finding out what is wrong with him.If his feet have changed then why did the farrier put his old shoes back on.I think the first thing i would do is take the shoes off and see whats the situation is then.The shoe could have been to tight or nail bound.It dosen't have to mean the pts option.The worse case is he will become a field ornament/companion.Dont give up hope yet!.
 
wait for the vet, it may not be as serious as you think. I put one of my horses out on loan as a very light hack due to injury but to be fair to her she is as sound as a pound now only 5 months on. wait and see what happened try not to think of the possibilities as it will make it loads worse
big hug let me know what happens
 
hi
i completly sympathise with you and understand EXACTLY how you feel.

the chestnut horse in my sig was up until last may jumping double clears around 1.25 tracks and loving it.
we did always realise that sometimes he would land 'dead' on his front feet - but our farrier remidied this by putting a gel pak between the shoe and foot to absorb the percussion of landing.
after last may i jumped him locally - clear round the foxhunter first phase and then very un - characteristly had 4 down in the jump off.
it was obvious he was uncomfortable so i had the vet run tests on him.
they discovered pain on one fore leg in paticular but he was also uncomfortable in the other as well.
he had given me no indication of his pain this.

he was sent to the animal health trust and was found to have navicular.
it seemed though that every sentence spoken by the vet finished with " he is insured though isnt he?"
my answer to this was yes - for 7k and they advised to have him put down.

WTF? my fit happy horse now had a death sentence hanging over him.
i decided to bring him home to make my decision as it was the start of the summer and i was going to give him it in the field.

when my vet was told of what was found - and what was said he was very upset and a little angry.

since then my farrier and my vet have worked together making my horse comfortable.
he is a big 17hh horse and is on 1 bute morning and night , with the gel in his feet still.

he hoons around the field like a loony and is so happy in himself that i am sure i made the right decision to bring him home and keep him.
my vet has said he could do light off road hacking - but as i have 3 others i dont need to ride him.

i suppose what im saying is that it doesnt always end in doom and gloom.

i was just as devestated as you at the time.
is there no grass livery yards nearby that you could turn him away in?

pm me if you need to chat further.
 
Ditto everyone else - don't worry until you've had the investigations done and you know what you are dealing with. I know it's easier said than done, but it might well be someting easily treatable with remedial farriery or similar. I hope it turns out ok - fingers crossed
 
If he was mine I'd get the foot investigated if at all possible.

You say the farrier commented that the foot had changed shape but still put the old shoes back on? That rings alarm bells to me, if the foot had changed he should have shod it accordingly! I'm not really surprised that the foot of the injured leg had changed shape, he'll have been standing & moving on it differently so the pressures would have changed & thus the shape. I'd get a different farrier to take a look - can your vet recommend a really good remedial one?

Good luck with him & try not to get too desperate.
 
This is what I would do and I'm not an expert in anything just an owner who loves her horses. Are you insured? If you are I would have the investigation into the foot problem (x-rays?). I would also change my farrier (know this isn't always easy) but would definately get shoes off and new ones on, it might even be worth poulticing that foot for a week (without shoe). I'm on a yard when you can't really turn away, however our YM did let someone do this recently, could you explain the situation to your YO? Our mare was lame for about 2 months, she was turned away and vet eventually decided to x-ray as he thought it was a problem in her coffin joint, he started clipping the hair from her foot and found a huge abscess on her heel which he burst and she was sound again in 4 weeks and is winning sj again with her loaner
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Agree with Nari and others - get a remedial farrier and sort that out first.
 
Wait for the vet and maybe get he re-shod. The farrier could have done something as simple as catch him with a nail and cause an abscess. This has happened to my horse several times as although my farrier is very good my horse has crappy feet and hates being shod as a result. In the past we have had physios and vets out thinking his problem was higher up as no abscess could be found, this had gone on for a couple of weeks, farrier then cam eout again and there was indeed an abscess it had just taken forever to get to a point where it would drain!

Horse has now gone lame again this week bt only when i circle him on hard ground - he is perfectly happy belting around the field and trots sound in the field. Had farrier out, he can't find a thing so think will have to resort to the vet see what he reckons. They are frustrating animals aren't they!

I would just hang fire. If it turn out it is something that they can't remedy then there are other options to retire your horse. Plenty of people need companion animals and there are charities obviously that will also take them.
 
Get the foot investigated. Some foot problems can be fixed, some can be worked with and some, yes, are the death toll of a fit healthy horse. No point worrying until you know what you're dealing with, and it sounds like you've got a good vet. Good luck.
 
I'm sorry to hear about the terrible bad luck you've had. I am going to go with everyone else - get it investigated, you just never know what the foot problem is, or even if that's where it is (I have known vets be wrong about the location of the problem causing lameness).

Good luck, and keep your faith a bit longer, I know how hard it is - I've been there too xx
 
Having him PTS/retired seems drastic considering the vet has no ideas what the problem is yet!
It could be something as simple as bruising, an absess, nail bind, a shoe which doesn't fit the foot! Simple things which can easily be rectified.
I would NOt write him off just yet!
Get some tests done & hopefully it will be just that & he'll be on the mend soon.
 
Take a deep breath.
The positive thing is that it is not the fracture. Get the foot investigated and then you will know if remedial shoeing is the solution. In a lot of cases a good remedial farrier can work wonders. In my case, my horse was lame for 7 months last year and our vet's prognosis was that she would probably never been sound enough to be ridden. However, our farrier has been fantastic and thanks to his shoeing, she is now hacking out happily.
Once you have had the foot investigated thoroughly and discussed all options with your vet and farrier (change farrier if need be - as your farrier should never have put old shoes back on your horse when his feet had changed shape), then you can make an informed decision about your horse's future.
 
So sorry to hear this.
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I'm not a vet but from what you described I would be looking to the foot first. You say your farrier mentioned that the foot has changed shape, yet he put his old shoes on, i'm assuming that he also changed the shoe to fit the foot? What sort of feet does he have? My old T/B had one stupidly flat foot and would be lame on it after the farrier had been until I discovered that he was putting a nail right into the white line area, as this was close to the outside of his foot than should have been. So he used to avoid putting nails in that area.
I hope your vet suggests you have xrays done of his feet, that way you can rule out any degeneration or rotation etc that happens in the foot.

I truly hope you get your answers and that they are treatable. Best of luck.
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Update- the farrier is coming tonight. Of course protesting its nothing to do with him but I am praying he finds an absess or something like that.
The insurance company have agreed to pay for all the investigations and have been fab - well done NFU.
We're just talking with the vets about which hospital we're going to take him to to do all the nerve blocks and xrays.
Please please can we have lots of HHO vibes for something normal and fixable.
The big man has been through too much for this to be the final chapter.
 
Just to say I hope all goes well. Personally I always have the investigations done - and have just spent a lot of money on Cairo (no insurance) to find out the extent of his latest problem - old age.

Once you have the facts, then you can make decisions and plan for the future.

I would wonder why old shoes were put on feet that have changed and maybe it is something as simple as this.
 
I was one phone call away from having one of my ponies pts in May last year - the vet had left me with tears pouring down my face after saying he felt there was no hope (laminitis). Less than a year on and the pony won an open jumping class and has never looked better. That was after some fantastic remedial work by my farrier. So there is always a chance, don't give up hope yet, explore every avenue, and if nothing shows up, then find a field for six months if you have to. Time is the greatest healer and it hasn't been all that long since the fracture. Thinking of you. x
 
Positive vibes being sent your way.
Bloody farriers sometimes do more harm than good, although of course it is never their fault!
Even if it is in the foot there is hope. I lost my young TB eventer six years ago to collateral ligament damage. Then last year my new TB got diagnosed with the same thing but due to improvements in treatment and diagnosis he has just returned to work. I thought there was no hope but today he did his first trot pole. Give your boy a chance, if he's got over a fracture I'm sure he'll come through whatever the problem is.
 
Get his feet looked at. If you look back to yesterdays topic's I posted with regard to my boy having his last assessment with the vet and farrier. This time last year about 2 months after buying him he " wasn't right " Vet came out nerve blocks then x-rays and was then told that my stunning 17hh 7 year old boy was broken at that time. I was numb. Well today as I said the vet and farrier came, and after a year of treatment and heartache he has been given the all clear. Its been such a massive strain and I was such a wuss as I was expecting the worst. My farrier has been key in working with the vet and phsyio, chiro and saddler. NFU are fantastic. PM if you like xx
 
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