Did you give your lame horse a year out-and did it help?

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Megibo

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So basically my little mare had problems deep in her spine around where the lumbar vertebrae meet the sacrum area.. she had steroid injections here either side of the spine to try and help as it was causing bilateral lameness. have been doing ground work with her and she's been looking better, can now canter on the right lead both ways etc but still not totally sound. I've persevered on vet advice but not really been happy about doing so! A lightweight teen at my yard kindly hopped on yesterday to ride her for me and it was obvious she's no different under saddle than before!
She's also getting quite aggressive in her stable if she thinks she's going to be tacked up. She'll kick up at a roller and try to bite me, very inclined to kick, swing towards me and snap putting a saddle on and she bites her bridle too. I walked past her stable with my other mares tack earlier and she attacked me over the door at the sight of this tack! Once she realises she isn't being tacked up, she's fine.
So clearly not happy and I've decided to give her a year just coming in and out from the field..and obviously out 24/7 in summer then re-evaluate. Have you done similar with horses that kept getting multiple things wrong and most importantly-did it help?
Thanks in advance for any replies.

Oh I should add-I've had her 9 years this year and she is rising 15 so I am more than happy to keep her as a field ornamnent. It would just be nice to know if she could possibly come back to some level of work!
 
If it was my horse, I would want a vet's opinion prior to doing this - if she is in pain a year off may not resolve the issue, and without riding her, you won't know if she is getting worse.

Hope you get to the bottom of her issues.
 
I thought you were breeding her to H Tobago this year. If she's this uncomfortable are you going to re-assess the situation?

FWIW a year off did make a difference to mine but he had had traumatic injury, nothing conformational or chronic.
 
Although mine wasn't lame, he came to me very mentally distressed and a year out has worked wonders for him. I done some very light schooling and hacking with him, and now a year later he is a completely different horse, the change in him is remarkable.

I second getting a vets opinion on where you go from here.
 
Sidney said:
If it was my horse, I would want a vet's opinion prior to doing this - if she is in pain a year off may not resolve the issue, and without riding her, you won't know if she is getting worse.

Hope you get to the bottom of her issues.
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Yes I am going to call and double check with him.

jemima*askin said:
I thought you were breeding her to H Tobago this year. If she's this uncomfortable are you going to re-assess the situation?

FWIW a year off did make a difference to mine but he had had traumatic injury, nothing conformational or chronic.
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Yes that is the plan..the vet has given her the all clear for that. I've asked him probably 100 times at each stage and he has said either way, she would be fine to foal. It's not extreme, its lameness that you have to know what you're looking for to see but its still there and she's still pretty mad to be tacked up.

She seems happy now to buck and mess about on the groundwork side of things, so she has improved in this area and is practically back to normal but under saddle she's still not good.
 
If she is going to have a foal it will be the best part of 20- 22 months from now before the foal is weaned and she could be put back into work, to me if you are going to breed her this time letting her down now and sending her off fairly early to give the best chance of getting her in foal makes sense, once she is weaned you can start again if you want and it may help to be picking up with a completely unfit horse, plenty of slow work to build her back up may be just what she needs.

I would want to be absolutely sure she can carry a foal comfortably before sending her to stud.
 
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My big horse had almost a year off while I had a baby and lots of his little niggles have disappeared. He is ex pro eventer with a list of insurance exclusions that cover 3 pages (literally), I took his shoes off as front feet issues historically and he used to have a funny triangular sweat patch on one shoulder that he doesn't get anymore. Overall he just feels freer and looser and more comfortable.
If he ges repeated not 100% soundness, again I'd not hesitate to give him time off again.
 
No offence taken Sidney-this mare means the earth to me so as I've said-I have endlessly double and triple checked with my vet, who is very good at his job, and he has assured me if I went ahead she would be fine.

Thanks be postive.

That's interesting Polos Mum, thankyou.
 
On the breeding front, am still feeling fairly doubtful so please don't assume I am heartless and will put her through pregnancy for selfish reasons.
I will contact the vet to ask about her having the year out, and ask again about breeding! Another option I've considered is just letting her be and finding another good quality mare to have a foal from, and his owner is extremely understanding and lovely, but having a foal from Meg to keep was what was going to be so special about breeding in the first place. (sorry if that sounds sickly soppy!!)
 
we gave one of ours a year off after he sustained a very bad SI injury that meant he went lame. he had nerve pain too. It was a long haul bringing him back into work and one vet suggested pts after various things failed to help. I took the decision to let him be a field ornament and after a year had a full lameness exam and he passed. He has gone from strength to strength and is completely sound and has a very strong back end now, so yes, time really can be a good healer, despite the odds.
 
My mare had kissing spines, her reactions to tack, rugs etc was similar to what your horse is doing. Due to bad weather etc last Winter she wasnt worked for about 3 months as every time we got started it got halted for one reason or another, mainly snow, and she lived out. My Physio said she was in considerable pain due to not having worked so it didnt benefit her.
I brought her back into work over last Summer but sadly she didnt improve, just got worse and unfortunately I had to let her go. Her pain and lameness had progressed and there was nothing else I could do for her.

However, my other mare who injured her ddft 5yrs ago had a year off and lived out, it benefitted her no end and she is better than before by far. It all really depends on how they are mentally and how much pain they are in. My Physio was the best person to guide me.
 
Re time off. Obviously, it depends what is the matter. If it's an injury or the situation is acute then rest might very well settle things down and provide the horse a chance to heal. I also think time properly turned away - on varied ground, with companions, adequate shelter etc - can sometimes do a lot for a horse mentally.

If it's something degenerative or there is no chance of reversal then time isn't really going to sort the situation. The horse might be more comfortable while it's in the field but won't necessarily stand up to a return to work.

I'd want to have a serious conversation with the vet and really understand what the problem is before even trying to guess. That said, if the horse is comfortable and you are able and willing to fund turning away then you can always roll the dice.

Re breeding, it might be worth asking your vet to refer you to a breeding specialist for a conversation, armed with an understanding of what it wrong with the mare. I'll be honest, the fact that the mare is being aggressive now would give me cause for concern, especially coupled with a possible discomfort issue. It's not unheard of for maiden mares to find the birth process a bit traumatic and react negatively to the foal because of it, even without the added issue of a hind end soundness issue. I know you feel the mare has a reason for her behaviour but there are lots of horses that hurt and the majority of them do not become aggressive.
 
The only thing I would want before breeding is a diagnosis! Why is she getting this pain? Is it conformational or environmental?

Would letting her down help, or would building up the correct supportive muscles be better? I'm just thinking in terms of with arthritis, it is often better to keep them gently exercised and build up supportive muscle, though sometimes the joints ossify and settle down completely with rest - so it can go either way. And of course it may not be arthritis at all, but simply a field injury. (I have arthritis so am coming from a slightly biased and less equine perspective!)

If your vet says she will be fine I'm sure they're right, but it might be worth getting in touch with a well reputed breeder, and asking about mares with spinal issues and how well they cope with pregnancy. I would dare to say pregnancy puts more strain on the body than riding, so it all depends on if her lameness under saddle is mechanical or pain related. Have you had scans or x rays done?

I had a horse who was suspected kissing spines (turned out to have mild KS on top of more serious issues) and the vet said with mild KS, the advice would be to lunge in a pessoa to get the back in a healthier position and build up the supporting muscles.
 
Sidney said:
I hope I don't offend you, but I would not be wanting to breed from a horse that is in discomfort....
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Neither would I, irresponsible of owner and vet. For gods sake op, please reassess this, it's not a good or kind idea, not without all the facts, the impact it could have on the mare.... I agree with the poster who said they would want a full diagnosis and the one who said they would want a referral to a breeding specialist. Personally I would not want to breed from any horse at this time, but to breed from an unsound one, is even worse in my opinion. If however it is something you want to peruse further, check, double check and triple check on behalf of both the mare and the foal before making such a decision. Given the facts, it would not be my broodmare of choice.
 
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For the last time..it has been double/triple checked already and I've explained I'm not dead set on it and will not put her through anything unnecessarily. So off your high horse please and I'm not going to repeat myself again.

She's only aggressive if you are around her with tack. Lameness unridden is easy to miss if you don't know what you're looking for. She has had X-rays of hind limbs and spine, nothing kissing etc but 'activity' around the area where she had the steroids. She's been back in work and lunging in equi ami to build spinal muscle back up so improved but not 100% again. My physio who is fab couldn't find any sign of back or muscular pain though and she's fine in every other way except seeing her tack.
 
I turned my mare out 24/7 for 6 months a couple of years ago when she was 2/10 lame. She came back sounder than ever....

You've just go to do what's best for your horse.
 
Err stop the gadgets! Have you heard of straightness training? I think that could help your mare. But no more "training aids"... sigh... why do people insist on strapping horses into positions where they can only work hunched up and on the forehand? It looks pretty but it is not, I'm not surprised your poor mare hates being worked.
 
ridefast said:
Err stop the gadgets! Have you heard of straightness training? I think that could help your mare. But no more "training aids"... sigh... why do people insist on strapping horses into positions where they can only work hunched up and on the forehand? It looks pretty but it is not, I'm not surprised your poor mare hates being worked.
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what are you talking about, gadgets?

Anyway, thanks for the replies to those who answered my original question. I spoke to the vet who agreed that a year out could do her good and it is the last thing we can try for her now. So I am disappointed, but at least there's a chance she could come back to work afterwards.
 
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