Do i mention it or not?

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navaho

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Sorry if this is a bit long :)
My kids are planning on doing a couple of shows over the summer & they would like to take my old boy, who is 23, to one of them. Im happy for him to go & im pretty certain he will enjoy it. The problem i have is he has benign thyroid hyperplasia, which leaves him with a massive lump under his jaw, my feelings are as soon as anyone spots it they are going to have a hissy fit & accuse me of taking a horse to a show with strangles, so do you think i should warn the people in the secretaries tent & the judge, just incase someone does say something, or should i just keep my mouth shut, let the kids enjoy the show & fend of anyone if they do decide to say anything? Ive spoken at length about this with a couple of horsey friends & they have advised me to not say anything, but i am a little worried about it.
There is a photo of the lump on this link, incase anyone has no idea what im talking about lol.
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=359734
 
navaho said:
Sorry if this is a bit long :)
My kids are planning on doing a couple of shows over the summer & they would like to take my old boy, who is 23, to one of them. Im happy for him to go & im pretty certain he will enjoy it. The problem i have is he has benign thyroid hyperplasia, which leaves him with a massive lump under his jaw, my feelings are as soon as anyone spots it they are going to have a hissy fit & accuse me of taking a horse to a show with strangles, so do you think i should warn the people in the secretaries tent & the judge, just incase someone does say something, or should i just keep my mouth shut, let the kids enjoy the show & fend of anyone if they do decide to say anything? Ive spoken at length about this with a couple of horsey friends & they have advised me to not say anything, but i am a little worried about it.
There is a photo of the lump on this link, incase anyone has no idea what im talking about lol.
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=359734
Click to expand...

Its not a very big lump, so I wouldnt say anything personally. However, might be useful if you have a vet's letter to back up, in case you do get asked about anything

bexcy-bee x
 
Just go it doesn't look overly noticeable and if they say anything then just tell them what it is and if they don't know then call your vet and get them to confirm.
 
I would get a letter from your vet AND tell the secretary. Most people dont have the guts to say things to peoples faces and would rather go sneaking off to the secretary than enquire direct to you. Also secretaries have enough to do on show days so for warned is for armed :o

Hope you have fun x
 
Vet diagnosis/letter isnt an option as it was never diagnosed by them, theyve all seen it & didnt have a clue what it was (he was actually swabbed for strangles the first time i had them out), it was only when i came across the post on here that i found out what it was. I did have a vet out at Christmas to him who had actually heard of it but it was the first time she'd actually seen it.
 
navaho said:
Vet diagnosis/letter isnt an option as it was never diagnosed by them, theyve all seen it & didnt have a clue what it was (he was actually swabbed for strangles the first time i had them out), it was only when i came across the post on here that i found out what it was. I did have a vet out at Christmas to him who had actually heard of it but it was the first time she'd actually seen it.
Click to expand...

Then IMHO you need to consider if your vets are doing their job. If its not diagnosed, there is no way of knowing 100% if it is that

bexcy-bee x
 
I would be calling another vet to take a look at him. IMHO I don't feel it's right to tell others it is something which has not been diagnosed by a professional.

It may not be what you think it is and I personally would want him looked at again by another vet to get to the bottom of it. :) ETA Especially as it's a lump. I would say that if it's not easy for a vet to diagnose, then to presume it is something you have seen on here via a photo is a bit iffy. I'd rather be 100%
 
Its not just one vets practice that has seen him, ive had 2 out to look at him & both didnt have a clue & both were not prepared to take any samples because of its positioning & the risk it would pose to him. Hes had it 7, or so, years, hes happy healthy & most definitely not contagious! The vet that saw him at Christmas agreed with the diagnosis i had come up with.
 
I would be calling another vet to take a look at him. IMHO I don't feel it's right to tell others it is something which has not been diagnosed by a professional.

It may not be what you think it is and I personally would want him looked at again by another vet to get to the bottom of it. ETA Especially as it's a lump. I would say that if it's not easy for a vet to diagnose, then to presume it is something you have seen on here via a photo is a bit iffy. I'd rather be 100%

There is a good EQUINE vets from somewhere near or in west wales theyre equine vets.I use them as they come to our area.Dont know where you are in west wales.


I agree with above.You should get another vet,a EQUINE VET is best.
 
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Look, im not getting into a "you should have the vet" debate, hes happy healthy & looks well for 23....anyone care to come & meet him feel free! Im not putting him through God alone knows what & to put him at risk to keep you lot happy, to get him to an Equine vet would involve traveling, something which he really hates. The vet who also saw him at Christmas agreed with what i thought it was & seemed to know a fair bit about it. I asked about taking him to show not whether or not to get the vet!
 
I apologise if I offended you. I guess we don't know the ins and outs like you do, Sorry if I came across as being funny.

With regards to the original question, I guess you could take a note from the vet to say it definitely isn't strangles? As you know he has been tested for that.

Good luck at the shows :)
 
If he was tested for strangles do you have the results of that test somewhere? Could you take those?

From a personal (or busy-body at shows) perspective I'd probably want a proper diagnosis so that I was aware of what the lump was, if it is likely to cause pain if it grows and any treatment for cause or symptoms.

But from a 'having my horse near yours at shows' perspective I'd just want to know it wasn't contagious.

Proving it isn't strangles is a (very) good start but TBH without knowing (from a professional in writing, even if they are prompted to the diagnosis by what you say to them) what it /is/ it is hard to say to a secretary that it /isn't/ something else catching if you see what I mean.
 
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