Dumbfounded after osteo visit.

I am thinking ulcers looking at your horse. There is a very informative video showing how you can palpate your horse to check for ulcers. I have had 3 with ulcers, my WB had them as symptomatic of sacro illiac pain due to injury, my Dales had them through the stress of an accident and I suspect my mare through a stressful time after losing her foal. Each one presented differently. The WB was agressive and bucked and wouldn't track up. He was worse on the right rein. He was the only of the 3 I had scoped.
The Dales was extremely tense and tucked up ridden with no forward. He was super reactive through kicking with any presentation of the whip. He also wood chewed prolifically.
My mare was very sensitive to all the palpated girth and wither points. She was fence chewing and stressy.
I treated all of mine with omeprazole via Abler. This made the treatment very affordable at around £120 for 6 weeks of treatment per horse. I followed each treatment up with a 6 week regime of green clay and chlorella to resestablish the good gut bacteria as was recommended by a holistic vet I have used who is also a trained osteopath.
I really rate osteopaths, having used one for 2 of mine recently and having sent my WB to the holistic vet some years ago after his sacro illiac dysfunction diagnosis. They will tackle things conventional vets label as impossible ie. The mobilisation of the sacrum in my boys case, which worked a treat. It was interesting reading about the early sheath gelding scar suggestions earlier in this thread. My trainer talked of gelding scars after a myofascial massage course she attended and this is something that body workers feel and work on as a matter of course apparently in geldings due to the profound effect they can have.
 
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NZJenny said:
This.

In New Zealand a vet would never refer you to an osteo as there is no recognised qualification for that here. Is there one in the UK?
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Not correct NZJenny - there may be no official qualification gained here in NZ but there are qualified Osteo's/chiro's and vets will refer you to them.

One even assisted while chiro worked on my horse under full anaesthetic.
 
D66 said:
Yasandcrystal Can I ask which product you bought from Abler and the dose?
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I bought the a AblerPlus tablets and granules which contains a probiotic and I dosed 3 tablets and 2 x sachets a day for 4 weeks then I dropped to 1.5 tablets and 1 sachets a day for 2 weeks and then I did just 1 a day for a further week. They sell a package also so if you suspect you may need it again the package us a good deal. I used it for 2 horses and have some spare now if I need it.
The people at Abler are very helpful if you go onto their online chat and the stuff came within 4 days of ordering.
 
Bryndu said:
Hi,
I am responding to the video....and have not read all the posts recently regarding meds etc...but just wanted to comment on something if that is ok?

I notice on the vid of him for sale that he steps quite high in all four feet in the walk, trot and canter.

I have recently taken on a companion pony who has exactly the same way of going as your horse... and my farrier visited for the first time today. He has never seen this pony before and although the pony had seen her previous farrier 6 weeks previously....my farrier remarked - with no prompting from me I hasten to add - 'does this pony pick it's feet up quite high? This because the toes are too long'.

Now this does not mean long as in slipper like...but long as in the hooves are too tall so that the pony has the feeling of walking on platforms...and therefore picks the feet up high and 'places' them on the floor...and often overbalancing/tripping.

After trimming the pony - a regular trim - the pony is unshod - the difference in the way of going in the pony was astonishing....she walked out to the field with a normal gait.

I wonder if this may be something worth looking at?

Wishing you all the best .
Bryndu
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Thank you for your observations and comments. Its an interesting idea. The video is now more than two years old. I think he had only been out of racing for a couple of months when the video was shot. Racehorses typically have long feet and low heels and this was commented on when examined by my vet just after purchase. Since then, I've had three farriers, and each of them has worked on changing this. There hasn't really been any change in the tripping problem even with the change in his hooves. It was his farrier who noticed that he was dragging his right hind. His feet look completely different now. The vet seems to think they're OK though. I read somewhere ages ago, that most problems with horses backs originates in the feet. I've only got my farrier and vet to go on. At some point I have to start trusting what they say. It's hard. But given that the vet and myself think there's something going on in his spine and all the evidence so far points to that, I think I have to go with that diagnosis for the moment. There's just so much that could be wrong - I might make a list, just for devilment..

Today I walked him in hand for an hour through the forest trails, up and down the hills and through the vineyards, for a break from ground poles and lunging. He was amazingly good! I've seen a change in his temperament this last week. Starting with the hot shoeing, now he's so calm and even walked through puddles calmly and didn't do his usual snorting stallion impression when going down unfamiliar paths. This tells me that he is no longer suffering and is more relaxed and happy. We have four more days of meds to take, then I'll see what he's like after the meds are out of his system. The vet said she didn't believe he was in constant pain, but this last week has made me think otherwise.
 
YasandCrystal said:
I bought the a AblerPlus tablets and granules which contains a probiotic and I dosed 3 tablets and 2 x sachets a day for 4 weeks then I dropped to 1.5 tablets and 1 sachets a day for 2 weeks and then I did just 1 a day for a further week. They sell a package also so if you suspect you may need it again the package us a good deal. I used it for 2 horses and have some spare now if I need it.
The people at Abler are very helpful if you go onto their online chat and the stuff came within 4 days of ordering.
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Very interested in this. Given that it's said 90% of racehorses have ulcers. I know he's been out of racing for quite a while now, 2.5 years at least, but he's still a stressy character. But not this week!!! Lol. . worth a think. Probably worth trying the drugs. You know, it will probably turn out that he's got at least half a dozen different issues... where to start!?
 
YasandCrystal said:
I bought the a AblerPlus tablets and granules which contains a probiotic and I dosed 3 tablets and 2 x sachets a day for 4 weeks then I dropped to 1.5 tablets and 1 sachets a day for 2 weeks and then I did just 1 a day for a further week. They sell a package also so if you suspect you may need it again the package us a good deal. I used it for 2 horses and have some spare now if I need it.
The people at Abler are very helpful if you go onto their online chat and the stuff came within 4 days of ordering.
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Do you need a vet's prescription to order? Thanks. :)
 
So, I've just looked up the medication the vet has prescribed. Flunixine. NSAID. Ulcer causing. Great. And a 15 day course of it. So if he didn't have ulcers before, he may well have after this. Advice is not to give more than 5 days, and to give with omeprazole at the same time.

However, he's shown an improvement this last week. Time to talk to the vet again!
 
I realise I really should update the thread, not least out of respect for all the people who read, replied and made suggestions or tried to help. I do appreciate it.

He was put to sleep on 1st February. We didn't do many further investigations after he had a month of working with pain relief, because it became very clear he was in pain and any kind of exercise made it worse. The vet was convinced it was damage to his spine, and everything I saw confirmed that. He was never going to be rideable, not the temperament to put out to grass, retirement liveries wouldn't take him (I did ask), would need constant pain relief, and at 7 years old there was no guarantee of a future free from distress or discomfort. Very sad.

Thanks again everyone.
 
Frenchmade said:
I realise I really should update the thread, not least out of respect for all the people who read, replied and made suggestions or tried to help. I do appreciate it.

He was put to sleep on 1st February. We didn't do many further investigations after he had a month of working with pain relief, because it became very clear he was in pain and any kind of exercise made it worse. The vet was convinced it was damage to his spine, and everything I saw confirmed that. He was never going to be rideable, not the temperament to put out to grass, retirement liveries wouldn't take him (I did ask), would need constant pain relief, and at 7 years old there was no guarantee of a future free from distress or discomfort. Very sad.

Thanks again everyone.
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Very sorry to read your update but bless you for giving him a peaceful end to husband pain. Big hugs xxx
 
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