ems and treatment

[Echo Bravo]

I have a welsh sec a that has ems and she has been on metformin for a month now and has a blood test on tuesday, when she was first put on the tablets she started to come sound with help from 1/2 bute each day and now has gotten worse the past 3 days she is back to laminitis this morning could hardly walk from her stable to next door while I muck her out, has anybody with a ems horse or pony have the same problem, as my hubby says it would be kinder to have pts if this is how her live is going to be from now on, will wait to see what the blood test says, but we have tried to keep her feeding as sugarless and less starch as possible.

 

[Slightlyconfused]

I have a welsh sec a that has ems and she has been on metformin for a month now and has a blood test on tuesday, when she was first put on the tablets she started to come sound with help from 1/2 bute each day and now has gotten worse the past 3 days she is back to laminitis this morning could hardly walk from her stable to next door while I muck her out, has anybody with a ems horse or pony have the same problem, as my hubby says it would be kinder to have pts if this is how her live is going to be from now on, will wait to see what the blood test says, but we have tried to keep her feeding as sugarless and less starch as possible.

My EMS boy can have no sugar what's so ever in his daily feed, molasses free hi fi and his metformin with fast fibre and that's it, 24 hour soaked hay, gets rinsed thoroughly before he has it.

It's a struggle to get that balance and sometimes it doesn't go the way you want it.

 

[touchstone]

I have an ems mare, I don't medicate as I've tried to keep things right with diet/exercise. Much more difficult at the moment though - rich grass plus she's also cushingoid and arthritic so exercise is limited at the moment.

My vet's always said that exercise is key, which is fine if you can but complicates things when you can't. One of the best things I did was to set up a track to keep her moving - obviously only when sound, and I make sure that it is grazed down by strip grazing a bit at a time or using a muzzle.

To be frank I am also considering pts, if her quality of life deteriorates, she had a bout of laminitis this sping and is now sound but still stiff with arthritis. It's an awful place to be with them, you have my sympathies. I've said that the next bout of laminitis if she doesn't improve after a week or so then that will be it, she's an older mare and I don't want her remaining days to be miserable ones.

 

[Echo Bravo]

Mine turned 12 today and she's not been out of her stable for going on 4 months except when I muck her out, she's had 1 blood test which came back at 94.5 seems the norm is 20 vet didn't want her out so she's in, she did start coming sound last week and has gone downhill since then, the only thing we did change was putting her on Horsehage for laminitics have gone back to soaking hay.

 

[touchstone]

Oh Echo Bravo, that's a real shame, mine is 22, so it makes 'that' decision a bit more tolerable.

I've never box rested for the recommended 'month after the pony is sound', and I've always made a small mud pen outside the stable for them to potter about in when pulses are down and the pony is moving comfortably, but mine has been okay with this, they are all different. I've heard that some don't react well to the Horsehage (again mine's okay so I'm lucky in that respect) so hopefully being back on soaked hay will help.

I do think though, that when quality of life is impaired and whatever you do you can't get them right, then there is no shame in pts for the pony's welfare. It's a bit like how long is a piece of string on how long you give them to reach that decision, and it isn't easy.