petsnponies
New User
Hi there,
I have a 17 year old traditional cob mare.
She is retired with the following problems:
Arthritis in her left hind fetlock. X-rayed and suspected broken in her early years. Never given her much trouble. Has calcification on the outside of the joint.
Left fore - old tendon injury, and also 2 years ago she tore her suspensory ligament. These have healed but with scarring.
Right fore - She did have laminitis in this foot brought on by the lameness in the other foot. Not recurred over the summer.
She is not lame - although VERY tough and good at hiding pain.
I have decided to turn her out 24/7 as she stiffens up when in and does better out. She is not insured - I cancelled it as she was excempt from joint and ligament conditions due to claiming before. Thought it pretty pointless to carry on really as Im certain any more problems will lead me to PTS.
Now, today I brought her in from the field for her daily check, washed her legs and noticed that she appears to have an enlarged right hind fetlock. It's not painful (gave it a good squeeze) and she's not lame. the 'swelling' is on the inside of the joint, and very hard like bone. It felt a little warm.
Is it likely that this is calcification? It feels very similar to her other fetlock with the arthritis. It does seem to have come up fast though, I usually notice these things quite quickly, although she has got thick feather so maybe it's been overlooked. I'm pretty sure it hasnt been like this long though.
What to do? what to do? I suppose Im scared to get the vet out incase the 'time' has come.
I have a 17 year old traditional cob mare.
She is retired with the following problems:
Arthritis in her left hind fetlock. X-rayed and suspected broken in her early years. Never given her much trouble. Has calcification on the outside of the joint.
Left fore - old tendon injury, and also 2 years ago she tore her suspensory ligament. These have healed but with scarring.
Right fore - She did have laminitis in this foot brought on by the lameness in the other foot. Not recurred over the summer.
She is not lame - although VERY tough and good at hiding pain.
I have decided to turn her out 24/7 as she stiffens up when in and does better out. She is not insured - I cancelled it as she was excempt from joint and ligament conditions due to claiming before. Thought it pretty pointless to carry on really as Im certain any more problems will lead me to PTS.
Now, today I brought her in from the field for her daily check, washed her legs and noticed that she appears to have an enlarged right hind fetlock. It's not painful (gave it a good squeeze) and she's not lame. the 'swelling' is on the inside of the joint, and very hard like bone. It felt a little warm.
Is it likely that this is calcification? It feels very similar to her other fetlock with the arthritis. It does seem to have come up fast though, I usually notice these things quite quickly, although she has got thick feather so maybe it's been overlooked. I'm pretty sure it hasnt been like this long though.
What to do? what to do? I suppose Im scared to get the vet out incase the 'time' has come.