Feeling fed up 😞

[EternalVetBills]

No real point to this post other than for a little pity party whilst I wait for the vet...

My lovely big mare, Grace, is an absolute pro at injuring herself. The first year I had her there wasn't a month out of 12 that I had a vet bill less than £1000. I got her insured after that first year.

I have only owned her for 3 years and this is her list of injuries in chronological order:

• Went through a 5 bar gate and sliced her shoulder open (thankfully, and miraculously, no vet needed for this one)
• Went through another 5 bar gate a month later and degloved her front leg (vet required for that one)
• Sat on a barbed wire fence whilst being a prat out hacking and cut her backside (again vet required)
• Flicked a shoe off first time back up the gallops after previous incident and cut her thigh open (luckily no vet, but it took a fair while to heal)
• Kicked a wall whilst being tacked up, twisted a shoe, broke half of her foot off and punctured an artery (my lovely vet came out on her day off for that one)
• Christmas day managed to slice her fetlock so badly whilst in the field that the vet could feel all the way to the bone (nearly 3 months box rest for that one)
• Cut her leg in the field and got an infected tendon sheath the next day
• Fell over and broke her back (she is now retired)
• Got a puncture wound on her fetlock joint, got an infected fetlock joint from said puncture wound, had a penicillin reaction, then got colic from the new antibiotics
• Got a new puncture wound on her pastern this time (vet out and we were all so pleasantly surprised it healed within a week!)

Which should bring us to today... it was her first day back out yestetday after the latest wound (yippee!) and she came in hopping lame on her front left. Her foot was hot and pulsing so I have happily assumed abscess. I have the farrier coming on Monday anyway, so I hot tubbed and poulticed her up, and was happy to wait till Monday.
I've gotten to the yard this morning and Grace can barely walk, not just on her front leg, but the opposite back one aswell which is now fat and hot. I couldn't get her to walk far enough to be 100% sure, but I think she's also lame on her back left (the one that had the most recent wound). I could only get her 2 strides out of her stable and it took me 15 minutes to get her back in again!
Vet called and is on her way.
Like I say no real point to this just feeling very sorry for myself (and Grace) and wondering why on earth I go through all of this for a retired field ornament! I love her to bits but it honestly is exhausting sometimes

 

[cauda equina]

I am so sorry, that all sounds totally draining
I hope the vet can make her comfortable

 

[Sossigpoker]

I'm sorry to hear she's such a sick note. I know it is incredibly stressful and draining.
Why are some horses hell bent on hurting themselves?

 

[asmp]

Wow, feel for you. I ran up quite a few vets bills in the first year of owning my horse and remember thinking “what have I bought?”

 

[scats]

I really feel for you. I bought an ISH in 2011 and in the first 12 months he cost me 12k in vet bills. He was an absolute walking disaster.
Eventually I had to move him to a different yard with turnout just with my horses, because he couldn’t be trusted in a herd at all.
Even then he still managed to injure himself. One day he got up from rolling and sliced into his own leg with his shoe and needed staples.

 

[HollyWoozle]

Bloody hell, what a nightmare list! No wonder you are feeling fed up. Sending good wishes!

 

[Carrottom]

My sympathies, I hope the vet has been and that she is more comfortable now.

 

[nagblagger]

Hope all is ok. Any update?

 

[EternalVetBills]

Vet's been and gone, and we're still not really sure what's going on.
She came much sounder after we nerve blocked the front foot, so the vet thinks that the back end was just old issues being exasperated by her being unable to weight the front foot.
We can't find any signs of an abscess, she extremely painful over her whole foot, no specific area. X-rays done and we can't find anything unusual.
Current game plan is to poultice and see how she is tomorrow

 

[PurBee]

That is quite a list! No wonder you are feeling drained. Big hug X

I hope her recent issues recover quickly.
Does she have a run about in her field?
Maybe she has pulled a tendon on that front, if she’s turned out first time after box rest?
Sometimes their field antics can be over-enthusiastic causing slips and falls, especially if ground is wet. My mare pulled a rear tendon last winter from a presumed field slip, which inflamed that day coming-in, and was even worse the next morning. She was kept in small yard turnout with bed access, until more sound, about 7-10 days.
I initially wondered abscess but they usually start low lameness and can increase to severe, and usually not significant swelling at first. Though some can brew quick and resemble tendon strain i imagine!
Fingers crossed it heals quickly

 

[EternalVetBills]

That is quite a list! No wonder you are feeling drained. Big hug X

I hope her recent issues recover quickly.
Does she have a run about in her field?
Maybe she has pulled a tendon on that front, if she’s turned out first time after box rest?
Sometimes their field antics can be over-enthusiastic causing slips and falls, especially if ground is wet. My mare pulled a rear tendon last winter from a presumed field slip, which inflamed that day coming-in, and was even worse the next morning. She was kept in small yard turnout with bed access, until more sound, about 7-10 days.
I initially wondered abscess but they usually start low lameness and can increase to severe, and usually not significant swelling at first. Though some can brew quick and resemble tendon strain i imagine!
Fingers crossed it heals quickly

Thank you.
Yes she is an idiot in the field and incredibly clumsy with it. We don't think it's any higher up than the foot as her foot is hot and pulsing so definitely think it's there.
She has quite a long puncture wound in the foot but whatever went in isn't in there anymore and the x-rays obviously can't tell us how far up it went or if it hit anything important.
I've just been to get her in, her nerve block has worn off so she's a little more tender on it but 10x better than she was this morning. Which unfortunately is slightly more of a concern for the vet as it's pointing away from an abscess and towards something slightly more serious . I'm seriously hoping that the reason she's sounder is that it is an abscess and it's burst out in the field today. Guess we'll find out in the morning when I change the poultice

 

[tristar]

don`t know what to say really, except hugs, hope she is better tomorrow, and you get a tough sound one in the future!

 

[EternalVetBills]

don`t know what to say really, except hugs, hope she is better tomorrow, and you get a tough sound one in the future!

I've sworn off of Thoroughbreds after this one goes!

I think my poor mum felt like the vet that came out today must think we neglected Grace (she's only ever been out on weekends or if our normal vet is away when Grace has done something), so felt the need to clarify that we do infact have a yard full of horses that very rarely actually see a vet aside from the routine visits! We aren't bad owners, just very unfortunate with this one horse ! Of course it has to be one of the two 'pet' horses, just to add a touch more heartache to the situation!

 

[irishdraft]

Gosh that's quite a list, I start getting antsy if mine get anything wrong with them x

 

[Honey08]

Oh gosh you poor thing. I bet you’re a nervous wreck with no fingernails!

Sort your self out Grace, enough is enough!

 

[Zoeypxo]

Thats an impressive list!
Shes lucky to have you tending to all of her wounds

 

[Squeak]

That really is an impressive list! Hope this injury ends up just being an easy abscess, sounds like you both deserve a break.

 

[EternalVetBills]

Thank you everyone.

She's continuing to leave both us and the vet scratching our heads this morning. No pus on the poultice this morning. She went fairly lame again last night, nowhere near as bad as she was yesterday morning though, but is barely 3/10th lame this morning! And that was before she had any pain relief .
Vet is pushing for an MRI, but I've said I want to wait for my normal vet to come back on tomorrow morning before I make any big decisions. She still has pre-approval from my insurers for an MRI on the front feet that we never actually did in the end, and that's in date till August, so cost isn't an issue. I just don't know whether it's fair on an already very physically compromised horse, who really struggles with travelling these days, to make her stand on a box for an hour to find out she's damaged something that I wouldn't put her through the treatment for anyway.
I completely understand where the emergency vet is coming from, and if it were any other horse I would be getting it ready to box up to the hospital first thing in the morning, because to this vet who doesn't see her often I can see that it's so easy to say 'oh, it's just a cut', or 'just an abscess', or 'just a little puncture wound in the hoof', and I know to someone outside I probably look like I don't really want to give her a chance. But my normal vet knows with Grace it's never *just* this or *just* that, and I definitely wouldn't take the decision not to send her for further investigations lightly.
I just need to find out what we're hoping the MRI will achieve really, because if the end result is she has to spend months in remedial shoes and in her box, then I know what my answer would be.
Really hoping today that it just dissappears as quickly as it came and we can all just scratch our heads and wonder what it was all about

 

[racebuddy]

oh bless her shes def putting you through it , I would just worry if puncture wound then there is poss some damage there maybe ? fingers crossed she doesn't stay as lame xx

 

[racebuddy]

hope shes doing ok today xx

 

[sbloom]

What a nightmare. I'm not saying it will be a cure all but, if you're happy to invest the time, it is possible to help a horse to be less clumsy (improve their proprioception using something like TTeam bodywrapping and good bodywork) and to move better with good in hand work. It's all good, quiet stuff so you can find plenty that won't be contraindicated with the sorts of issues that caused her retirement, though you'd want of course to consult with your vet. Google "podcast celeste lazaris" and have a listen, highly recommend her work though there are others.

 

[maya2008]

I've sworn off of Thoroughbreds after this one goes!

I was about to ask if she's a TB! Also never again here - most loving, wonderful horses and I loved mine to the ends of the Earth but just...never again. Multiple vet visits for field injuries, laminitis (from hay, in the depths of winter., while underweight...), foot through barbed wire fence + resultant colic & ulcers, cracked head open on stable door in deep snowy weather, skinned half of one leg... NFU were amazing but she cost them a fortune! And then there's the endless 4 meals a day during times in the year when my old girl struggled with her weight. Just no...

I hope Grace improves soon!

 

[Flowerofthefen]

Poor you, what a list!! I think it's horses for courses. I have a tb. Had him 5 years, only routine jabs and one other vist. Friend has ID, a few colic call outs and a couple of others.

 

[ponynutz]

How is she doing today?

 

[EternalVetBills]

Sorry for the late update, yesterday was a bit manic!

So she was much happier again yesterday morning and we got something out on the poultice. It wasn't pus, it was very bloody. The vets theory is that she has perhaps had a hematoma form around the puncture wound.
Unfortunately she came in very lame again last night and is still very unhappy this morning. We didn't get anything interesting out on the poultice this morning, but on a positive her coronet band looks like something might be brewing in there .
My normal vet is on the case now and doesn't think we should rush for an MRI for this particular injury. She thinks if we MRI we're likely to find out things we don't necessarily want to know and she doesn't feel like Grace is lame enough just yet to worry too much about her having damaged any structures in the foot.
She's coming out to see her tomorrow morning (was the weekend vet again today) so we'll make a plan together and go from there.
I'm not going to turn her out today because when I led her towards the field she just stopped and shut her eyes. I know if it is an abscess she should be out and moving, but she's not a silly mare and if she doesn't want to go out there's probably a good reason!

ETA: Having read that back it sounds like I'm ragging on the weekend vet. I'm not! She's been absolutely fantastic, but it just makes a big difference when the vet knows the horse well. My normal vet has been coming out to Grace for the entire time I've owned her and knows her like the back of her hand

 

[Chianti]

Poor you. I really sympathize as my last horse was a walking vet's bill. It's really stressful to live with and owners who have 'normal' horses don't really understand. One time- after another vet visit- I had a couple of glasses of wine to cope. I then did an A-Z of ailments and treatments she'd experienced over the years. There weren't many letters missing.

 

[splashgirl45]

I certainly wouldn’t blame you if you decided to call it a day. Her quality of life is the most important thing and what’s the point of an MRI if it’s going to cause her so much discomfort just to get there. Sorry you are having such bad luck with her , you sound like a very caring owner and you don’t deserve all this heartache, hope you and your vet can sort her out…

 

[Sossigpoker]

That kind of severe and sudden lameness from the foot could unfortunately be a DDFT injury. My old horse tore it so spectacularly I had to end his suffering and let him go.
MRI would confirm this but there's little that can be done in terms of treatment. So you may be sensible in considering what is fair for the horse to go through.

Having said that , I've known abscesses to take weeks to come out , so it may well still be that.
I've got everything crossed for you that you get some answers soon

 

[EternalVetBills]

That kind of severe and sudden lameness from the foot could unfortunately be a DDFT injury. My old horse tore it so spectacularly I had to end his suffering and let him go.
MRI would confirm this but there's little that can be done in terms of treatment. So you may be sensible in considering what is fair for the horse to go through.

Having said that , I've known abscesses to take weeks to come out , so it may well still be that.
I've got everything crossed for you that you get some answers soon

When I spoke to the vet on the phone tonight she also said we may have to consider the possibility of it being a DDFT tear. Although we haven't properly spoken about it, I think she knows me and Grace well enough to know what my decision would be in that instance. let's hope when she comes out tomorrow it's just a really nasty abscess/hematoma/weird thing that's easy to fix!

 

[Sossigpoker]

When I spoke to the vet on the phone tonight she also said we may have to consider the possibility of it being a DDFT tear. Although we haven't properly spoken about it, I think she knows me and Grace well enough to know what my decision would be in that instance. let's hope when she comes out tomorrow it's just a really nasty abscess/hematoma/weird thing that's easy to fix!

You never know , I know a horse brewing up an abscess for 8 weeks before it exploded out of the foot !