George Update - not good news

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Gorgeous George

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My vet rang yesterday eve with George's scan results and it wasn't good news :( he has got proximal suspensory desmitis (think I've got that right?) of his right hind with some bony damage where the ligament joins the cannon bone :(

He has advised that conservative treatment which would be months of box rest and shockwave therapy would give us a 35-40% chance of recovery. Or he can have the neurectomy and fasciotomy surgery which would give us a 75-80% chance of recovery, plus less box rest (George is not good being in).

Bit shell shocked to be honest, vet is giving me some time to think and I am going to have a chat with him and see the scans when I pick George up this afternoon.

Feeling very :(:(:( this morning.
 
Oh god GG :(

I have followed your posts with him for years, he is such a lovely, lovely boy.

I think I would do option 2. How old is he?

Good luck whatever you decide and lots of healing vibes being sent to George xx
 
Really sorry to hear this.

Do you have the option of simply retiring him to the field without either treatment?
 
I'm crying as I type this, I can't believe it has happened :( only 8 weeks ago he won his first novice BD test and was going so well.

He will be 14 in October, I don't really have an option to retire him unless I absolutely have to. I want to try something to see if we can get him sound, even if I end up retiring him in the future.

I just can't believe it :(
 
Oh no. Poor George. I often look at your posts and he is such a lovely boy.

I think I agree with Perfect Pirouette about option 2 but my knowledge base is small.

Hope you have some supportive, knowledgeable people around you to help you make your decision.

I'll keep my fingers crossed.
 
Gorgeous George said:
I'm crying as I type this, I can't believe it has happened :( only 8 weeks ago he won his first novice BD test and was going so well.

He will be 14 in October, I don't really have an option to retire him unless I absolutely have to. I want to try something to see if we can get him sound, even if I end up retiring him in the future.

I just can't believe it :(
Click to expand...

I can only imagine :(

14 is so young to be a field ornament. I would go with the surgery.
 
GG - think you need to start a post in Veterinary about the surgery - to see what others experience of it are.

Does he have good hind limb conformation?
 
So sad for you. It is deeply gutting to get news like this but I know from experience that even with terrible recovery chances, things can improve massively as they did with my old mare. Never give up hope that George will be ok again one day.

Speak with your vet, ask him to be blatantly honest with you and not spare your feelings and you'll get a really realistic prognosis for each of the options.

Wishing you both the very best of luck xx
 
Oh no - I have followed your adventures with George over the years and been one of many who has a real soft spot for him.

I hope you can get some good advice and find a course of treatment that gives him every chance to recover and continue having fun with you.

I really am so very sorry, it must be devastating for you.

Huge, huge hugs. xx :(
 
So sorry to hear this. You always come across as a lovely owner and GG is lucky to have you.

Best of luck with all the good advice on here and from your vets whatever you decide.
 
My mare had the neurectomy last year. My vet said the chances of the shockwave treatment working long term were low and likelihood was we'd need to do the surgery a year or two down the ljne but by that point she wouldn't be covered by insurance and I couldn't afford it without.

My mare had her surgery in Sept abdand is back in work, schooling hacking and jumping. Im not a great rider so its not like we're piaffing our way round and jumping 4ft courses butfor me to eeven get her back to hacking was better than nothing. She was 14 when she had the surgery too.

For me it qas an option of retire and potentially looking at pts in the not too far distant future as she wasn't field sound and it wasn't fair on her, or give the surgery a shot as I hadn't really got much to lose.

On the other hand, when I was having the same debate in my head, my instructor told me not to do it as hers had had it and not come right.

I don't regret it for a second but its your decision and whatever you decide will be the right thing for you and your horse
 
My second hand experience of shockwave is that unless it's done right after the injury it isn't a brilliant course of treatment and doesn't have great results - most horses I know who've had shockwave have gone on to have the surgery anyway. So I personally wouldn't bother with shockwave on any of mine.

The surgery on the other hand is extremely effective and there are a lot of top level horses who've had it done (all be it below the radar as technically you're not supposed to compete affiliated once it's been done - but I know of some 4* horses who've had it done). I wouldn't be too gloomy - I would have thought the surgery is a really viable option for returning him to work at the level you do.
 
Oh bless you. Im another who follows your adventures with George and I know how much he means to you. I know nothing about this type of injury so cant offer any advice but hopefully you will be getting good advice to help you decide. Looking at the 2 options you have been offered number 2 sounds the better bet, less box rest and a higher chance of recovery but sadly, only you really know what's best for George. Tough times ahead for you both but I do know, from all you have written on here in the past, that you will be putting George first and making the best decisions for him. A good friend of mine has a 15 year old TB x Shire and competes BD with him. He has had his problems, mainly arthritic changes to the hocks (I think!) but with care and treatment he is still competing happily and still regularly takes off with her round the local bridleways!!! I will keep fingers crossed for you and hope to hear some better news soon x
 
Sorry to hear this, my mare had the neuretomy (cut the nerve in both hind legs), she was sound for about 6 months after but then the nerve grew back causing her excrutiating pain. I would never put one of my horses through it again. She had the shockwave treatment first even though the vets said it wouldn't work (it was a requirement of the insurance though). I wanted to do best for her but seems that leaving her legs and retiring her as a companion would of been the better idea, which is what she does now. She hated the box rest side of it too so I think I really made the wrong decision for her going through the operation. The vets ensured me that the nerve growing back was very rare, but if you google it, it seems quite common!

I know its not what you'd want to hear and people do have positive stories but I would never recommend the operation.

All the best to you both xx
 
Hey, didnt want to read and run. my 6yr old is currently on week 4 of box rest and has had 2 shockwave treatments so far, next one on the 19th. he has psd in both hind and navicular in front. i didnt think he would cope with box rest but he has so far, after a couple of days i let him out into a stable sized paddock during the day and he was in overnight. he now has the door open on his stable so he can go out to a small paddock as and when he pleases. To keep him entertained i hung up swedes and made fruit kebabs, saltlicks, balls, haynets spread about etc.
I know this may not work for your boy but its worth a shot?
Big hugs coming your way, i know how devastating it is to get the news. sending lots of vibes to George xx
 
Just wanted to send {{}} Hugs to you. No experience of this but one of mine had to go through surgery last month so I know how stressful it can be. I'm confident you will make the decision that is right for both of you. x
 
Oh no!! I absolutely love George! Have followed your posts for years and always admired him

I was in a similar situation a few years back (completely different injury/surgery) but I understand that feeling of utter shock and sadness and fear of possible surgery. It was SUCH a difficult time for me, sending Roo 3 hours away for a week and not being able to see her, but we got through it.
I would go with the surgery, it will give you a greater chance of him coming right :)
I have everything crossed for you both xx
 
I wouldn't bother with the shockwave and would go straight for surgery.
If you are covered under insurance ask for a referral to Rossdales and get it done by Andy Bathe, he is a bit arrogant but he has pretty much pioneered this surgery.
I had one done about 3 years ago now and wouldn't hesitate to do it again, the process was smooth with no complications and the horse wasn't in any significant discomfort afterwards (literally just had a couple of sachets of bute for a few days).

You'd need to set aside 6 months or so for the shortish period of post operation care and then the slow build up afterwards, but it goes pretty quickly.

I sold the horse that had it done, not due to the surgery but because the horse wasn't right for me long term, the horse is still in regular work 3 + years on
 
I agree, go to Andy. He basically came up with the idea and I personally quite like him!

You wouldn't believe how many horses competing a a very high level have had it done. Friends horse had it dome and seemed utterly unconcerned by it :)
 
I know this seems like bad news at the minute, but really it isn't. There are loads more serious conditions. I would LOVE it if that was all that was wrong with either of my horses or a couple of others on the yard,, because the op itself is keyhole and the rehab is so easy, as well as being very successful.

I would definitely go for the op. At this time of year he does not need to be in a stable for box rest, but can be out in a small pen inside a paddock with other horses in. A cob at my yard has just had the op on both hocks and has fully recovered (just had check up scan and given the all clear). The strict box rest is only for two weeks, after which they can have controlled walking for 40 minutes a day. This can be on a horse walker, in hand, or ridden. After 8 weeks of this, they can have full turnout. This is the second horse I have rehabbed from this op and both were done without needing to put them in a stable!
 
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Thank you all for your kind words and support, I am erring towards having the op as the prognosis is so much better and my vet says that is for full return to work. If George was pain free and could be a happy hacker that would be good enough for me.

Seeing the vet (and more importantly George :)) later on today, will let you know how I get on.

thanks again :)
 
So sorry to hear that the news was bad. I have no experience of anything like this, but just wanted to say that I wish you and George all the best luck in the world for whichever route you go down. It's plain from all the other supportive threads that you are a very caring and loyal owner, so I'm sure that you will do your very best for George.
 
Very sorry to hear this. I've always followed your & George's progress.

All the best with whatever you decide, & have some (((hugs)))

T x
 
I am so sorry hunny.

I had the chance to think about surgery for Tiggy, at least I thought it was a chance so researched the neurorectomy. As it turned out Tigs' damage was too far gone, but I wouldn't have had it done anyway.

You'll do your own research and do what's right for your lad and for you.

Hugs.
 
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