muckypony
Well-Known Member
So after a few days at the vets having lots of tests my little man came home yesterday, with the sad news that he has arthritis in his shoulder 
the vets seem to have a good 'plan of action' in place, but I'm devastated.
The cause of it is unknown, whether its primary or secondary, but the only way to find that out is to do a CT scan which because of his size and it's location, can only be done under GA which they don't want to do unless they have to. To add to it, the snotty nose was also not as 'easy' as first thought. He has a sinus infection which looks at though it's caused by one dodgy looking tooth (shown on Xray) although there's not fracture. He has been given a course of antibiotics for a month to see if that clears it, otherwise he will also need a CT scan on that to see what the actual problem is, then he may be looking at having a tooth removed which comes with a whole host of other issues.
For the arthritis, he had a steroid injection yesterday (I have always said I'd never have steroids due to lami, but I have not other option) and is home on bute for 3 weeks. Box rest for the weekend just to monitor him for lami, and then turnout in a small pen. By some miracle, the steroid could do the 'fixing' (if it's that the arthritis is maybe caused by a real strain on the joint I guess, pratting around in the field!) but he said that's unlikely. There are other options further down the line and he said that in his favor, I just want him to be a field ornament so it's not like I need him sound to attempt next years Shetland Pony Grand National, just field sound is fine. But his age is obviously against him
So he's got to go back in a month to see how he's getting on, shoulder and tooth, and go from there. I know not everyone will agree for whatever reasons and I appreciate those, but I think I need to try everything possible to keep him going for as long and as comfortably as I can. He's the happiest pony in the world, even after being prodded and poked every day! So I think it's only fair to try as much as I can, after all he is only 4.
If anyone has any similar experiences I would be glad to hear them. I do understand that the prognosis isn't good, but both vets are currently optimistic that he will have a good quality of like in the interim so we'll keep going. My cutest little needs some HHO vibes!
the vets seem to have a good 'plan of action' in place, but I'm devastated. The cause of it is unknown, whether its primary or secondary, but the only way to find that out is to do a CT scan which because of his size and it's location, can only be done under GA which they don't want to do unless they have to. To add to it, the snotty nose was also not as 'easy' as first thought. He has a sinus infection which looks at though it's caused by one dodgy looking tooth (shown on Xray) although there's not fracture. He has been given a course of antibiotics for a month to see if that clears it, otherwise he will also need a CT scan on that to see what the actual problem is, then he may be looking at having a tooth removed which comes with a whole host of other issues.
For the arthritis, he had a steroid injection yesterday (I have always said I'd never have steroids due to lami, but I have not other option) and is home on bute for 3 weeks. Box rest for the weekend just to monitor him for lami, and then turnout in a small pen. By some miracle, the steroid could do the 'fixing' (if it's that the arthritis is maybe caused by a real strain on the joint I guess, pratting around in the field!) but he said that's unlikely. There are other options further down the line and he said that in his favor, I just want him to be a field ornament so it's not like I need him sound to attempt next years Shetland Pony Grand National, just field sound is fine. But his age is obviously against him
So he's got to go back in a month to see how he's getting on, shoulder and tooth, and go from there. I know not everyone will agree for whatever reasons and I appreciate those, but I think I need to try everything possible to keep him going for as long and as comfortably as I can. He's the happiest pony in the world, even after being prodded and poked every day! So I think it's only fair to try as much as I can, after all he is only 4.
If anyone has any similar experiences I would be glad to hear them. I do understand that the prognosis isn't good, but both vets are currently optimistic that he will have a good quality of like in the interim so we'll keep going. My cutest little needs some HHO vibes!
