Gutted... what next? Self pitying post.

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SadKen

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My girl has had a long list of disease and treatment. So far both hocks have had two rounds of steroid, then been denerved with ethyl alcohol (one side requiring two goes). Cost: 3k on the insurance, 1.5k from me in the last 2 years. Xrays now clean with the caveat that the proximal joint will likely go arthritic over time. We've had a bad back and trapped nerve looked at by various vets and chiros. In the last 2 months this has cost £700 and counting. The trapped nerve seemed to be improving and today we went for what I hoped would be the final chiro treatment before we resume hacking for a month then schooling for a dressage comp at the end of July.

Boom. Bilaterally lame on both fronts on the lunge. Looking to the vet like navicular or arthritic coffin joint.

There is no money left. The insurance is finished and excluded for arthritis. My own vet would want xrays before deciding to shoe with bars in case it causes further issues, and the bars themselves are going to be prohibitively expensive when added to steroid for navicular (hock injections lasted 3 months so clearly not great for my horse). She also should have 6 monthly injections of osphos although she looks ok for that at the moment. Previously tried barefoot and she could not cope; I don't have the facilities to manage her to the necessary level as she is on livery.

I'm so gutted. She's only 12. I can't sustain this treatment realistically, I'm on livery and I can't retire her for the next 20 years at 400 a month plus at least 2k a year for treatment. Yet she is the most amazing horse and my good friend.

What do I do now? I have tried crying in the bath with a gin, but if anyone has anything else to suggest... rhetorical question really. I just don't like my options and need to moan about it. Sorry.
 
SadKen said:
My girl has had a long list of disease and treatment. So far both hocks have had two rounds of steroid, then been denerved with ethyl alcohol (one side requiring two goes). Cost: 3k on the insurance, 1.5k from me in the last 2 years. Xrays now clean with the caveat that the proximal joint will likely go arthritic over time. We've had a bad back and trapped nerve looked at by various vets and chiros. In the last 2 months this has cost £700 and counting. The trapped nerve seemed to be improving and today we went for what I hoped would be the final chiro treatment before we resume hacking for a month then schooling for a dressage comp at the end of July.

Boom. Bilaterally lame on both fronts on the lunge. Looking to the vet like navicular or arthritic coffin joint.

There is no money left. The insurance is finished and excluded for arthritis. My own vet would want xrays before deciding to shoe with bars in case it causes further issues, and the bars themselves are going to be prohibitively expensive when added to steroid for navicular (hock injections lasted 3 months so clearly not great for my horse). She also should have 6 monthly injections of osphos although she looks ok for that at the moment. Previously tried barefoot and she could not cope; I don't have the facilities to manage her to the necessary level as she is on livery.

I'm so gutted. She's only 12. I can't sustain this treatment realistically, I'm on livery and I can't retire her for the next 20 years at 400 a month plus at least 2k a year for treatment. Yet she is the most amazing horse and my good friend.

What do I do now? I have tried crying in the bath with a gin, but if anyone has anything else to suggest... rhetorical question really. I just don't like my options and need to moan about it. Sorry.
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So sorry :(

Horses can be such heartbreakers.
 
So sorry to read this, I cant offer any help but did not want to read and run. They really do break our hearts don't they. I hope someone else can come up with a solution for you.
 
Because she is the most amazing horse and your good friend, you will do the right thing by her. She might only be 12 in years but it sounds as if physically she is a very old horse, arthritis is a painful condition, very difficult to control in humans, never mind in horses who can't accurately tell you how they are feeling.

I am sorry that you are having to deal with this.
 
No solutions here either :( so very sorry to read this, you really have done your absolute best for her. It sucks when you get backed into a corner like this. Moan away if it helps at all :(
 
Very sorry to read this but please please do the right thing and put her out of her misery. To echo another earlier different poster, sometimes we need to think of the horse and not our emotions. Things may be possible but they need to be right too and your poor horse will never be able to enjoy being a horse, even with all the money and facilities in the world. With animals comes a bigger responsibility and we can at least, do this decision right. It is heartbreaking for us but realistically, the quality of life will never be there. I urge you to do the vRey best thing you CAN do and give her a dignified end.
 
Thanks for the kind thoughts folks.

She's not at the point where I need to PTS right now (and believe me I am very comfortable with doing this when I feel it's necessary). I also won't leave her untreated and uncomfortable, but she isn't uncomfortable out in the field and is probably sound enough to hack lightly for a while yet (straight lines ok in walk trot and canter after about 10-15 mins, it's circles that are an issue). I don't actually like hacking much, but she loves it.

It's just gutting. She's the perfect horse except for this stuff but for the first time I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle. I'd be fine with keeping her paddock sound for years if I had my own land but it's not practical at livery. PTS will be for economic reasons and while I've always said that I'm prepared to do it even for economic reasons, it's very tough when it's your good friend.
 
Many of us have all been there take some time get her some Danilon and make her comfy and happy and think it through
Her feet may come pain free without shoes
But she’s got alot going on and you can’t make it ok for all of them
I am so sorry you are going through this
 
I guess a final option is to whip the shoes off and find a cheap grass livery where she could be out full time as a last ditch effort. I doubt she would manage without shoes based on prev experience. She would be fine to retire fully without shoes if she never had to walk on a hard surface again but it's pretty impractical and expensive.

Urgh.

I really thought I'd come through the other side after all the hock issues. I've owned her since she was 7 and she's had a massively easy life with me; conformationally she's great so I can only assume we have been massively unlucky. I just do not have any luck with horses. I won't find another with her easy to do temperament, that's for damn sure.
 
I do know of a very good podiatrist in your area (assuming you are in NE Wales) if you want a second go at going barefoot. In the last 6 months since I’ve had him, he has transformed the feet of all my 3, all of who have various issues. He is not expensive - he charges £35 per horse for my three, a bit more for a single horse. He gives a lot of support through transition with advice on booting etc.

Did you use a farrier or a podiatrist before? I was reluctant to change from my pretty decent farrier, but I did in the end. My vet was stunned at how their feet have improved since then.

I’ll pm you his contact details in case you think it’s worth a try.
 
Tiddlypom said:
I do know of a very good podiatrist in your area (assuming you are in NE Wales) if you want a second go at going barefoot. In the last 6 months since I’ve had him, he has transformed the feet of all my 3, all of who have various issues. He is not expensive - he charges £35 per horse for my three, a bit more for a single horse. He gives a lot of support through transition with advice on booting etc.

Did you use a farrier or a podiatrist before? I was reluctant to change from my pretty decent farrier, but I did in the end. My vet was stunned at how their feet have improved since then.

I’ll pm you his contact details in case you think it’s worth a try.
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Thank you, appreciated. Farrier last time, her heels were very underrun at the back where I'd taken the shoes off and ended up with mild suspensory damage as a result. She has better feet now with a higher heel. My vet feels that shoes are necessary in her case and I am reluctant to go against his advice, although i am generally a barefoot enthusiast. I have to bear in mind that I can't do paddock paradise and there is a finite amount of time for me and the YO to spend on management. I'm definitely not averse to it but I think it will be barefoot or bust, and I don't like bust much! Although we are very nearly out of options anyway.
 
could you leave front shoes on and find grass livery for the summer . you would have less weekly expense and could have her shod every 6 to 8 weeks and only fronts would be cheaper. that would give her a nice holiday and you time to think what you want to do. you could try taking fronts off after a while to see if she copes and decide from there. sorry you have had such bad luck...
 
There reaches a point where you just have to accept they are crock and no amount of fancy vet intervention will magically cure all.

Take her shoes off (or maybe just the backs until winter), give her a bute a day and find her a nice herd to join on retirement.

See how you both feel about that and then you will have more head space down the line to make whatever decision you feel is best.
 
If she is field sound could she go to an embryo transfer centre as a recipient mare on a breeding programme? The only people that do this usually have very valuable foals and would look after the mare really well. You would have to be confident that she is sound enough to run with a foal at foot.
 
Some good ideas guys thank you. I think I'll feel a bit more equal to the decisions ahead after a kip; there are a few things left to try and I do want to exhaust as much as I can before I give up. She is such a sweetheart. Even if I can get her sound to hack there is the option to loan her to the right person (she isn't afraid of ANYTHING and is the closest thing to a robot horse that I've ever met for hacking on her own or with others). One thing is for sure:as my good friend I will always make sure she is safe and happy.

Bit more gin and everything will be fine, for tonight at least!
 
If she's field sound, I would turn away for a while to let you all breathe a little. I've been in a similar position with an 11 year old, unfortunately I was struggling to keep her field sound (tried everything :( ) and after she ripped her hind leg apart (3rd major injury in as many months) I opted to PTS because I didn't believe she would have any quality of life with a stuffed fore and hind leg on the same side and I couldn't have watched a horse who previously loved running reduced to hobbling around my field.

I guess if you have reached the end of the road, don't feel guilty for making that decision. I hope you do find a solution that works for her.
 
Gosh your situation is very similar to my mare. Apart from the trapped nerve, she had the same issues - ks, hocks, navicular. Tried many things but in the end it was rest, shoes off and the right environment that worked best for her. She’s in light work on grass livery and being fabulously well looked after by Auslander. I hope things improve for you x
 
I went through almost exactly the same progression (without the trapped nerve), except we treated the coffin joint and then the fronts went again - navicular. The horse was 12, with super conformation, and it was a heart breaking two years. I took shoes off and turned her away: four months in she was vastly improved in front - the vet said "transformed". I got on her once more, for five minutes, and there was hope we could have a hacking future. Shortly after that, though, the hocks got worse again. She had six months more in the field and we put her down. It was awful, and that's the end of ownership for me; I cannot do that ever again. But a year in the field, at a considerable physical distance, certainly helped my head.

You do have to think about the finances, and you mustn't feel bad about it. I worked out that I would be spending at least £30,000 even for grass livery, if she lasted until her mid-twenties. Others may think that's a fair price to pay, but it wasn't for me - especially with constant worry.

Take some time, but you need to do the right thing for both of you. Huge hugs.
 
What a tough time you both are having. My sisters horse had a lot of issues, ddft injuries, surgery, laminitis, ems, 4 years ago he looked like an old man at deaths door. Shoes came off and we had several years of really difficult transition trying to manage his environment, feed and hoof care. Being unsure if we were doing the right thing by him. Now at 20 years old he looks the best I have ever seen him. His ridden work is incredible, getting really light and up, he is able to jump again and hack out for hours. He’s a very happy horse. But it did take super careful management, an excellent remedial farrier who understood rehabilitating barefoot, a fab-bloody-tactic instructor who taught us how to work him to get him balanced through all 4 limbs to minimise strains on joints that come about through lateral or vertical imbalances. That’s the focus of all his ridden work. We are going less and less down the vet medication route and more along the holistic whole body approach. I have to admit we are extremely lucky that we could manage his environment the way he needed, if you are confined to livery it’s a lot harder I know.
 
It was a lot of years ago now, but having run out of money and insurance I had my 9 year old PTS after a summer in the field. I couldn't get him sound enough to even cope with light work consistently, he was a sharp blood horse wasn't happy out in all weathers and didn't really much like being out of work
 
Feeling a bit better after a sleep, and I think I have a plan.

The plan is to whip shoes off this week and have a BF trimmer trim her feet rather than the farrier. She will have the summer out 24/7 to start feeling and growing her feet, including the front frogs which are very contracted and not likely to be acting as any sort of cushion at the moment. I'll boot with advice from the trimmer where necessary and I'm going to keep hacking her, because she is relatively comfy in straight lines and fine anyway after a few mins. I need to keep her moving (she is strip grazed and lazy so won't move enough in the field) as I need to keep the weight off and keep everything circulating. She can have bute if needs be while transitioning. At the end of the summer I will reassess and see how I can best manage her in winter as although I have daily turnout it's obviously not as long. I work during the day so can't hack except at the weekend and she will be standing in mud or her stable. But those are management issues for another day. If she isn't coping I will consider PTS but at least I will have tried everything within my realistic power at that point.

My gut says this is the right thing to do; hopefully having knowledgeable support will make the difference this time.
 
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