Has anybody given up on their horse due to setbacks ..

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opinionuk

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As the subject says, has anybody ever given up on a Horse due to continue setbacks ..
I brought my Mare as a 4 year old to event in the future during the last 2 and a half years below is a catalogue of problems that she's had.

I have never had a full season competing her, i'm almost thinking that she breaks down the more I ask her to do, probably my imagination as she only does Riding Club level and one BE event, nothing over 2'9.
She is super talented and when shes sound seems to love what she does but I'm getting so disappointed having to pull out of numerous events that we have entered due to setbacks i'm beginning to think it wasn't meant to be....

​Intermittent Lameness – out of action 3 months
1. Found out linked to Kissing Spine – off for another 3 months working long and low and treatment
2. Tendon on the knee from kicking stable door – out of action for 12 weeks.
3. Windgall on hind leg – now bandaged at night
4. Hormonal problems to extent couldn't ride (now on regumate) – out of action every fornight for about 5 days
5. Foot Absesses – out of action 2 weeks
6. Deep gash on shoulder – out of action a few days
7. Current suspected problem – Gastric Ulcers (on healthy tummy and Succeed) seems to be working but some days can't ride her apart from hack in walk– still being ridden on vets advise but not overly happy riding if she is uncomfortable, 2 weeks then she will be scanned.

​So now really paranoid about everything I do with her, I'm sure my vet thinks I am a ​hypochondriac! Should I ride her, shouldn't I ride her etc etc

​She regularly has her back checked, teeth done, saddle fitting checked, checked for ​lameness.

​She is such a talented mare when she is 'right' for example she stopped at a fence the ​other day so now concerned her back is sore and problems with KS again or ulcers are ​evident.

​Its getting silly now and feel embarrassed when I have to ring the insurance company ​or vet, she only has one leg left to claim on now!

​My previous horses have never needed the vet apart from jabs etc so it seems odd that this ​one is a walking nightmare!
​Feel like giving up on her ..
 
Not yet, with either Bee or Reg. Reg is different because he has just had low level problems that keep reappearing but appear to now be manageable. Bee, however is not quite 6 and has this arsenal of injuries to her name:

1) Broke leg, and it needed pinning
2) Colic (because a broken leg isn't stressful enough)
3) Sliced her knee open, an injury which took 6 weeks to heal sufficiently for ridden work
4) Whilst her knee was cut, she got the worst bandage bind most people have ever see, and needed 3 months off to fully recover from that (and is still scabby, coming up to 6 months later)
5) The above injury lead to tendon scares, but luckily she was ok!
6) She tied up due to a reaction with Regumate, and was completely crippled, hardly able to move and not wanting to eat or drink. Now, she's recovering well and should be back in business in the next 2 weeks...

But no, not given up on her yet. I'm not sure if the fact Al has nothing else, and Bee is rather awesome when she plays nicely, factors largely. I can imagine that most people would have given up on her when she broke her leg...
 
Yes in all honesty I have, had a gelding that was out of work more often than not. He had over 2 yrs off in 3yrs!!
Like yours when sound and right was sooo talented hence why i perserved for so long but something would go wrong every few months!! He had legs made of glass im sure!! He tore his achilles tendon, capped his knee, broke his jaw, numerous abcesses, infected cut to knee joint, splints,gastric ulcers, check ligament, final straw was when he threw me off (spooking at a deer jumping out!) galloped home and slipped and fractured his shoulder! He would eventually have come right but I made the decision to PTS aged 8, he didnt cope well with box rest and had cost my insurance company thousands. I could never have passed him onto someone else so feel I made the right decision.

Owning horses is supposed to be fun, but all i seemed to be doing was looking after a self harming horse on box rest when all I wanted to do was get on and ride!

Only you can make a decision on her future though, many people thought i should have rehabbed him, all well for them to say when they're out competing every weekend on their sound sane horses!! Good luck on what you decide, have been there and know how you feel
:-)
 
OP I feel your pain. I bought my young WB in September 2010 - he was ridden for a few short months, but after bucking over his ears (he's 17hh) with my daughter just in walk asking for a little inside bend in January 2011 - we ceased riding him. He was extremely aggressive - scoped for ulcers - he was found to have low grade ones, which were treated and of course we all realised these were likely only symptomatic of a more serious problem.
I had some alternative therapies done which showed a problem with his r/h upper hind. He was referred to Newmarket to Sue Dyson's lameness clinic in June 2011. He was diagnosed with chronic SI dysfunction and I got LOU for my horse. He was treated by a physio and sent to a holistic vet for osteopathy treatment. I turned him away in September 2011 and he was very lightly restarted late last summer. The poor weather meant I postponed starting him properly and I think all these things turn out for areason, I now am working with a fabulous trainer who is an expert on straightness and rehab work and he is coming on tremendously in hand at the moment. I hope to start riding him this summer.
A long long haul from my Sept 2010 purchase :( but finally I hope to have a happy pain free horse. He was so nearly pts in the first 12 months.

So yes a long road, but it sounds like your mare is worth the stress. I wonder if her ulcers are symptomatic of another problem/pain? I had an iridolgy report done which was very precise and accurate and inexpensive.
 
I forgot about Colic! Yes she's had that aswell


Lolo said:
Not yet, with either Bee or Reg. Reg is different because he has just had low level problems that keep reappearing but appear to now be manageable. Bee, however is not quite 6 and has this arsenal of injuries to her name:

1) Broke leg, and it needed pinning
2) Colic (because a broken leg isn't stressful enough)
3) Sliced her knee open, an injury which took 6 weeks to heal sufficiently for ridden work
4) Whilst her knee was cut, she got the worst bandage bind most people have ever see, and needed 3 months off to fully recover from that (and is still scabby, coming up to 6 months later)
5) The above injury lead to tendon scares, but luckily she was ok!
6) She tied up due to a reaction with Regumate, and was completely crippled, hardly able to move and not wanting to eat or drink. Now, she's recovering well and should be back in business in the next 2 weeks...

But no, not given up on her yet. I'm not sure if the fact Al has nothing else, and Bee is rather awesome when she plays nicely, factors largely. I can imagine that most people would have given up on her when she broke her leg...
Click to expand...
 
Not given up as such but resigned to just low level stuff and have now got another to hopefully event on. All was going fine until he was 6yrs but then had lameness that wasnt fully resolved and so had a year off - he's now 13yrs. Have exclusions on

a)Pelvis & back related
b)Stifle
c)Right fetlock
d)Ulcers (this is the most recent one)

Not worth insuring him now really but too scared to stop the premiums. The insurance company has forked out in the region of £12k over the years.

It seems that some horses are full of problems and he is one of them. So I feel your pain. However, most of his problems were around 6/7 yrs old and they did seem to settle down. The ulcers is a new one though- he seems to like to follow the current fashion, thankfully he's seems to have missed the kissing spine one (must be mad even mentioning that!)
 
yep i have a disaster of one as well. Broke my heart with various issues, and injuries including kissing spine and sacroiliac injuries. I ended up throwing him out last winter full time in a retirement field for half a year and bought a new ISH. I absolutely love having a horse (touch wood) is perfect for competitions and have no issues.

I even feel confident enough to take the other lad out of retirement and bring him slowly back into work. I had gotten so frustrated not being able to do anything with him! At least I have the other one that I can go out and enjoy myself with.
 
She had a full set of bloods taken which came back ok so at least something's ok!

I think the KS and off hind intermittent lameness are related, she has been sound for last 3 months touch wood but she is so stiff on right rein they have to be linked in my opinion but physio and vet disagree.
I also think hormones and ulcers are linked but again the vet disagrees, I mentioned last year when the vet said hormones that I thought it was ulcers as she is a stress head but the regumate worked so guess I was wrong!

YasandCrystal said:
OP I feel your pain. I bought my young WB in September 2010 - he was ridden for a few short months, but after bucking over his ears (he's 17hh) with my daughter just in walk asking for a little inside bend in January 2011 - we ceased riding him. He was extremely aggressive - scoped for ulcers - he was found to have low grade ones, which were treated and of course we all realised these were likely only symptomatic of a more serious problem.
I had some alternative therapies done which showed a problem with his r/h upper hind. He was referred to Newmarket to Sue Dyson's lameness clinic in June 2011. He was diagnosed with chronic SI dysfunction and I got LOU for my horse. He was treated by a physio and sent to a holistic vet for osteopathy treatment. I turned him away in September 2011 and he was very lightly restarted late last summer. The poor weather meant I postponed starting him properly and I think all these things turn out for areason, I now am working with a fabulous trainer who is an expert on straightness and rehab work and he is coming on tremendously in hand at the moment. I hope to start riding him this summer.
A long long haul from my Sept 2010 purchase :( but finally I hope to have a happy pain free horse. He was so nearly pts in the first 12 months.

So yes a long road, but it sounds like your mare is worth the stress. I wonder if her ulcers are symptomatic of another problem/pain? I had an iridolgy report done which was very precise and accurate and inexpensive.
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I can't afford another one else I would have gone down that route aswell.
My trainer says just get on with it and ride her but I wouldn't dream of riding her if there are signs of pain :-(



paddi22 said:
yep i have a disaster of one as well. Broke my heart with various issues, and injuries including kissing spine and sacroiliac injuries. I ended up throwing him out last winter full time in a retirement field for half a year and bought a new ISH. I absolutely love having a horse (touch wood) is perfect for competitions and have no issues.

I even feel confident enough to take the other lad out of retirement and bring him slowly back into work. I had gotten so frustrated not being able to do anything with him! At least I have the other one that I can go out and enjoy myself with.
Click to expand...
 
I retired one because the financial/time/emotional input to keep him sound was just too high.

He was too sharp for a quieter life under saddle so is now a lawnmower.

I have another on field rest after injury at the moment who I think will probably end up loaned out as a fun horse rather than a competition horse, his 6 month on scans show no improvement unfortunately. He will however make someone a cracking hack, sponsored ride, possible hunt, 2'6 kind of a horse.
 
Some horses do seem to be unusually 'hard luck' and/or fragile. We are so conditioned now to keep going, whatever the costs, that it can be difficult to decide how to proceed at times. Unfortunately it's also highly situational/personal and there is almost never a clear 'right' answer. Even though we're not allowed to say it now I think it does sometimes come down to how much you 'like' the horse, not because of pride or what you have invested, but simple feeling.

I have met horses that were just weak. Some of it is down to the individual, I'm sure, other aspects are likely conditioned. But all of that is moot, really, by the time it starts to matter.

People tend not to like the details of the more 'attrition based' systems of horse production but to some extent they are designed to address this issue. It's all very well to feel badly for stallions that break down or fail during gradings, for instance, but that is at least partially the point of the exercise. . .. .

I will say - also an unpopular statement - I've seen horses fail in one situation and thrive in another. Sometimes with the same rider, sometimes not. Not even necessarily in the way people might expect! I know someone very experienced who struggled with a very difficult show jumper and finally effectively gave it away to the relatively less experienced event rider she got to ride it for her. Horse is now a star.

I know a dressage horse that struggled to stay sound with his original YR owner, went on to jump GPs and then as an amateur horse for years.

Some horses are just physically and mentally happier doing a different job.

Also, people are almost always limited in the kind of life they can give a horse. We all want to think we are doing everything possible but in fact all we can do is what we can do.

This is not to say give up. Or not. It's just that sometimes the voice in your head is speaking sense, whichever way it's telling you to go.
 
Yes, all the time. I lost all 3 of my mares, one each year, from 2008-2010 and it hadn't been an easy road with any of them for many numerous reasons.

I bought a gelding after I lost first may and not only did he transpire to be the spawn of Satan but he had physical problems that caused issues. All relatively easy fixes remedied by feeding him right, a LOT of dental work, feet balanced and seen by an EBW. He kicked himself (for a change!) on a hind fetlock to the bone so that was 10wks box rest. Not fun with a savage!! I did manage to crack it and he ended up a nice, well mannered horse but I was done in and sold him to a fantastic home down south. Sadly he died 2 mths later in his field for no obvious reason (he'd been seen by lots of vets prior and nothing ever picked up. Just one of those things).

I just deleted everything as it was pretty epic and very depressing!

Current horse not been under saddle for 2yrs 5mths due to various reasons. Last practice put in writing that he's not suitable as a riding horse in their opinion. This was after the surgery that prior to said if he got through it then he would. Despite their practice vet checking him and saying suitable for purpose before I purchased him now they are saying he never was??

Loads more mistruths from vets added to the stress. Needless to say when I found out I ditched them. New practice had to redo the big procedure to get all the infection out. He's just coming back into work and is 100% sound over all surfaces and handwalking over 1hr a day to start conditioning work, riding in 2wks if all continues.

When I get down about it, and trust me I do, I use my twisted side to spur me on. I'm pretty determined to show the ex-practice just how wrong they were.

Why do we do it again?!?
 
I know what you mean, she's an ISH but quite fine, she seems to love SJ, hates dressage and a bit green in xc, I find it difficult although I don't really have a strong bond with her, she goes into the ring or xc she seems to know she's got a job to do and will try her little heart out which makes it difficult to assess whether she is in pain or not, although she has put in a few stops recently which isn't like her so has made me wonder, here she a month or so ago seems to be enjoying herself!
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=yoSLcWl0xxE
But here is her stopping last week not like her to be unenthusiastic :-(
http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=relmfu&v=YjlNyk5pCNc

I'm getting so paranoid




TarrSteps said:
Some horses do seem to be unusually 'hard luck' and/or fragile. We are so conditioned now to keep going, whatever the costs, that it can be difficult to decide how to proceed at times. Unfortunately it's also highly situational/personal and there is almost never a clear 'right' answer. Even though we're not allowed to say it now I think it does sometimes come down to how much you 'like' the horse, not because of pride or what you have invested, but simple feeling.

I have met horses that were just weak. Some of it is down to the individual, I'm sure, other aspects are likely conditioned. But all of that is moot, really, by the time it starts to matter.

People tend not to like the details of the more 'attrition based' systems of horse production but to some extent they are designed to address this issue. It's all very well to feel badly for stallions that break down or fail during gradings, for instance, but that is at least partially the point of the exercise. . .. .

I will say - also an unpopular statement - I've seen horses fail in one situation and thrive in another. Sometimes with the same rider, sometimes not. Not even necessarily in the way people might expect! I know someone very experienced who struggled with a very difficult show jumper and finally effectively gave it away to the relatively less experienced event rider she got to ride it for her. Horse is now a star.

I know a dressage horse that struggled to stay sound with his original YR owner, went on to jump GPs and then as an amateur horse for years.

Some horses are just physically and mentally happier doing a different job.

Also, people are almost always limited in the kind of life they can give a horse. We all want to think we are doing everything possible but in fact all we can do is what we can do.

This is not to say give up. Or not. It's just that sometimes the voice in your head is speaking sense, whichever way it's telling you to go.
Click to expand...
 
My personal opinion is that, if you have tried your best for the horse, and you are not getting any pleasure out of it, get one that is!
 
I am in a similar situation, I can only afford (just) one horse, my horse was brought to event, I have not actually got to that point but I really rate him, he moves like a dream and has endless scope but..... Last year he was diagnosed with KS, had the surgery did all the rehab got to the point where we could do normal things, went XC schooling and he went lame the next day :( 6 months later we have diagnosed navicular, done all the usual things to get him right but he is still lame, just made the decision to turn him away for a year to see if that works. I can't have another one whilst he is here but I can't part with him :(
 
I'd agree with Wench but I can see your dilemna OP.

I have a TB ex racer which I tried firstly to event, then dressage. Over the 10 years of trying to compete, amongst the successes in the dressage arena we had endless heartache. He had ulcers, kissing spine, a tendon injury, various foot problems, odd illnesses, numerous self inflicted injuries.

It was actually a huge relief when my vet said to put him out in the field for 6 months and if he doesn't improve with rest then retire him.

During the 6 month rest period I bought myself a pony to bring on to sell. That was 3 yers ago, the TB hasn't come right and is just a lawnmower and the pony is giving me so much fun I wish I had stopped attempting to ride the TB years ago. I actually can't believe how much I battled on when all it was causing was more agro and expense than any pleasure for either me or the horse.

I'm lucky that I have my own land where I can turn the TB out and not incur livery costs otherwise I would probably be left with a harder decision as he is far too dangerous to sell or loan. Its a very difficult and personal decision though.
 
I turned mine away for 6 months came back sound and ready for work, glad to be ridden I think, went out competing good as gold then just went stale on me, didn't want to go forward, lashing out when went to touch her sides hence the possible ulcers, she's better since on supplement but seems depressed once in school, can horses get depressed! Lol
Hack her out and she's really up for it, spooking and prancing, think she's trying to tell me hacking is all she wants to do.



WellyBaggins said:
I am in a similar situation, I can only afford (just) one horse, my horse was brought to event, I have not actually got to that point but I really rate him, he moves like a dream and has endless scope but..... Last year he was diagnosed with KS, had the surgery did all the rehab got to the point where we could do normal things, went XC schooling and he went lame the next day :( 6 months later we have diagnosed navicular, done all the usual things to get him right but he is still lame, just made the decision to turn him away for a year to see if that works. I can't have another one whilst he is here but I can't part with him :(
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Wench that's a fair point but what do you do with the one you've got? It's an easier decision when there is something tangible wrong; harder when its either " nothing" or lots of little and/or fixable things.

I'm not against pts; far worse fates out there than being pts at home.

I've said, twice now, one more thing and that's the end of the road. First time the situation ( caused by other people just to make it more frustrating) wasn't as bad as I feared so sucked it up and carried on. Second time was brought on as a result from the box rest caused by situ one. Neither were a fault on the horses side. 15wks of box rest later and I've got a sound horse, back on normal turnout and making good progress on his proper fitness program.
 
OpinionUK - yes I think they can get depressed. Wk15 of his last box rest and one day it was like the lights went out. So it was a case of screw waiting for the ground to dry a bit and out he went. Normality returned.

He's amazing on box rest, was getting small walks out to graze and snack balls/blocks etc so I don't know what changed in him. Turning out too soon could have blown everything but I just had to chance it.
 
I see your dilema daily! I've never managed to compete my horse in the 2yrs and a 7 months I've had him, early few months of no saddle to fit, no transport then injury struck:

1. Lack of saddle 4 weeks to find one to fit! Followed by a virus 2 weeks off
2. Sarcoid above eye resulting in surgery 2 months off
3. Barb wire injury 2 weeks off
4. Barb wire injury 2 (inc skin graft) 3 1/2 months off
5. Front inside suspensory ligament pulled 4 months off
6. Kick resulting in fracture 4 months off
7. Kick 2 resulting in refracture 4 months off
8. Strained tendon off hind currently trying to come bac from this after 6 weeks box rest

I've had 2 good spells of riding punctuated by not so much and on bad days I feel like giving up, I just hope the tendon injury resolves and I can forget the bad days even if we can hack as I love spending time with him (good job really!) I'll know in 3 weeks time if controlled exercise is doing its trick.... To be fair he normally heals quicker than expected but I don't if thats because i have an over cautious vet!
 
I feel your pain, I have had a constant battle with my horse from day 1 with kissing spine, its almost been 2 years, It was really getting me down, we tried various treatments but in the ended i opted for surgery and am now back riding. The only thing that stopped me from giving up on the horse was the fact the he has such a nice temperament, if it hadnt been for that I would of given up.

I imagine its even worse when there are various issues but all are treatable, keep soldering on, when the horse comes right it will be a lovely feeling xx
 
I get frustrated with the lack of turnout she has, she's out for 6 hours and in for 18 far too long in a box if you ask me, she's a marish mare and gets stressed in an American barn style that the horses are in as she has a corner box, don't really want to move her as her stable is massive, it would be like going from a penthouse apartment to a travelodge! Lol
Turnout will change in May from put out at 4pm and brought in at 9 am so that will be much better and hopefully a happier horse!
 
Yup. My daughter gave up on her mare after 3 years of trying with her, I won't bore you with all the things we had checked, all the training, the loan homes, etc. Suffice to say, the type of people who *might* be able to make something of her don't want her, I really can't be arsed to try and rehome her again so she is now a lightly ridden companion to my friend's mare and this seems to suit her. She's an all or nothing kind of horse, you're not going to get much out of her unless you ride her every day in a meaningful way, or you turn her away and keep the "work" easy, where she's asked no questions.
 
God that's worse than mine! The thing is mine doesn't have a particularly nice temperament unless she is on regumate then she's quite cuddly on her terms of course! Gets vicious if she doesn't have food!


leflynn said:
I see your dilema daily! I've never managed to compete my horse in the 2yrs and a 7 months I've had him, early few months of no saddle to fit, no transport then injury struck:

1. Lack of saddle 4 weeks to find one to fit! Followed by a virus 2 weeks off
2. Sarcoid above eye resulting in surgery 2 months off
3. Barb wire injury 2 weeks off
4. Barb wire injury 2 (inc skin graft) 3 1/2 months off
5. Front inside suspensory ligament pulled 4 months off
6. Kick resulting in fracture 4 months off
7. Kick 2 resulting in refracture 4 months off
8. Strained tendon off hind currently trying to come bac from this after 6 weeks box rest

I've had 2 good spells of riding punctuated by not so much and on bad days I feel like giving up, I just hope the tendon injury resolves and I can forget the bad days even if we can hack as I love spending time with him (good job really!) I'll know in 3 weeks time if controlled exercise is doing its trick.... To be fair he normally heals quicker than expected but I don't if thats because i have an over cautious vet!
Click to expand...
 
I thought she looked really keen in the second SJ vid... Have you tried sending her away for a bit to someone who is sympathetic but not so emotionally involved? See how she reacts to them and how she jumps with them, and then decide what's going on, rather than worrying without knowing what to do.
 
There gets to a point where I refuse to spend any more money on them. The last one I had was never going above PN again so I sold him even though he had Arthritic hocks. There is always someone who is looking for a nice horse for the right money. I also think it plays on your mind with the injuries and frankly I can do without the whole will they break again scenario when they are at a low level.
 
Luckily at the moment she is covered by insurance.
I wouldn't feel happy selling her on to somebody else without disclosing her problems and if I did disclose nobody would want to buy her! No win situation



LEC said:
There gets to a point where I refuse to spend any more money on them. The last one I had was never going above PN again so I sold him even though he had Arthritic hocks. There is always someone who is looking for a nice horse for the right money. I also think it plays on your mind with the injuries and frankly I can do without the whole will they break again scenario when they are at a low level.
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Both the vids you've posted of her 'stopping' have looked to me much more like she just hasn't quite been presented properly and so consequently doesn't really realise what she's supposed to be doing.

I think with the right trainer you'd find a lot of these 'issues' would disappear :)
 
I agree at the not presenting her properly at fence number 2 she saw it at last minute due to the fact I turned her really tight into it, more rider error I think, she's an honest mare and will usually jump from any angle which means I've got lazy presenting her at the fences, I've got away with doing it over small fences but even though they are now only 80cm she's questioning it a bit more..

SpottedCat said:
Both the vids you've posted of her 'stopping' have looked to me much more like she just hasn't quite been presented properly and so consequently doesn't really realise what she's supposed to be doing.

I think with the right trainer you'd find a lot of these 'issues' would disappear :)
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