Heartbroken part 2

[luna88]

Well after my horseys ultrasound today we now know he has a chronic medial suspensory ligament injury my vet has said he should be a companion horse but will look into referral for me am I going to far by wanting him referred just so I can ride him? Or in anyone's experience is there anything else I can try?

 

[Hoofing-it]

I'm sorry to hear that your vet visit didn't yield the positive news you were hoping for.

I don't think you're going too far in looking into a referral if the result potentially could be that the horse can be ridden again, which is presumably what you want ideally? A horse is an expensive pet and some would view an unrideable one very differently.

I haven't read your other posts- is your horse insured? If you do get referred, did your vet say what outcomes might be possible? If not insured, are referral costs affordable?

I've never been in this position so have no direct experience, but good luck

 

[be positive]

If it is a chronic condition be careful as your insurance may well consider it to be long standing and not pay for further investigation or any treatment, I think I am correct in thinking you have only recently taken him on loan, suspensory problems are not easy to treat and if chronic may not respond, it may be best to let his owner have him back so he can retire before you get in too deep financially or even deeper attached emotionally.

 

[Hoofing-it]

I think I am correct in thinking you have only recently taken him on loan, suspensory problems are not easy to treat and if chronic may not respond, it may be best to let his owner have him back so he can retire before you get in too deep financially or even deeper attached emotionally.

Ah- I have to say that I'd be returning him too if this is the situation.

 

[Goldenstar]

I am sorry but would be returning him ASAP .

 

[zigzag]

Haven't you only had him since January? And isn't he on loan? I would be sending him back

 

[Red-1]

I too am sorry that the scan result was not good.

If you have only had this horse since January, and he was sound when he came but with the work you wish to do he has reverted to lame (as it is a chronic condition I would think one of the reasons he was on loan may be that he could not fulfil the work the owner wanted to do either) then I am afraid I would think that this loan arrangement is proving not to suit you or this horse.

For me it would be time for a long and frank discussion with the owner. You may find that the owner suspected that this may happen, but wanted to try the horse as it was sound and you may have given him a quieter life that he may have been able to cope with, and sadly this has not proved so.

If this is so I would be disappointed that I did not already know, but you won't know any more until you have discussed it with the owner.

 

[luna88]

Returning him is sadly not an option as if i do that the owner will sadly have him pts as he is not rideable and he is insured surely i should try everything i can before retiring him?

 

[*hic*]

If I were you I would read back over all the threads you have posted about him in the few weeks since you got him. Read them as though you were the person being asked for advice, not the one asking.


If he's going to be happy retired and you want to pay to keep a retired horse for someone else because all you want to do is look after him then maybe that's a good option. However if you got a horse because you wanted to ride as well then I'd have a long hard think about sending him back to his owner. After all, he wasn't pts last time he broke was he??

 

[ester]

Has he been long term insured by the owner or was he insured by yourself when you took him on.

If it is an old injury (chronic/long term) I should think the chances of healing regardless of referrals might be minimal. I would absolutely want to know the % chances of improvement before putting my horse through some possible treatments.

 

[be positive]

Returning him is sadly not an option as if i do that the owner will sadly have him pts as he is not rideable and he is insured surely i should try everything i can before retiring him?

I really think you need to look at this subjectively, also make sure the insurance will pay for what is a chronic, not recent, condition before starting long and expensive treatments that may not work anyway, if he goes back now the owner may keep him in retirement but pts if he is in pain is not necessarily the worst thing that can happen to him.
A friend of mine has spent the last year getting her horse back after suspensory injuries, he has recovered for now but is still at risk of them going again it has cost a small fortune, paid by insurance in this case as they had owned him for some time, but the work involved and extra care have been very hard with set backs along the way.

 

[Maesfen]

I too am sorry that the scan result was not good.

If you have only had this horse since January, and he was sound when he came but with the work you wish to do he has reverted to lame (as it is a chronic condition I would think one of the reasons he was on loan may be that he could not fulfil the work the owner wanted to do either) then I am afraid I would think that this loan arrangement is proving not to suit you or this horse.

For me it would be time for a long and frank discussion with the owner. You may find that the owner suspected that this may happen, but wanted to try the horse as it was sound and you may have given him a quieter life that he may have been able to cope with, and sadly this has not proved so.

If this is so I would be disappointed that I did not already know, but you won't know any more until you have discussed it with the owner.

Playing devil's advocate for a mo.

On the other hand, if the horse was sound and the condition unknown to the owner, as the owner, I would be mightily pissed off that the work you gave him broke him. If they had known, told you to be careful how you brought him back into work, then again, I would be more than pissed off as anyone knows, it takes at least six weeks of just walking to even start to build up to a few minutes trotting; as we're only just 8 weeks from beginning of January, I rest my case on that one.

Returning him is sadly not an option as if i do that the owner will sadly have him pts as he is not rideable and he is insured surely i should try everything i can before retiring him?

What's wrong with that? The horse isn't standing up to work so as a gelding is completely worthless unless you have enough of your own land that retirement is an affordable option. Sorry, time to be realistic.