Horrible decision to make.

Poor you, horrible situation. Lucky horse to have such a caring owner.

Has anyone suggested a course of high dosage (250ml/day) aloe vera? Can be very soothing for the gut and is an excellent immune system booster.
 
Thanks all.




Had a good old cry and think this afternoon - then picked myself up and decided im NOT loosing my horse without a fight...

I went off to robinsons - shes on red cell for now as i know its reccomended, as well as a calmer (she was on this last year and ive no effing idea why i took her off it!), as well as this they both (theres my two) have a licket each and a snack ball each...

She came galloping down the field to see me... and was made up with a bucket feed - ears forward and then toddled off happy :)

i left her chilling out with her "sister" (who she adores), (hope you all dont think im mental but i owe it to her to try) this time last year we were out competing doing dressage (and winning..).


new plan;

Red cell and calmer for 1 month... see how the gums are and her whole attitude/outlook

Egusin imputting on order - so the 3 things - red cell, egusin and calmer - extreme and costly but i dont give a toss now - my horse deserves every penny i have.

Horsepital for full bloods/scope/ultrasound/urine test (im sayin g amonth as i have to co-ordinate booking a horsebox, time off work and fitting in with horsepital!! = nightmare)!!

And go from there. I honestly believe ican do this. had a really ****** day but i want my mare back....and im not prepared to give up without a fight

if its deemed shes in pain - then the decision is taken out of my hands...but a pick me up is in order. imo,



Any feedback welcome... (other than im crackers,!!) IFFF i truly believed she was in pain, i would admit defeat and kiss her goodnight. I dont. i believe shes unhappy, but not in agony. her ears were forward tonight and she had a cheeky glint in her eye after that nice feed (and some naughty garlic - her fave thing in the world)


ets - yes, shes going to start some gentle walking in hand - even if its just round the yard and back - she seems really happy to do her stupid little tricks - for fuss (she definately lacks this living out - i admit im wrong in thsi department - its so easy just to leave them when they are grazing and forget about more interaction)! so lots more fuss and walkies! she loves long reining, so mabey i can introduce this in spring again if she copes with the supplements and walkies...!

:)
 
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wow tough decision indeed, but you know your mare best and if she is in the 'not coping' camp even with everything you have tried then maybe it would make her at peace to make the decision sooner rather than later?
 
What is the long term prospect for the things you have already had diagnosed? At 6 it sounds like she is in for a lifetime of complications for her and expense for you. You will know when the balance has gone the wrong way I expect. Not easy tho.
 
theres not - *technically* she "will recover and be fine"

its ulcers...they are gone last time we scoped.... it could be something as simple as being rundown... last spring she was and we got her on a pick me up - she was okay...but never great - but she wasnt diagnosed with ulcers until feb 2012 -



Im not saying what im going to try will be the saving thing for her but i have toat least try
 
Personally if she was my horse, I'd not bankrupt myself over a horse. If she belonged to me I'd put her to sleep. I could not afford to treat her or keep her especially being only 6 years old. I wouldn't pass her on either.
 
I see. Sorry I don't know anything about ulcers. They hadn't been "invented" when I was last in horses (neither had kissing spine!). Sorry not being flippant but had never heard of either til I joined here.

Good luck, hope she improves with new routine. :)
 
Can I ask why you want her scoped again? I would just put her back on the GG, as scoping does knock them around and to be honest I would save my cash for the GG.
 
GG is £25 a tube... it also does not (to my knowldge) treat hind gut ulcers IF she has any + its unafforable with the amount she wuld need on that (approx £200 a month on minimum dose - just to maintain - not treat!) been there!

ludoctro - i would agree normally... and wuld hae this morning, HOWEVER for the sake of a few hundred quid - i will sleep easier if i do hav her pts knowing i did EVERYTHING. if i give up now i will think "what if i just hadher scoped..."



runningfree - my vet agree with me - we know her history enough to warrant another scope.

if shes scoped and turns out with severe ulcers - decision made there and then - she will not be coming home... i need to do this...for her and me,. i wouldnt be doing itif i thought she was in pain...
 
Well all I can say is with my current horse I would spend every penny I could, and more, to help him become a happy healthy horse if anything became wrong with him.
Unless he was in irreversible pain, I had my veteran pts in May for this reason.
So been on both sides and all I can say is go with your gut.
Good luck, hugs.
 
Hi I have similar problems to u mine has regular colic attacks and got more frequent and worse we looked at his turnout and workload and backed off the work , grazed him instead of turning out as he can get stressed no change trialled him on gastroguard didn't touch him cost me a fortune , few emergency call outs for colics insurance won't pay for colic as he wind sucks , sent to hosptial for further work up already had bloods done high muscle enzymes
But that was it , scanne and scoped but nothing major seen changes on his abdomen , discussed surgery but that may not give us a answer may or may not and he is 18 so reluctant to put him under ga , I have come so close to PTs a few times but we decided to give him one last chance and medically manage him as long as does not start to colic more freq and has good quality of life I hope u get some answers keep is updated xx
 
I'd want to know why the gums are pale. I doubt that a few extra vitamins will make much difference to that. Then I'd look very carefully at this horse's diet and keep a diary of any changes or colic episodes, to see if there's a link. I would particularly be wary of giving likkits, as they are very sugary, which I can't imagine will help a horse with digestive problems. Someone mentioned Aloe vera, I give it to my are who had colic twice in 2 months not long after I got her and used to be very 'girthy', which i understand can be a symptom of ulcers. I didn't have her scoped but she hasn't had colic again and seems more comfortable.
As for what to do next, you just have to listen to your gut feelings. I retired a mare aged about 9 because she obviously wasn't right, although we didn't know what the problem was. Eventually we found that she couldn't digest sugar or cereal, we stopped feeding them to her and she improved dramatically , although her system was so upset by then that we didn't ride her again. She lived to be 24.
I do hope you get to the bottom of the problems.
 
Thanks - i only put the field likits in for some garlic - bad idea in hindsight...wont repeat :)

I had her on simple systems feeds - and tbh need to put anotherorder in soon... mainly for the blocks of hay (lucie bricks?) she loves those and keep her occupied and a different thing to do...

I will keep an eye on the gums, and we will be running bloods next week - however - other than say anemia...

what can the bloods test/show for??
 
noodle_ said:
Thanks - i only put the field likits in for some garlic - bad idea in hindsight...wont repeat :)

I had her on simple systems feeds - and tbh need to put anotherorder in soon... mainly for the blocks of hay (lucie bricks?) she loves those and keep her occupied and a different thing to do...

I will keep an eye on the gums, and we will be running bloods next week - however - other than say anemia...

what can the bloods test/show for??
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It could be an infection, something affecting the red platelets in the blood, or it could be a symptom of internal bleeding.
I wouldn't give her garlic either, it is an anti-bacterial and as such can kill off the good bacteria in the digestive system. It is also considered to be poisonous to horses, usually in large quantities.
 
TigerTail said:
Can I suggest you ring Debbie at Thunderbrooks, think she may be very helpful to you. Have you had a course of prascend?
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who is she? never used/heard of prascend ?

will google :)

Pearlsasinger said:
It could be an infection, something affecting the red platelets in the blood, or it could be a symptom of internal bleeding.
I wouldn't give her garlic either, it is an anti-bacterial and as such can kill off the good bacteria in the digestive system. It is also considered to be poisonous to horses, usually in large quantities.
Click to expand...


Mabey some bloods and some anti b's to play it safe had crossed my mind?

I thought garlic was good for them!? never heard it being bad for them :confused:
 
have very little experience of this type of problem but I had an older mare (Typical chestnut !!) that used to get stressy. She used to drop weight badly and then colic, we used to give her a supplement that was called pink powder. Cant remember the manufacturer but it used to work every time. Towards the end (33 yrs old) she was on it all the time it was the only thing that seemed to settle her stomach. it was before the days of Aloe vera though so I think she may have had that aswell.
Wishing you all the luck with whatever is round the corner
 
There is a myth that garlic is a fly repellant if fed to horses but it really isn't good for them. Do a search on here and you will find several posts telling you that its anti-bacterial qualities upset the horses' digestive system.
I often use it to wash wounds, it does that job brilliantly.
 
thanks maree t - surprisingly - she hasnt dropped any weight - shes a very good do-er!

shocking really as id expect her to look like a hat wrack given the journey we have been on

have tried pink powder a long time ago :)
 
Aww Noodle....you have done so much for your wee horse. Your a dedicated owner.

I hope things go your way.

I had a horse who had problems with colic and ulcers and used Charcoal. Never looked back. I tried it after a few problems ( not as extensive as your horse) and it was the cheapest thing we tried! Soaks up toxins. Just thought I would mention it!!

Whatever happens you can hold your head up and be sure you have done the utmost for your girl.

Hugs n luck xxx
 
^^thanks :)



Im unsure whether to try Egusin or stick with Gastrogard (but its sister form.. ;) ) as if she has got hind gut ulcers then Egusin sorts this???


any takers on this welcome...?

will do another thread on this in case anyone has other views :)
 
She could be depressed, having had so many problems for so long, it's getting to her.. having got a small animal who's been having health issues for nearly 5 months now, i've seen the good and bad days. Bad days, she hides away, and I don't see her for pretty much the whole day apart from when she was having her eye drops and probiotics. Good days, she's happy and playing with the others.
I know I can't begin to compare the two, but I can see a pattern.. imagine if you had a nagging stomach problem that never really went away properly? Perhaps the antibiotics are not the right ones for the infection, or not strong enough to completely clear it, then the problem will just quietly fester for a time, before suddenly flaring up, often worse than the last time..
There's nothing better than reaching out and asking for help when you get stuck with something that won't go away, and is leaving your horse depressed and in pain.
Is there any chance, if her gums are pale, that she's got a bleeding ulcer some where? Sorry I need to ask, it's just something you need to take on board if you send her back to the vets.
If there is no bleeding ulcers, you need to look at lifting her spirits, some herbal remedy's can do this, plus help her to stop crawling up the walls when stabled, or in general.
I'm a highly strung person, and I can vouch for your mare, having a constantly inflamed stomach lining and a over production of stomach acid, due to stressing about everything, can make me feel down right awful and miserable.
Maybe bringing down her stress levels will stop these bad stomach episodes and make her well again? Hope I make some sense XX
 
Thanks ^ it does :)

She is much brighter today...shes had a nice brush, fuss and just general messing...shes also had her medicine syringed down her throat which she dosent mind.... im checking the gums a lot and will ship her back to hospital when i can co-ordinate everything :)

fingers crossed she picks up soon :)
 
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