Horse comes in from field hopping lame...... oppinions please!

S

steph21

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Would like to see what you this is wrong with one of the horses on my yard??

So the senario:

Last Wednesday evening I turn my girl and field mate out into their field as usual they both walked out had a good old role, drink and heads down.

Thursday morning when they were brought in field mate just stood there, then came hopping over almost on 3 legs!!!

So the usual was done my owner, looked for any cut, knock, puncture wound etc,

So nothing, they decide to see how they are in the morning, no different!

So calls farrier to come out and have a look, maybe its an abcess, farrier arrives that evening takes shoe off, can find a slight pressure point on the inside of the hoof (its her front left by the way) but feels no need to have a pick around as nothing signifficent, tells owner to call again if no better.

So friday horse is still know better owner calls farrier, know reply!! again later in the day, still no reply, typical farrier, cant get hold of them.

So calls vet who says cant do anything until the shoe is off, so calls farrier early saturday morning, answers, says will get there if her has time.

Doesnt come, now I say, you need to get the vet out, no abcess has apeared, and could be something more serious!

I was away sunday, monday horse still hopping lame, all 4 shoes on and leg is starting to swell.

Tuesday, leg still filled, farrier coming tomorrow to take shoe off,

So just been out to check on my girl, and farrier has been, but thats it, horse is still lame swellng is almost up to her knee now, I think vet need to come and have a good look!!

Its almost a week, and shes starting to look depressed!!!

So what do you guys think it could be????


Sorry its so long!

S x
 
I'd probably have called the vet immediately - certainly not waited until a week later.

Two things though:

Farrier should have left shoe off.
Vet should have not refused to come out - they could take the shoe off in necessary.
 
A week later???? Have you not heard of pain medication? My horse came in on 3 legs. Vet was called out that evening, took shoe off, squeezed hoof. Came back the next day with a portable ultrasound - sprained DDF and a self-inflicted kick to the back of the cannon - 3 months box rest. The worst bit for me was that she was in agony and as she is on other medication which blocks just about ever other drug going, we couldn't give her any pain relief so I asked the vet to sedate her so at least she had an hour or so of not knowing about it.
 
for the record its not my horse, im the same the vet would have been out that day, even if I had to drag him there! Well thats what im worried about fatpiggy, I have expressed my concerns to the owner but what else can I do??
 
It's possible to get a bacterial infection that may have started from a small cut sustained a few weeks ago. The cut could be healed but the bacteria could be growing underneath.

I would definitely get the vet asap as it could turn very nasty.
 
steph21 said:
for the record its not my horse, im the same the vet would have been out that day, even if I had to drag him there! Well thats what im worried about fatpiggy, I have expressed my concerns to the owner but what else can I do??
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At this point the YO should now be stepping in (should have stepped in) and called a vet.
 
Sadly for the horse, not much by the sound of it. Probably the owner is hoping to avoid an "expensive" vets bill. It will be peanuts compared to the one they are likely to get when the leg reaches a crisis point. It could be lymphangitis although I would have expected that to come up very rapidly, and from top to bottom in one go. You can only do your best so keep trying with the owner. People like that make me very angry :(
 
Hey guys! Just to add, i'm a friend of OP and went up to see said horse today at lunch time. Leg is very swollen now and literally hopping lame, pitching ONLY on her toe IF she really has to pitch at all ... what about the possibility of tendon damage?

And it may be worth pointing out owner is YO :(

Really can't understand why she hasn't had vet, if she were mine i'd be very worried, especially considering how depressed the mare is seeming. Must be is a considerable amount of pain/discomfort.
 
Call Trading Standards welfare officer. They should come out pretty quickly.

And then vote with your feet, and move to a well run yard.
 
Sounds like a proper cock up all round. Call WHW - and explain the problem.

Sad to say but I watched a YM leave a horse until it was very bad indeed - because she wanted the insurance money for another horse - it's bad to say that, but sadly it happens.

CP is right - evryone who owns a horse, and especially YO's should know how to take a shoe off - it's a very basic skill to have. Every yard should have the tools to remove a shoe - it's just a shoe puller.
 
Get a vet IMMEDIATELY!! Or call the RSPCA if the owner wont agree to it!

My horse came in from the field hopping lame a week ago, and I called a vet immediately. Within 2 hours he was put in a cast until he could be xrayed. He has a serious torn ligament and is on 3 months box rest...unlikely to ever be ridden again! He's only 5.
My vet bill is up to £1500 in just a week...but who cares?? My horse's welfare is paramount and will always come first.

Your friend's poor horse needs treatment NOW!
 
Good lord, poor poor horse :( :( Jeez!! If you find a horse on 3 legs you phone the vet IMMEDIATELY!!! :mad: I do hope the poor creature gets some help soon :(
 
hi, i would have to agree GET THE VET. if you are y.o demand a vet be called today. if they wont i am afraid i would get my own vet and bill them. do you have any sort of contract with them that covers what would happen if you needed to call vet for the horse.
 
Thanks for replies.

It’s very out of the ordinary of the owner, she is ALWAYS a kind, compassionate and thoughtful owner, it just seems this time it’s not the case and I can’t think why. Mare has had lameness/abscess problems so many times, maybe she’s a bit blasé over it? I’m not sure, but can assure you the welfare of the mare is paramount.

The reason we haven’t taken the shoe off is the mare has typical TB feet and owner has had countless amounts of problems with crumbling feet etc and farrier advised against taking shoe off ourselves. Farrier has now been out today and taken the shoe off and owner has been in constant contact with the vet for advice, he has adviced to poltice tonight.

I am going to speak to owner tonight and ensure vet is called.
 
sorry but having had a horse with constant leg problems i am a bit shocked at a vet giving treatment without having seen the horse. sounds bit odd to me but you know the livery.
 
Well, if the problem is tendon related, the horse is going to have several months of standing in the stable in which to regrow its feet before shoes are required again. I'd be thinking of using hoofboots instead of shoes, at least for a bit if it has such bad feet. I knew a huge hanovarian that had hooves the size you find on a 14hh pony so its feet literally collapsed under its weight. The farrier used tons of filler and glue on shoes to allow the feet to recover a bit. Has no-one told the vet that this horse is 9 tenths lame? I can't believe he won't come and look at it.
 
Needs a vet if she's still hopping, if not for a diagnosis at least for some pain relief. Pus in the foot will sometimes make the leg swell, just through the inflammation and bacteria circulating in the limb but I'm surprised the abscess hasn't done something in a week (ie burst out somewhere). If she's got very hard feet it may be working its way up the hoof wall and may burst out eventually through the coronet, that can take several days to happen. As someone above has said, it could be a cellulitis (infection under the skin from a small nick or cut) but you normally see the swelling as the first sign, rather than severe lameness. Could be anything really, I think she should be seen, regardless of whether she's got a shoe on there or not.

I'm also very surprised the vet wouldn't come out and take the shoe off- if presented with this case I would certainly have removed the shoe to have a good examination of the foot, but I would be prepared to take it off myself! In fact, I've never asked a farrier to remove a shoe, I always take it off myself (and I know what some people say about vets removing shoes but I'm quite happy that I can remove them without removing half the hoof wall!)
 
tontoandtigger said:
sorry but having had a horse with constant leg problems i am a bit shocked at a vet giving treatment without having seen the horse. sounds bit odd to me but you know the livery.
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To be fair, a poultice will not do any harm even if there is no abscess (as long as it's not done for days unprouctively, softening the hoof) and if an abscess is there it may help. However, I'm surprised they are not strongly advising a visit- sure, hoof abscesses can cause a degree of lameness that looks quite shocking, but I would want to be sure that nothing else was going on.
 
cptrayes said:
I am appalled that neither the owner nor the vet can take off a shoe. If you don't know LEARN!
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I didn't know how to take a shoe off until I trained as a Ride Leader. I am so glad I learned. A friend's TB mare came to stay - we have great grazing and she is an old lady. She managed to twist her shoe HALF off with exposed nails. If I had not taken the shoe off she would have been in a very bad way.

It is a skill worth learning.
 
sorry, i was more shocked at the vet not wanting to see the horse. surely this could leave them in a difficult situation should this turn into something more serious.(i hope it isnt) but my vet wont give any help unless he comes out and sees the horse. (obviously if its an ongoing problem that they have been to within the last few days they will help) but not if its a new problem.
maybe different vets have differnet rules on this.
 
I think most vets would have the same view, I would certainly be worried about retribution of it was something nasty. The advice to poultice the foot will not do any harm even if it does no good. If he has advised a visit and the owners refuse, there's not a lot he can do really. Hope she's ok.
 
My mare came in from field hopping lame, was literally walking on 3 legs, called the vet who came out as an emergency, suspected fractured pedal bone, vet had no x-ray machine on her, so i boxed my mare up and took her to the practice the same day.

X-rayed, and sure enough, fractured pedal bone, box rest for 10 months, thankfully all healed now, but really it is shocking that the owner of said horse has not had the vet out already, i would have insisted.
 
*********Update***************

Vet came out this evening, picked out the sole and found a bit of pus but thinks the abcess has started to make its way up, have given her pain relief and anti-inflamtries etc, and have polticed to try and draw it back down, so fingers crossed she will get better from here on!

S x
 
No the farrier finally decided to turn up, but just took the shoe off didnt bother to have a poke around so the vet has taken a chunk out of her sole, which im sure farrier will complain about but the poor thing needed to be sorted, so she should be on the mend now hopfully.
 
steph21 said:
No the farrier finally decided to turn up, but just took the shoe off didnt bother to have a poke around so the vet has taken a chunk out of her sole, which im sure farrier will complain about but the poor thing needed to be sorted, so she should be on the mend now hopfully.
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You see this sort of thing always puzzles me. ''Bothered' to turn up''' - perhaps having come out previously, this was the earliest opportunity that they could get back out? And as for not bothering to poke around in the foot - presumably he and the owner had a discussion about the best cause of action, and it was felt it better done by the vet???

We can, as owners, actually ask questions of people and ask them to do things. We don't have to stand around 'waiting' for it to happen........
 
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