horses...sigh

Blythe Spirit

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just a downhearted post really. its been almost exactly a year since i first went and tried my mare and we have had a lovely year with her perhaps unexpected talent inspiring me to try harder and ride better than i have in years. BUT she seems to be broken ....sigh.

Wednesday last week i had a jumping lesson where aside from one refusal which was rider error she was very good. day off that Thursday and ridden on Friday when she was vile refusing to canter on the left lead and disunited both ways (not a fault of hers even when she was very green) had a saddle fitting on Saturday and the saddler who had seen her a fortnight ago said she was so different and withdrawn in her way of going she was like a different horse ("she is just not talking to us today" she said) and we decided she would have to look again another day as usually willing mare was snatching reins not round and not forward. I was thinking there must be something wrong then on Sunday I discovered that someone had seen her have a bad fall in the field on Thursday "she took a right pearler" apparently. so I decided 100% she was hurting not just being a cow bag. So 5 days off in field. tried again tonight but she is still not right, not wanting to go round and not feeling right on her right hind or through her back - normally she is soft and comfy now she is rigid and choppy. So more time off and I think vet next week.... just so sad as i had entered two dressage comps this week and next - just withdrew from both.... I just hope she is not broken too much but it don't look great does it .... sigh... poor little horse.
 
I know the feeling i had to withdraw my 5 yr old before the sj of a 3 day event cuz of a slightly swollen leg, get him home to find hes blown a tendon... Gutted doesnt even cover it i had so much planned for the next yr... And now hes stuck on box rest with all those lovely muscles going to waste :(

Hope its nothing too serious :)
 
Oh bless her, I hope that its nothing too serious! was nice of the person for not telling you that she fell in the field, I would have been pretty annoyed about that, as you could have rested her for a lot longer! think the vet asap is defo needed and the physio to check her over as well!

hope she's fixable!! Good luck
 
If she has had an accident and hurt herself then she may be a bit stiff now . If you don't think she is up to being ridden and not too badly injured then try lunging her at walk and trot just for a short while or try walking and trotting her in-hand to loosen her up and see how it goes. Sometimes equine physiotherapists can see things that vets don't spot. Hope things turn out for you.
 
Thanks for your sympathy. It was not anyones fault i didnt know about the fall as i keep later hours than the lady who saw it. If vet does not find anything i will ask for referral to phsyio for sure. She looks (to my eye) sound on the lunge and inhand it only seems an issue when asked to give more forward paces and work on the bit (things which usually come easilly enough to her)
 
Please get the vet. I'm not wanting to be alarmist, but exactly the same happened to my lovely 5 year old horse. It took nearly a year of battling with him, and being baffled how he could change overnight from the world's most laid back obliging youngster to a horse who resisted doing almost anything, before we realised what the physical issue was.

It was also about three weeks before someone mentioned the fall in the field to me. Apparently he had damaged his sacro-iliac ligaments, and there is a very very short window in which you can treat and return the horse to normal. AFter that, they have a permanent injury - mine is lopsided viewed from behind. He is 11 now, and we can manage the problem but we know it will probably mean he'll have arthritis at an early age. He has to be kept out moving all the time or he seizes up. He is back to being lovely and obliging, but there are now things we know he just can't do - he can't really jump, he favours one canter lead and finds the other difficult.

So while it's recent, please get your horse checked to make sure it's not that - and if it is, you still have a chance for her to recover fully. Honestly, I'm not trying to alarm you, but in the case of my horse, he never at any time appeared lame, just his whole attitude to work changed almost overnight.
 
Please get the vet. I'm not wanting to be alarmist, but exactly the same happened to my lovely 5 year old horse. It took nearly a year of battling with him, and being baffled how he could change overnight from the world's most laid back obliging youngster to a horse who resisted doing almost anything, before we realised what the physical issue was.

It was also about three weeks before someone mentioned the fall in the field to me. Apparently he had damaged his sacro-iliac ligaments, and there is a very very short window in which you can treat and return the horse to normal. AFter that, they have a permanent injury - mine is lopsided viewed from behind. He is 11 now, and we can manage the problem but we know it will probably mean he'll have arthritis at an early age. He has to be kept out moving all the time or he seizes up. He is back to being lovely and obliging, but there are now things we know he just can't do - he can't really jump, he favours one canter lead and finds the other difficult.

So while it's recent, please get your horse checked to make sure it's not that - and if it is, you still have a chance for her to recover fully. Honestly, I'm not trying to alarm you, but in the case of my horse, he never at any time appeared lame, just his whole attitude to work changed almost overnight.

Thanks, The vet is coming today at 3.30 - all the symptoms suggest Sacroilliac pain (disuniting in canter, sudden loss of performance, forwardness and roundness) - I am gutted but fingers crossed the vet can hep
 
Vet been and today she was clearly lame on the lunge in canter - which i was glad of in a way as I was a little worried the vet would think there was nothing wrong and suggest she was just being 'naughty' under saddle. She did a very through check on everything - after flexion test on right hind the horse could hardly trot away at all - and in the end advised that something looked pretty wrong and to box rest until she could be taken in to the vets for a through work up and nerve blocks.... but its not looking great right now - feeling very miserable right now TBH. I have put a lot of work into this mare and I will be gutted if it comes to nothing.
 
You have acted quickly and so have the best chance of recovery. My boy went very lame when riding him in school, box rest, scanned at vets, booked for MRI - and went sound - all in a 3 week period. No reason or explanation. That was 15 months ago and he is fine but it makes me feel uneasy not knowing why. And miracles do happen so fingers crossed for you x
 
Thank you - unfortunately Rex thinks he is very handsome too and we have some 'who is in charge issues' at the moment. Enough of that - how did it go with the vet? And Happy Birthday - I hope it has been happy.
 
Thanks all for kind words - it did turn out to be good news in a way - vet thinks that the major issue is actually a strained fetlock and x rays show no bony damage and horse was almost sound with fetlock nerve blocked. So more rest some medication into the joint, more rest and vet thinks within 2/3 weeks we will be back on the road! YEAH lets hope he's right
 
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