how do you deal with setbacks? :(

TarantuLove

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Feeling a bit down tonight. I've had my boy for 5 years and have nearly always been battling with soundness issues due to racing injuries (he is 20 now). He can be beautifully sound one day and awful to ride the next.

I just feel quite down when it happens, Ive put so much energy into this horse and I struggle with when he has his off-days :(

any advice? x
 

fitzaud2

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I so know where you are coming from, it's soooooooo frustrating when they are ok, lame, ok...... It drives me mad. I had a horse that was lame, sound,lame etc... I had every friggin person going look at him, all said it was his shoulder popping out, treated as such for a while, and when he was sound he was great, hacking, showjumping, super boy. He'd been xrayed at the beginning, but I had a guy, Ted McLaughlin, look at him, as he was lame, AGAIN, and he was the first one to say, pedal bones, not shoulder. Had him xrayed again and he had pedal degenerative disease, poor boy was in so much pain, dont know how he stayed going. He was PTS the following week. He was only 11, but I know where you are coming from with the fristration of it all. I loved him too much to give up. Now, this bit is totally offf subject, but you will find it funny. I work for my dad, and when I was in the office crying my eyes out, other boss walks in. After I'd left, he asked my dad what was wrong, so dad told him about Cooper. He asked my dad could he not have a hoof transplant. As sad as I was, that did make me laugh!! If only things were that simple!!!
 

Farma

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God I am used to them now, the horse I have I bought as a foal 16 years ago, she had a hernia op as a baby, recovered fine, then aged 4 fractured her shoulder in the field ...very nearly pts but came through and successful op was ok, then age 6 was diagnosed with navicular and djd and after remedial shoeing and lots of tlc is now working and competing.
We have the odd off day and she comes out stiff and so we just mooch on those days but it is very frustrating, she does very well at dressage but its hard to push on as much as I would like because of her 'off' days.
Hey ho at least I have a pretty horse that is great to hack and on the good days is the most smashing horse Ive ever had the privilege of riding.
 

Maesfen

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Feeling a bit down tonight. I've had my boy for 5 years and have nearly always been battling with soundness issues due to racing injuries (he is 20 now). He can be beautifully sound one day and awful to ride the next.

I just feel quite down when it happens, Ive put so much energy into this horse and I struggle with when he has his off-days :(

any advice? x

What would you advise someone else to do if they posted that? Sometimes helps to look at it a different way.

For myself, at 20 and with those soundness issues, I would be looking at either retiring him if he is the type that could cope with it, many can't, or if he can't, then do the best thing for him and PTS., sorry. His racing injuries will have taken it out of his body and at his age he's not going to repair like a younger horse could. Time to be realistic I think as although it's sad, it's also fair to him and you could then go on to find something else with a clear conscience that you did your best for him and didn't pass him on to go from pillar to post and back again which is always the worst thing for them.
 

TarantuLove

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thanks guys :)

I have always had the idea of retirement/PTS in the back of my head, but I can still take him on a hack for a pootle around if he's having a bad spell and he will be as good as gold with his ears forward the whole way round :) Im more of a dressage person myself but he is my pride and joy so I am willing to compromise if he finds it hard to do schooling.

At least I'll know the day he doesn't want to go for a hack is the day I should be thinking seriously about his future :(
 

OneInAMillion

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When it goes bad, I privately have a cry and then I go and cuddle my pone and you realise exactly why you have them :)

Our old boy "retired" due to on and off lamenss but when he was sound he used to get taken for a wander around the village and he loved it :)
 

dianeholmes

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I have lived through chronic conditions in two horses - both ended in PTS. I think it is very difficult - you are on a roller coaster really, good days are great, bad days frustrate you, depress you and on occasions reduce you to tears.

When you have seen a horse through one crisis and they come good and then the next crisis arrives you tackle that one too because the last one was resolved ok and so on and so on......... I gave up when the bad days got closer together and the horses did not come back from the bad times as well as they went into them.

The only thing I can say is to embrace smaller goals and celebrate those. A sound hack out becomes the goal rather than a rosette or a round of jumps. Can you afford a younger horse to give you the "highs" to balance out the "lows" with your older chap?

I feel for you!
 

TarantuLove

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Im especially like that in the winter when his arthritis really kicks in and he stands there looking soooo miserable! I'm looking into getting another one, not to replace him whatsoever he will always be my number one, but so I can still pursue my dressage interests and he can have an uncle role :)
 
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