How do you know when is the right time to PTS

[ycbm]

I am sorry to disagree

You aren't disagreeing with me Paddy. I didn't say there are no other symptoms to Cushings than foot problems. I was responding to the OP saying that the only symptom her horse has is foot problems, so it can't have Cushings. There are a lot of horses whose only symptom is foot problems. It's very often the first sign in the younger ones.

Whilst OP's horse has had cushings ruled out....

It hasn't. It's had a negative test for a disease where false negatives are legend.


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[Kmurf83]

Good luck with him, let him have a good summer and things may then become much more obvious for you.

Thank you for your kind words. Just been to see him and he canters across the field to me. He's in good spirits at the moment

 

[EGUSVet]

Let me put on my owner's hat now and tell you how I dealt with having to actually put my own horse down.

I would suggest having another cushings test done. As has been said previously, false negatives are renown.
I would see how he copes over the summer. Give him a good chance to improve over the summer.

I had to shoot my own horse. That feeling when you look at them and they look miserable, and your heart aches because it looks like they are suffering. That's the answer you know when it is time to PTS. This was pre-internet days, so had no-one to advise me. I looked at all the problems my boy had, and how it would affect him going further. And had to make the difficult decision.

If you can say with hand on your heart, you've given him a good life, but delaying further will make his quality of life go down, then you know the answer yourself.

whatever decision you make, I'm sorry, it is a hard decision. Thoughts are with you.

 

[Kmurf83]

Let me put on my owner's hat now and tell you how I dealt with having to actually put my own horse down.

I would suggest having another cushings test done. As has been said previously, false negatives are renown.
I would see how he copes over the summer. Give him a good chance to improve over the summer.

I had to shoot my own horse. That feeling when you look at them and they look miserable, and your heart aches because it looks like they are suffering. That's the answer you know when it is time to PTS. This was pre-internet days, so had no-one to advise me. I looked at all the problems my boy had, and how it would affect him going further. And had to make the difficult decision.

If you can say with hand on your heart, you've given him a good life, but delaying further will make his quality of life go down, then you know the answer yourself.

whatever decision you make, I'm sorry, it is a hard decision. Thoughts are with you.

Thank you for your advice. I think his quality of life is good enough at the moment. He's alert and playful. It's just winter he struggles with. I think this winter has been quite tough and not being in work hasn't helped him. He will have the summer and I will see how I feel at the end of it about winter

 

[Upthecreek]

Sometimes all of the interventions we have available these days to ‘keep them going’ are not necessarily best for the horse. If he can live a happy and comfortable life in his usual routine for the summer and have more good days than bad I wouldn’t be rushing to PTS. If you know he will struggle with next winter start preparing yourself to say goodbye in the Autumn.

 

[horselover11]

Have you had him endoscopes and a tracheal wash sample or BAL sample done to confirm what type of airway issue he may have? If you have a repeat scope may be needed for comparison?

 

[PurBee]

Just a note to say that natural tocopherol vitamin E is an excellent help for the airways, anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory.
There’s abundant vitamin e in grass and low levels in hay, which might be why he does better in summer turnout and worse in winter.
Having read accounts from others with horses with COPD type symptoms and cough improving with it, it’s something i’ve kept a mental note of.
I’d try supplementing that and see if his quality of life improves.

 

[Kmurf83]

Have you had him endoscopes and a tracheal wash sample or BAL sample done to confirm what type of airway issue he may have? If you have a repeat scope may be needed for comparison?

Yes all been done.

 

[Kmurf83]

Just a note to say that natural tocopherol vitamin E is an excellent help for the airways, anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory.
There’s abundant vitamin e in grass and low levels in hay, which might be why he does better in summer turnout and worse in winter.
Having read accounts from others with horses with COPD type symptoms and cough improving with it, it’s something i’ve kept a mental note of.
I’d try supplementing that and see if his quality of life improves.

Thankyou for your advice but I'm not really looking at supplements now. I've literally tried everything going over the years

 

[Kmurf83]

Sometimes all of the interventions we have available these days to ‘keep them going’ are not necessarily best for the horse. If he can live a happy and comfortable life in his usual routine for the summer and have more good days than bad I wouldn’t be rushing to PTS. If you know he will struggle with next winter start preparing yourself to say goodbye in the Autumn.

Thank you for this advice

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Unfortunately there is no magic wand. Mine was not struggling to breathe but would have if I had retired completely. But lived to work so retirement not an option anyway. I read it somewhere breathing troubles are worse when lying down. Maybe you could hang around until yours lays down then see if you still want to do the summer. Unless breathing is better in summer? Mine was affected by pollen too so summer was worse. I think cushings is irrelevant I cannot see the treatment helping with breathing.

Pollen affected ours - she was better in winter, although it was January when we had her pts. The Prascend certainly helped her to cope.

 

[ycbm]

Sometimes all of the interventions we have available these days to ‘keep them going’ are not necessarily best for the horse. If he can live a happy and comfortable life in his usual routine for the summer and have more good days than bad I wouldn’t be rushing to PTS. If you know he will struggle with next winter start preparing yourself to say goodbye in the Autumn.

I'm really sorry because I know this is such a personal decision, but for me the 'more good days than bad' thing doesn't work.

If one of my horses looked like he was having a bad day, and I knew that he was certain to have another bad day in the near future and that there would be no end to those bad days happening, then I would PTS, so that he never faced another bad day.

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