I feel like giving up

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silverstar

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Ive had my horse a week today. The last few times Ive ridden him his breathng hasnt been right last night I brought him in and I could see him breathing from his flanks & I noticed the same today. I had a 5 stage vetting and nothing showed up on it. It sounds like COPD to me. Ive had a few horses that werent right and my last one I had a nightmare with as she had bad COPD. Im stuck with a horse Im not happy with. Dont get me wrong hes really lovely but Im fed up of being stuck with horses that have medical problems. To make matters worse YO is totally wierd. Shes always in my face at the yard and now says Ive got to buy all my hay and feed from her. Im seriously fed up of horses now. Why cant I just have a nice normal one with no problems & a nice normal YO (or dont they exist?). He had no problems before when I rode him twice.

What do I do now? Im going to get my vet out Monday to check him over. Also should I go back to the sellers?
 
((((((((((((((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))))))

I think you are doing all you can - vet check, and then if necessary, you must return the horse. You do have an issue with the vet who did this vetting - I really hope you get it sorted.
 
Sorry you're having such a crappy time :(


I know what you mean about YO's, I've only had mine for a couple of days, saddle fitting today and I'm getting comments about not riding her yet - a saddle would be good :D

Edited out my stupid question
 
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Thanks guys. Feeling really p***d off at the moment. I really love the horse he is such a sweetie. Its odd him being ok before I bought him, flying through the 5 stage vetting and then a week later his breathing not being right. Ive had such a bad run of luck with them maybe god's trying to tell me something.

Should I go back to vets who did vetting? Firstly though Im going to go to my own vets and get him checked out. The other thing is would the sellers give me my money back? Should I tell them the truth if my vets say there is something wrong?
 
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my friend got a new horse recently that had a nasty chest infection - discovered by an endoscopy, and treated with antibiotics - he is fine now. But this is the last thing you want isn't it :rolleyes:
 
I would get your own vet to check him out first, it may be something or nothing. Just to rule out the obvious but have you made any significant changes to his husbandry compared to his previous home in terms of bedding, forage, amount of turnout etc - also, I have had experience of a horse reacting to pollens in different areas so this could possibly be the issue. Don't panic, get your vet and see what he says - I would not be inclined to go back to anyone until you have an idea of exactly what is going on.
 
Sorry to hear of your problems, is it possible there's something at your yard to which he may have an allergy? Possibly the YO by the sounds of it :p

Think you are doing right in getting your own vet out asap - if the vetting vet missed something, you may have some comeback.

Only other advice is look for a new yard asap, not all YO's are weird.
 
Thanks for your advice everyone. Jane Lou - yes there has been a change in husbandry. He is out 24/7 in new yard whereas he wasnt out 24/7 at last yard.

Jennbags - ha ha its me who has an allergy to yo!
 
Maybe it's the location of your yard and the quality of the hay? Just an idea..... Some horses can be fine in one area and struggle in others (I think more so in headshaking cases)
Try soaking hay for now, and if time is a problem put your hay in a bin liner or dustbin, pour over a kettle full of boiled water and seal it for 20mins.
I'd also speak to his last owner, if it had been a problem he'd have shown signs at the vetting and would have coughed when you tried him.
I think you may need to look at the way you're managing him in the short to mid term, and if you're not happy with the yard, think about moving.
I'm sure you'll get him sorted, with the history you've had, you're bound to be more aware of COPD, but give him a chance, its probably down to the move, change to hay, bedding etc. also check he wasn't on hayledge. My shetland is fine on the stuff, but give him hay and he gets a snotty cough.
Definitely get the vet, truly wish you all the best in getting things back to normal so you can enjoy him... Poor chap and poor you
 
you have experience with COPD so has anything changed since you had him that could have set off a horse with COPD?

You didn't notice his breathing when you tried him, like you do now. So it would be my guess if the answer is nothing to set it off, that he just has a respiratory infection and will be fine when he is better

I do knw here your coming from I seemed to have nothing but problems with horses before I got micah, 8 years was a long time to keep going through medical problems with a horse

However if vet does say its COPD then you would need to contact seller straight away and tell them what has happened and you want money back. horse not fit for purpose etc
 
Sorry, I didn't type quick enough on my iPhone. Most of my reply is bobbins as based on him being stabled. As others have said, get your vet to check him over, I'm sure you'll get him sorted.
The YO is not being very helpful, which also doesn't help your situation. Xx
 
Soulful - Right thanks. But doesnt a chest infection lead to COPD in most cases? Anyway not a lot I can do till Monday till the vet comes out. I was going to ride him again this weekend but I dont think I will.
 
Sorry to hear about your problems - Don't give up yet - Good idea to get your own vet as he's working for YOU and your interest , see what he finds before approaching the practice who did the vetting . you may find a little tweeking of your management may just put things right. if it turns out he has COPD then buying hay from the YO may not happen and really it's unfair of her to say you must - I'd be on the look for a new yard asap , somewhere that has your horses best interests at heart! If you decide to give up with him and try for a refund , if he has got COPD , then I think you would have a good case for returning him - shame though as you really like him.
 
I would certainly have the vet check him over before doing anything. I find it strange that the breathing issue has started since you've got him as lung/breathing conditions would have been pretty straight forward to pick up on a vetting. You said you had a previous horse with COPD - was this kept on the same yard? Could it be the yard environment and something there that could be an allergenic? What surrounds the yard - ie what is being farmed? Makes me wonder if its actually the environment that is causing the issue and isn't necessarily a pre-existing condition. Do any other horses on your yard suffer with any breathing conditions?
 
silverstar said:
Soulful - Right thanks. But doesnt a chest infection lead to COPD in most cases? Anyway not a lot I can do till Monday till the vet comes out. I was going to ride him again this weekend but I dont think I will.
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NO too be honest I used to think that after having one with COPD however 2 horses on my yard last year had Chest infections,

Both had vet early on

1st horse scoped, sample tested and appropriate antibiotics and ventipulmin given, horse back to normal within a couple of weeks

2nd horse not scoped, given ventipulmin, didn't work so had to add antibiotics later, took longer but this horse also fine now
 
Just a thought, do you have much rape crop near you??

About 15% of the horses around here have problems if either the rape is near or it is dry and dusty.

Your horse's symptoms sound v like my girls when she was suffering - which was easily solved by moving her until the rape had finished flowering!!
 
Also, a week would be about long enough for your horse, newly moved from a different environment, to be showing symptoms of a virus which the other horses might have picked up? I thought it was fairly common for mild ilnesses to surface on relocation.
 
His breathing could be down to a local pollen.
I had my horse 18 months no problems, moved him 10 miles down the road and he developed COPD in the first spring. It cleared up after a course of Ventapulmin and never appeared again in all the summers I kept him there.

So, maybe he is sensitive to a local pollen.

Don't give up hope!!
 
Sounds ike a chest infection to me. COPD would not be made worse by 24/7 turnout. The only thing I can think of is if he had been on ventipulmin at his old place and now it's been stopped? My money is on a chest infection. My mare had one a couple of years ago. It was really bad and she had to go on antibiotcs for ages, but she has never suffered from COPD as a result.
 
If you really like the horse and the only problem is the breathing, maybe try to treat it with homeopathic medicine, I appreciate it is a controversial subject. When I bought my horse several years ago, he developed a dry cough, vet checked him, took blood tests etc could find nothing wrong, with his permission, I turned to a honeo
 
Just a thought, how far has the horse travelled. I know long distance can put them at risk of respiratory infection. Maybe he picked something up when he came to you. Hope you get a quick diagnosis
 
At this time of the year its common for pollen problems/allergies to surface.

If new Fuzzy has been out 24/7 he may just have picked up a pollen problem.

Have had this several times over the years with new arrivals to the yard in April/May due to high amount of conker trees in boundaries & also vast amounts of buttercups coming into flower in next doors fields.
They cough & sneeze for about 10 days or so as the air/climate/pollen count is so different, then it goes as quickly as it comes - and usually the problem doen't return again the following year.

Its just an idea, but worth tucking away in your mind.

I'd notify old owners & let them know you are concerned, and are calling your own vet out to look at new Fuzzy on Monday. Ask if they can recall any problems Fuzzy might have had when he 1st arrived with them.
 
canteron said:
Just a thought, do you have much rape crop near you??

About 15% of the horses around here have problems if either the rape is near or it is dry and dusty.

Your horse's symptoms sound v like my girls when she was suffering - which was easily solved by moving her until the rape had finished flowering!!
Click to expand...

I agree with this. I think you need to speak to a vet. IMO you will have trouble returning a horse after a 5 stage vetting, unless you know this horse has been treated for COPD before and the owner was keeping it from you. Just remember the weather has been unusually dry and causing a lot of dust and smog pollution, which will make pollen allergies far worse than normal. My hubby is a farrier and laminitis and footsoreness has been rife due to the hard and unforgiving ground.
Good luck!
 
Thanks guys. I dont think he has had COPD before but Im hoping its just a pollen allergy/chest infection and that it clears up. Yasandcrystal - I hope he does take him back if it proves to COPD. Its scary as my last mare had chronic COPD and it couldnt be sorted and I tried everything with her.
 
Could be the pollen maybe? Did you buy him from a different area of the country to where you live? Some parts tend to have higher pollen counts than others. Also, is he stables near any rape seed fields, etc?
 
YOU CAN NOT RETURN THE HORSE. I had this a couple off years ago when I sold a lovely warmblood mare who flew a 5 * vetting. I had a phone call just after a week to say the mare was lame and I must take the horse back ( never ever lame with me) so I refused. They took legal advice and so did I. As the mare had a 5 stage vetting there was nothing the new owners could do towards me as the vetting ( covers buyers/sellers backs) they had to sue the vets who carried out the vetting but either way the old owner does not need to take the horse back.
Had the horse not been 5 stage vetted it would off been a very different matter so any horse I sell not must go with a 5 star even if I have to pay for it.
 
Have not read replies as in a rush.

However, have you thought about contacting the old owner and asking if she ever had the problem (assuming she probably did not if when you rode him he was fine?) And as he passed the 5 stage. Old owners often do not offer too much advice but perhaps she used haylage and not hay (which may be dustier) and the feed change etc may be affecting your horse. Worth asking.

I sold a horse and they did not stick to her feed and she became skinny and uncontrollable, 9 months later they contacted me to say this and turns out she was just on the wrong feed.

Also move yards buying feed and hay from them is just a pain esp if your horse needs specialist feeds!
 
my horse is just getting over a respiratory infection, his breathing was very deep and heavy to the point it was actually rocking him at rest when he did breathe!

when he was at rest his breathing was so heavy you'd have thought he had just done a 50 mile ride. it was bad.

anyway he's had his hay soaked, as much turnout as possible (apart from this week where he's on box rest for something else!) and antibiotics. like i said he's getting better now but the breathing was very noticeable in his flanks and nostrils. the vet said it was deep down rather than on his chest.

as for the YO i'd definately be looking to move to another yard. somewhere that will give you the freedom of choice when it comes to buying your own hay for your own horse!
 
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