I need help ---Welfare issue.

[SantaVera]

an update. the condition in question is suspected laminitis. in all 4 feet. the owner rang me yesterday to go and have a look. horse is crippled. ongoing situation for 6 months ,since January(!) she said, much worse in the last 2 weeks. i told her to call vet immediately she doesnt trust vets or farriers and was reluctant to do so. I have just spoken to her on the phone, thankfully she did indeed call the vet, who is calling today to take bloods re possible cushings. i do not think she mentioned lami or surely the vet would have gone yesterday?
owner is convinced the condition is something else., wall separation disease. it doesnt look like that horse has good wall. looks to me like long term chronic laminitis stretched white line. maybe now there is pedal bone rotation and that is why horse is worse.
then I said but neither me nor her know as we are just lay people this is why she needs a vet.
she replied she has no faith in vets they dont know much and she certainly isnt getting a registered farrier to it as shes a barefoot trimmer and she cant stand farriers she trashes them all the time to all and sundry.
thankfully as vet is calling this afternoon. the horse is kept at her home halfway up a hill cul de sac no one gets to go there unless invited so no walkers or anyone has seen the state of the poor animal.
am so glad i went yesterday ,shes been rasping/treating it herself for months. idiot.

 

[holeymoley]

an update. the condition in question is suspected laminitis. in all 4 feet. the owner rang me yesterday to go and have a look. horse is crippled. ongoing situation for 6 months ,since January(!) she said, much worse in the last 2 weeks. i told her to call vet immediately she doesnt trust vets or farriers and was reluctant to do so. I have just spoken to her on the phone, thankfully she did indeed call the vet, who is calling today to take bloods re possible cushings. i do not think she mentioned lami or surely the vet would have gone yesterday?
owner is convinced the condition is something else., wall separation disease. it doesnt look like that horse has good wall. looks to me like long term chronic laminitis stretched white line. maybe now there is pedal bone rotation and that is why horse is worse.
then I said but neither me nor her know as we are just lay people this is why she needs a vet.
she replied she has no faith in vets they dont know much and she certainly isnt getting a registered farrier to it as shes a barefoot trimmer and she cant stand farriers she trashes them all the time to all and sundry.
thankfully as vet is calling this afternoon. the horse is kept at her home halfway up a hill cul de sac no one gets to go there unless invited so no walkers or anyone has seen the state of the poor animal.
am so glad i went yesterday ,shes been rasping/treating it herself for months. idiot.

Good grief.

No words.

If it is laminitis which it sounds like it is, and it’s not been right since January?! The horse will be in an incredible amount of pain. I wouldn’t be surprised if the poor thing is too far gone.

 

[Goldenstar]

Poor horse she’s sounds like an idiot .
Lets hope she get a vet with a strong backbone .

 

[Errin Paddywack]

That poor horse. I wonder if she will even listen to the vet, hope so for the horse's sake.

 

[Berpisc]

Oh hell, poor horse.

 

[Tarragon]

I am so glad that you took some action.
Poor horse

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Years ago I shared a horse at a yard that belonged to yo she had 4 horses at the time and she had sharers for 2 of them, she had 1 she rode and a retired mare that had broken her leg and had an operation on it but she couldn't be ridden due to mechanical lameness, walking looked fine trot and canter was very odd looking and I'm sure if you didn't know the horses situation it would look awful.

The yard was next door to a mobile home park and residents would report the horse to the RSPCA she regularly got visits from them, she was fine with she had nothing to hide all the horses were very well looked after.

 

[Regandal]

Thank goodness the horse is getting a vet visit.

 

[paddy555]

an update. the condition in question is suspected laminitis. in all 4 feet. the owner rang me yesterday to go and have a look. horse is crippled. ongoing situation for 6 months ,since January(!) she said, much worse in the last 2 weeks. i told her to call vet immediately she doesnt trust vets or farriers and was reluctant to do so. I have just spoken to her on the phone, thankfully she did indeed call the vet, who is calling today to take bloods re possible cushings. i do not think she mentioned lami or surely the vet would have gone yesterday?
owner is convinced the condition is something else., wall separation disease. it doesnt look like that horse has good wall. looks to me like long term chronic laminitis stretched white line. maybe now there is pedal bone rotation and that is why horse is worse.
then I said but neither me nor her know as we are just lay people this is why she needs a vet.
she replied she has no faith in vets they dont know much and she certainly isnt getting a registered farrier to it as shes a barefoot trimmer and she cant stand farriers she trashes them all the time to all and sundry.
thankfully as vet is calling this afternoon. the horse is kept at her home halfway up a hill cul de sac no one gets to go there unless invited so no walkers or anyone has seen the state of the poor animal.
am so glad i went yesterday ,shes been rasping/treating it herself for months. idiot.

well done

 

[SEL]

Well done for persuading her to get a vet out. I have known a lady who also used to refuse to get the vet 'because they'll always find something' and it was incredibly hard to manage.

 

[AmyMay]

an update. the condition in question is suspected laminitis. in all 4 feet. the owner rang me yesterday to go and have a look. horse is crippled. ongoing situation for 6 months ,since January(!) she said, much worse in the last 2 weeks. i told her to call vet immediately she doesnt trust vets or farriers and was reluctant to do so. I have just spoken to her on the phone, thankfully she did indeed call the vet, who is calling today to take bloods re possible cushings. i do not think she mentioned lami or surely the vet would have gone yesterday?
owner is convinced the condition is something else., wall separation disease. it doesnt look like that horse has good wall. looks to me like long term chronic laminitis stretched white line. maybe now there is pedal bone rotation and that is why horse is worse.
then I said but neither me nor her know as we are just lay people this is why she needs a vet.
she replied she has no faith in vets they dont know much and she certainly isnt getting a registered farrier to it as shes a barefoot trimmer and she cant stand farriers she trashes them all the time to all and sundry.
thankfully as vet is calling this afternoon. the horse is kept at her home halfway up a hill cul de sac no one gets to go there unless invited so no walkers or anyone has seen the state of the poor animal.
am so glad i went yesterday ,shes been rasping/treating it herself for months. idiot.

Well done. Thankfully it’s now out of your hands. If the vet suspects neglect he/she will (should) take action.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

She sounds like a complete idiot I hope the vet tries to talk some sense into her

 

[paddy555]

Well done. Thankfully it’s now out of your hands. If the vet suspects neglect he/she will (should) take action.

I very much hope you are right however these things don't always end easily with a good, forceful vet and owner listening to them and doing as they are told. If the situation is as described then I would be expecting the vet to ask to either x ray all 4 feet, advise farrier intervention will be required if the horse is to live and recover or PTS. I can only hope the owner will do the decent thing and follow the vet's guidance.

 

[Fransurrey]

Fingers crossed she has a vet who can deal with her. People like that tend to also ignore advice on management, so who knows. She's heading towards a prosecution if she's not careful. Actually, maybe that will make her wake up.

 

[Mrs. Jingle]

vets they dont know much and she certainly isnt getting a registered farrier to it as shes a barefoot trimmer and she cant stand farriers she trashes them all the time to all and sundry.

Christ on a bike!!! Is she one of these new age eat a few leaves of Moroccan Geheni berries and it will cure anything type??? Does she actually trim other people's horses? Poor, poor horse, its going to die isn't it? Hopefully humanely PTS or long and drawn out horrendous painful death as she total ignores all the vets advice because she knows better than them.

 

[Renvers]

Glad she has seen some sense, if only for your and the horse's sakes. Fingers crossed for the horse getting the right outcome.

 

[pistolpete]

Poor horse. Well done for speaking up. Fingers crossed for a good outcome.

 

[meleeka]

She’s a barefoot trimmer yet she doesn’t know crippling laminitis when she sees it? Bonkers!

 

[Tiddlypom]

She’s a barefoot trimmer yet she doesn’t know crippling laminitis when she sees it? Bonkers!

She won't be the first .

I know of a horse which the barefoot trimmer declared for the feet to be the best they ever had been, and which was taken straight from the trimming session to the chiro vet for a routine check up. The horse was so crippled with laminitis on arrival (shortly after the trim) that it could hardly hobble off the lorry into a hurriedly prepared emergency stable.

The horse did recover and is now under the care of a good farrier. The trimmer was sacked.

I hope for as good a recovery for this horse. Well done, OP.

 

[TPO]

I'd hazard a guess that she trims her own, isn't a qualified practising BF trimmer & clearly had huge gaps in her understanding of hooves (& horses!).

She sounds like an walking example of how a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

That's good news that a vet is visiting.

Depending on your relationship with the mutual friend I'd be tempted to tell them about the situation too. That's more pressure to follow through with vet visit and any subsequent instructions.

Also the more people that see/know about the horse the more word will spread and then it will be easier to call welfare (anyone barr RSPCA/SSPCA) without automatically being pin pointed.

As an aside if vet attends a welfare case and owner won't allow treatment etc do vets call welfare as their next step?

 

[HeyMich]

an update. the condition in question is suspected laminitis. in all 4 feet. the owner rang me yesterday to go and have a look. horse is crippled. ongoing situation for 6 months ,since January(!) she said, much worse in the last 2 weeks. i told her to call vet immediately she doesnt trust vets or farriers and was reluctant to do so. I have just spoken to her on the phone, thankfully she did indeed call the vet, who is calling today to take bloods re possible cushings. i do not think she mentioned lami or surely the vet would have gone yesterday?
owner is convinced the condition is something else., wall separation disease. it doesnt look like that horse has good wall. looks to me like long term chronic laminitis stretched white line. maybe now there is pedal bone rotation and that is why horse is worse.
then I said but neither me nor her know as we are just lay people this is why she needs a vet.
she replied she has no faith in vets they dont know much and she certainly isnt getting a registered farrier to it as shes a barefoot trimmer and she cant stand farriers she trashes them all the time to all and sundry.
thankfully as vet is calling this afternoon. the horse is kept at her home halfway up a hill cul de sac no one gets to go there unless invited so no walkers or anyone has seen the state of the poor animal.
am so glad i went yesterday ,shes been rasping/treating it herself for months. idiot.

Do you know the vet who she has called? If so, could you maybe speak with them on the q/t before the visit just to raise your concerns? I know the vet can't discuss other Client's animals with you, but surely there's nothing stopping you mentioning your worries to them? They don't have to disclose any information to you so it won't be breaking with protocol. Good luck, and I hope the poor pony gets proper help soon.

 

[babymare]

Thank you for acting. That poor horse and What it’s gone through.

 

[PeterNatt]

Here are the telephone numbers:

BHS (British Horse Society) Tel: 0247 6840 517 24/7

WHW (World Horse Welfare) Tel: 0800 0480 180 8.00 a.m. – 5.30 p.m. Monday – Friday

RSPCA (Royal Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals) Tel: 0300 1234 999 24/7

 

[pixie]

an update?

 

[Sossigpoker]

Unpopular opinion but I wouldn’t do anything because it sounds like this person will give you a hard time . Plus you don’t want to make your life hell and cause issues for yourself in the future. If you do report You have to be completely sure that the horse hasn’t seen a vet or doesn’t have a illness that makes them be on pain medication for long team . aka you have to have your facts right before reporting someone.

Sorry but that's cowardly.
Animals dont have a voice so they need all of us to be that voice for them.

 

[brighteyes]

Sorry but that's cowardly.
Animals dont have a voice so they need all of us to be that voice for them.

Thankfully Backtoblack didn't listen and pulled her brave pants on!
Bravo, OP. I think you have done all you can.

 

[Wishfilly]

If the vet isn't able to do anything, at least a vet visit creates doubt over who called a welfare organisation.

It's very easy to say "oh I'd definitely do xyz", but there are scenarios where it is tricky- for example if you're on a small private yard and the owner could block access to your own animals. And in that situation, it might be obvious you called too. (I'm not saying in that situation it's right to do nothing, or you should leave it alone if it's just going to cause a bit of upset/awkwardness).

OP, I hope you are able to find a solution.

 

[Spirit2021]

Sorry but that's cowardly.
Animals dont have a voice so they need all of us to be that voice for them.

which could cause your own horse to suffer as a result like someone killing your horse in retaliation . People will get you back people are stupid to think otherwise. I never said not to report it . I said to make sure op has strong case before reporting . Plus op doesn’t actually said she has reported she just said owner is getting a vet

 

[laura_nash]

She won't be the first .

I know of a horse which the barefoot trimmer declared for the feet to be the best they ever had been, and which was taken straight from the trimming session to the chiro vet for a routine check up. The horse was so crippled with laminitis on arrival (shortly after the trim) that it could hardly hobble off the lorry into a hurriedly prepared emergency stable.

The horse did recover and is now under the care of a good farrier. The trimmer was sacked.

I hope for as good a recovery for this horse. Well done, OP.

Can we not turn this into yet another trimmer vs farrier thread. OP hasn't said that the owner is a qualified barefoot trimmer, and even if they are there are plenty of idiots in all professions and plenty of people can come up with comparable stories of qualified farriers doing horrendous things to horses feet.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Apologies then for posting my experience of qualified barefoot trimmers.

Barefoot trimmers are all wonderful, and they know exactly what they are doing.

My vet can't spot horses who have been trimmed by a barefoot trimmer at a glance due to the poor foot balance.

Ok?

For balance, there are also too many rubbish farriers out there, too. It's the horses who suffer .