spookypony
Well-Known Member
A penny for your thoughts!
First, the history:
My companion pony, ca 13hh, ca 20yo, grey with melanomas, has some ataxia in her hind end, accompanied by bladder control problems. This first appeared about 2 months ago (though we thought she was in season at the time), suddenly worsened 6 weeks ago, and for now appears to be stable. The veterinary consensus is that the most likely cause is an internal growth interfering with her nerves/spine. She was going to be put to sleep about 5 1/2 weeks ago, but she seemed to be coping so well that the vet agreed that we would continue to observe, and that she'll be put down if she declines further/shows any signs of struggling. She is on a low dose of danilon (lately bute). So far, she seems stable, continues to be able to trot, canter, and get up and down to roll/sleep with no problems, and her skin also looks fine. Her walk is still very wonky. She hasn't improved, and there is no expectation that she will improve, but neither does she appear any worse. She appears bright and happy, has excellent appetite, and doesn't appear to be in any pain. She's not reluctant to move around, participating happily in Mad Canter Time in the field, and trotting over when she sees me coming with the feed buckets. She still has ataxia, and she still has bladder control problems (she can urinate when she wants to, but also urinates involuntarily).
The concerns are two-fold: one is to do with the bladder, and a possible accumulation of crystals. That in itself might force our decision, and will be monitored by the vet. We're addressing the problem of urine burns with daily sponging of the area and Wonder Gel (which actually seems to justify its name).
The second concern (finally we get to my actual question!) is to do with the feet. The trimmer is due next week. The fronts and LH are looking fine, but the RH (which was skipped last time, because the trimmer was concerned about the pony's ability to stand in a stable fashion) is getting rather long. It's obviously not feasible to leave the foot untrimmed for too much longer. Neither is it feasible to design some sort of high-effort intervention for getting at that foot, because this would have to be repeated every time, for as long as the mare continues to be stable, health-wise (impossible to tell if this is a matter of a few weeks, which we thought initially; a few months, which seems more likely now; or even a few years!). Can anyone think of a simple, sustainable way to trim a hind foot if the pony is reluctant to stand on three legs/a bit on the wobbly side? Maybe just using a very low Shetty hoof stand or even a chunk of wood, and trimming only top-down? Any suggestions for the trimmer to try? I have a bad feeling that this problem may make the decision for us...
First, the history:
My companion pony, ca 13hh, ca 20yo, grey with melanomas, has some ataxia in her hind end, accompanied by bladder control problems. This first appeared about 2 months ago (though we thought she was in season at the time), suddenly worsened 6 weeks ago, and for now appears to be stable. The veterinary consensus is that the most likely cause is an internal growth interfering with her nerves/spine. She was going to be put to sleep about 5 1/2 weeks ago, but she seemed to be coping so well that the vet agreed that we would continue to observe, and that she'll be put down if she declines further/shows any signs of struggling. She is on a low dose of danilon (lately bute). So far, she seems stable, continues to be able to trot, canter, and get up and down to roll/sleep with no problems, and her skin also looks fine. Her walk is still very wonky. She hasn't improved, and there is no expectation that she will improve, but neither does she appear any worse. She appears bright and happy, has excellent appetite, and doesn't appear to be in any pain. She's not reluctant to move around, participating happily in Mad Canter Time in the field, and trotting over when she sees me coming with the feed buckets. She still has ataxia, and she still has bladder control problems (she can urinate when she wants to, but also urinates involuntarily).
The concerns are two-fold: one is to do with the bladder, and a possible accumulation of crystals. That in itself might force our decision, and will be monitored by the vet. We're addressing the problem of urine burns with daily sponging of the area and Wonder Gel (which actually seems to justify its name).
The second concern (finally we get to my actual question!) is to do with the feet. The trimmer is due next week. The fronts and LH are looking fine, but the RH (which was skipped last time, because the trimmer was concerned about the pony's ability to stand in a stable fashion) is getting rather long. It's obviously not feasible to leave the foot untrimmed for too much longer. Neither is it feasible to design some sort of high-effort intervention for getting at that foot, because this would have to be repeated every time, for as long as the mare continues to be stable, health-wise (impossible to tell if this is a matter of a few weeks, which we thought initially; a few months, which seems more likely now; or even a few years!). Can anyone think of a simple, sustainable way to trim a hind foot if the pony is reluctant to stand on three legs/a bit on the wobbly side? Maybe just using a very low Shetty hoof stand or even a chunk of wood, and trimming only top-down? Any suggestions for the trimmer to try? I have a bad feeling that this problem may make the decision for us...
