infected hock ....someone help VET WANTS TO PTS

Hmmmm. By all means get a second opinion, but listen to your vets, think about the horses welfare/wellbeing. Is he suffering? Will he continue to suffer? Will pursuing this further make him suffer even more? What is the end result going to be for him?

The girl may well be beside herself, but it's the horse that matters here.


Think seriously about it, a vet wouldn't suggest PTS without good reason.

My horse suffered liver disease, my first vet said prognosis was poor, and he would PTS (this vet is very very experienced), but the horse still had will and fight in his eyes and I had to try for him. We got a second opinion and a treatment plan that was working for us, but due to other medical complications, he couldn't carry on, and once I saw that in his eyes, I knew it was the right thing to do to PTS.

So, my first vet was right in the end, but the second opinion was the right thing to do for us, because I would have felt I had let him down if I hadn't tried. If there wasn't hope for him, I would have PTS there and then.
 
How soon after the horse was injured was the vet able to see the cut? With joint infections speed is of the essence. If the vet saw a fresh cut then a joint tap would identify infection and the joint could have been flushed under GA to give the best chance of survival. With an old or grossly contaminated joint wound the prognosis is going to be guarded to poor at best. Even surgery on a wound like this would carry a very poor outlook. Again I would insist on a referral but it sounds as if she is a long way down the line and sadly at this point if the joint is infected, I would be very hesitant to pursue costly and probably unsuccessful treatment.
 
Here we go again the PTS before we have had answers gurrus :confused:


OP as mentioned how old was the cut before treatment .

With an attitude like your vet I would NOTR listen to them them obviously don't what to do what the client wants .

PHP: 
she has asked for a scan to be done and x rays or a blood test or just something to identify wat the problem is

Is perfectly normal though my vets would have done that and told me they needed to do that.

Don't delay ask another veterinary practice the longer you leave it the worst the outcome.




If I had not got a second opinion and listened to what the diagnostic clinic I would prob not be here.


But i did get second opinion and the other hospital found WOMB CANCER. And I am here to tell the tale.

If your vet hasnt got your horses best interest you have to find someone who does.


I know I would be saying bye bye to this vet

one of my liveries had a vet they said it isnt navicular but we treat it as such,

one year later £ 1 000 later she moved here we said get 2nd opinion. she did and my vet said all that medication has done nothing for him the xray and scan showed his hood was stuffed. So he was PTS to end his pain.

Her original vet didnt want to do any checks.


Please do get a referral for your ponies best chance

if you tell us what area of the country you are I am sure some members would give you their vets names
 
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OP hasn't come back to update.

I don't think we have the full/correct story here. It all seems a bit of a second hand tale to me.

If it is the vet I think it is, she is extremely competent, very thorough and not one to recommend pts at the drop of a hat.

It pains me to see the vet being run down because she really doesn't deserve it (if it is who I think it is of course).
 
I am so sorry but sometimes there really is no option.
I suspect what has happened is the infection is eating away the bone by now, hence the vet's advice.
We have lost two home breds to infection, one a four year old mare who had just done her first competition. She got an infection we think from fording the local river after a hack and having a tiny cut on her leg. We later realised there is a sewage plant just 30 yards upstream. We had a-b, the jopint operated on twice at a cost of £6400 (no, we weren't insured) more antibiotics and it appeared to be working. Then the severe lameness you describe appeared and the vet warned us no hope.
The other was a foal who started with an infection aged a few weeks' old in his fetlock. Despite all the a-b we could get into him he suffered a relapse. When he died we did a pm in the field and to my horror it had tracked into his shoulder which was a complete mass of pea green pus. The noise we heard for the first time that day was his bones scraping together where the infection had eaten into them when he moved . Imagine the agony, it haunts me to this day.
Sometimes they just can't save a horse and we owe it to them not to suffer.
You can insist on a referral to Leahurst and I would have expected that to have happened, or scans at least to see the extent of the damage. It may be however even on finadyne he would be in agony to travel.
Go and see him youself, if he is unable to bear weight on the leg it's likely he either has a break (which should have been X Rayed) or an infection so severe the vet can't fix it.
Or ask for a second opinion.
 
Id be ringing another vets for a 2nd opinion. At least then you hopefully know if what the 1st vet is saying is right or be getting the treatment the horse needs.
When my horse got kicked his radius was fractured. It was dark but my vet found a wound that I hadnt seen. My worry was the fracture, his worry was the wound. My horse was put in a splint and referred to Leahurst straight away. Vet was worried the would could have infected the carpal sheath and that it may need flushing. He said the infection was more of a risk than the fracture at this stage. Luckily my horse didnt have an infection and came home 2 weeks later. Severe lameness can be infection or a break. Time unfortunately is important so it may be that the infection is too far gone now and sadly PTS may be the only option.

I do know of a horse misdiagnosed after he stood on a nail but a 2nd opinion a week later had him sent straight to Leahurst and the infection was cleared and he made a full recovery.

Sounds like this vet isnt prepared to do anymore, your DIL really needs to get someone else out.

I hope everything works out for her.
 
Strange usually vets can't wait get stuck in flushing out etc, however if it's a joint infection time will be running out for this horse let's hope OP is in the lorry with daughter in law on the way to vet.
 
Why is everyone so quick to 'knock' their vets???
I can't for a moment imagine even using a vet I wouldn't trust! If my vet told me to put my horse to sleep I would trust that he had exhausted every other option and it was in the horses best interest....
If they are suggesting PTS then the joint must have been penetrated. This (unless treated immediately) is pretty much game over. Joint fluid has to be 100% sterile. My youngster had a kick to his hock last summer. I thought it was a bad cut but called the vet anyway as was near the joint. Cheerily thought they would come and stitch it and give my horse a course of antibiotics, even asked them to rasp his teeth as they were coming out anyway. Never imagined it could have the prognosis it did. Vet thought the joint might have been penetrated and options were - £5k (minimum) opp or treat as well as possible and see how it goes and I would know by the next morning.
Unfortunately my horse wasn't insured and I was heartbroken. I had bred him and he had turned 4 and was going amazingly - however I didn't have £5k and even if I did I couldn't justify spending that amount of money on a horse that was unproven and may never be properly sound. Made a decision in the end to take him to the vet hospital where he was scanned and had a standing joint flush and his fate was in the lap of the Gods. Luckily his joint hadn't been penetrated and he recovered well. BUT if the outcome had been worse I would have trusted my vet implicitly - maybe that makes me foolish but surely you should have a vet you trust attending to your horse in the first place?
 
I am with Foxy1 you can not unhesitatingly trust your vet you have to think for yourself someone once said to me if it fails your common sense test question it and I always do.
However I think this story may be a bit complicated , OP was very short on detail about the injury.
 
UPDATE.... good news at last second opinion from another vet .. horse was operated on this morning with sucess things are lkooking good the wound was flushed with saline. antibiotics were given aT THE CORRECT DOSE AS THE OTHER VET WASNT GIVING HIM ENOUGH OR ENOUGH PAINKILLERS HIS TENDON IS OK NOT ALL MUSHY AND OBLITERATED AS WE WAS TOLD . THERE IS STILL A SMALL AMOUNT OF INFECTION IN THE BURSAE AND HOPEFULLY THIS WILL CLEAR UP ,, X RAYS SHOWED NO BROKEN BONES . HORSE IS COMFORTABLE AND DOING WELL . HORSE IS WEIGHT BEARING THIS MORNING AND FINGERS CROSSED HES GONNA BE OK ... MUST HAVE BEEN ALL THE PRAYING WE HAVE DONE ... JUST GOES TO SHOW THOUGH TO ALWAYS GET A SECOND OPINION THIS POOR LAD WOULD HAVE BEEN DEAD PTS IF WE HADNT DONE .. THANKYOU EVERYBODY ON HERE FOR YOUR ADVICE AND SUGGESTIONS IT WAS A GREAT HELP ... WILL UPDATE IN A FEW DAYS
 
Pleased to hear the progress report, it is so worrying when the professionals are not able to get it right, it does happen more often than you would think, some are able to say they do not know what to do and send for referral.
In this case it seems that they were not treating correctly, fortunately for the horse you have managed to get the treatment now, hopefully a full recovery soon.
 
Gr8 news for you and yours and the pony.

Goes to show you 2nd opinions are worth their weight in gold sometimes.
If at all possible I would try and consider changing vets to this group then hopeful you would not have to go any similar problems again.

Vets can make mistakes ( one of mine did a bit to much walking on the concrete and set my mare back in her lami ) :(

But mine are brilliant practice

To much on here typing of the PTS gurus, I see the majority on here said 2nd opinion is needed and OP listened to us end result pony is on the mend , the facts on here did in no way make me side with the worst option when there is a glimmer of hope you need to grab it .

If the symptoms and injury was said to be worst then yes one needs to consider the pony wouldn't make it but I am glad he is steadily improving . Healing vibes your way .

My mare has had a long struggle with laminitis we are in recovery ( I hope ) been a battle I am doing my damnedest not to go through again yes it cost money ££££ my mare is worth every penny and more some do defy the odds. All you can do is do the best to aid them in their hour of need :)
 
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jessie7:
I can't for a moment imagine even using a vet I wouldn't trust! If my vet told me to put my horse to sleep I would trust that he had exhausted every other option and it was in the horses best interest....
If they are suggesting PTS then the joint must have been penetrated. This (unless treated immediately) is pretty much game over. Joint fluid has to be 100% sterile. but surely you should have a vet you trust attending to your horse in the first place?
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Well I am glad in this instance her vet WAS WRONG .

How you know you can trust the vet when you sign up to be one of their clients huh???

I could mention 3- 4 cases where the vet WAS WRONG in their diagnoses and treatment but that's another thread

2nd opinions can mean the difference between life and death for any animal or human. My first opinion said i had nothing but pollops . Not good enough my GP sent me somewhere else , 2nd opinion said I had cancer. I thank god I went for a 2nd opinion.
 
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Thats fantastic news, I had wondered how you got on.

Not asking you to name to first vet, but I do think we should name the good ones. Would give others a head start if they are in the same situation
 
That's great news! Just brought my horse back from Rossdales at Newmarket. He has a few tiny particles causing his infection and a damaged tendon. All of which they are confident will come right with time. :)
 
Thanks everyone amber man is doing really well we don't know Wat we would have done without the fantastic vet who has literally saved his life .. Simon constable is the vet and hope you all agree he has done a fantastic job and saved our big man .. .qhen the other one just have up on him
 
This happened to me when my 15month old filly was kicked inthe hock.

She developed an infection within the hock that had her moving around on three legs.

After several months of antibiotics she came right. A week after the antibiotics were stopped we were back to square one. A severely lame horse in pain.

The vet advised her to be PTS as the joint was infected and steadily deteriorating. He said that at any time she may just turn around on the hind leg and the joint would shatter.

I decided that it was kinder to have her PTS than to risk her suffering even more should the hock go when I wasn'r around to do something about it promptly.

It is always hard to lose a horse and even harder to make the decision to have one PTS.
 
Hi There,

My horse has just gone through the same thing, he got kicked in the field and two weeks later was crippling lame. We rushed him to Somerford where he was operated on due to an infection in the bone and bursa. After three months of box rest and multitude of antibiotics he has been allowed out to the field with a cautious all clear.

My advice is if you have the money stick at it may like mine take allot of money,time and patience to clear. I have heard excellent things about Simon Constable so you seem to be in the best hands.

hope he makes a full recovery
 
morgan48 said:
Thanks everyone amber man is doing really well we don't know Wat we would have done without the fantastic vet who has literally saved his life .. Simon constable is the vet and hope you all agree he has done a fantastic job and saved our big man .. .qhen the other one just have up on him
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I have only just seen this thread and I am so happy to see there was a positive outcome!

Can you please let Simon know how happy you have been with his practice? He was my vet when I was a child and I spent a lot of time with him when I was a vet student - he's great and couldn't recommend him enough. Now as a qualified vet I know what it is like, and people are all too ready to tell you when they are unhappy but people rarely let you know when you've done a good job.

Hope your horse continues to improve and is soon back to normal.
 
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