Is it really possible for an Equine Clinic to get it wrong?

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Perhaps you couldn't be there for the referral, but personally I always accompany my boys to the vet's - that way I get to ask questions on the spot and get a first hand view of the problem. But then, I think my vets are great anyway!

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I took him to the vets myself and picked him up myself, but no you're right, I couldn't be there for the 2 days he was there as I sadly have to work to pay for all these ailments! I am usually there when the vet comes out to see my horse, but when I've sent my horse off to a clinic to stay for several days to have investigations, I think I can allay any guilt anyone might try to aportion to me because I wasn't there. I don't think it would have been normal for me to spend the day at the clinic watching over the vet - it's an equine hospital.
 
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Everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY, gets it wrong sometimes.

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My problem is I don't think they have got it wrong as such, and if they had then I would be fine about it - I've asked a few times if there's something that might have been missed etc. My concern is that something has been exaggerated; once I have seen the xrays/ my vet has seen them and discussed them with me, I think it will be fine and I will believe it all, as Happy Horse is quite right.

I couldn't spend full days up there while the horse had these investigations, and it isn't the norm for people to do that so I feel no guilt for having not been there. There's a marvellous invention called the telephone and I tried to stay in touch with the vets at the clinic using that, and tried to speak with him when I collected Lanky, but it was a bit difficult to get much in the way of communication, hence I have been begging the help of my normal vet to translate it all and to do the communicating for me!
 
Crikey LD what a nightmare
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One of those "wish I could turn back the clocks" moment!

I know who you are talking about but sadly I have never been rich enough to use them
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Although the stud uses S who scanned my mare twice and gave her various injections but still not in foal!

You seem to have got yourself onto a roller coaster and finding it hard to get off!

You could take a large step back, the OCD won't dramatically deteriorate in the short term, particularly as he is not being worked - incidentally my lab has OCD and cartrophen injections help him enormously
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I really think you need to sort out the swelling on the fetlock before you venture into surgery on his stifles. I am going with your farrier - turn out and see what happens!

If you think how painful it is when you sprain your own ankle and that it can take a good 6-8 weeks to heal yourself, if your horse did turn over his fetlock in the field - its no wonder its still hot and sore.

Take a deep breath and try to look at all this objectively - a large glass of wine helps (but not in your condition
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I am very worried about the fact that as everyone insures their horse - there are no market forces on vets prices hence the astronomical fees and investigations that go on today - its spiralling out of control!
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Thanks Ravenwood.

I just got my quote through for surgery and aftercare/livery (insurer will not pay for livery and nursing care at £50 a day for the 5 days he is there, so £1750ish for the surgery to be paid by the insurer and £250 for livery and aftercare to be paid by us). We have spent about 750 already, so after this, we have about another £500 to use, and I really don't see it being fixed for that. They've said that the level of deteriroation in the joint (ie, the fragments floating around) means that joint injections will not work longer term and they need to go in and remove any fragments they can remove, smooth over the cartilage, and hope for the best really. He will then obviously need danilon or bute and box rest for a good while afterwards.

They have sent a full report and xrays to my vet, and I will be asking my vet to show them to me and explain what they show.

If the insurer does pay out for the surgery and vet care so far, it will have cost us about £350 only, so we are not doing too badly. I am hoping I am doing the right thing because, as I've started this the insurer will, at some point very soon, exclude the back legs and I'll be left picking up the bill for the surgery otherwise, and the legs will be excluded regardless of surgery or no surgery. I haven't told them the diagnosis yet, and I haven't said what the outcome of the investigations were, but they know he went for xrays and nerve blocks at a clinic.
 
blondest question of the day...

have you directly asked both vets what is causing the sweeling and the heat in the fetlock?

as reading this thread it seems to be totally ignored. as far as the surgery goes i would currently put a hold on it. until you have answers, i would also be inclined to turn the horse out, if it is the stifles making him lame then being out it the field wont cause it to worsen in a course of a short time.

id possibly in the meen time have a play around with the bute myself, ie stop it for 48 hours and see if the fetlock worsens.

the reason i would do that would be because id be wanting to know if was going to ballon up, if bute is keeping the swelling down then theres clearly an underlying problem.
 
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blondest question of the day...

have you directly asked both vets what is causing the sweeling and the heat in the fetlock?
<font color="blue"> Of course! I'm blonde too, but usually it doesn't affect my braincells that much! The fetlock was quite hot yesterday but usually it is just ever so slightly warm; the vet has said to me that they believe his legs swell when he's kept in, as the same happened when he was at the clinic and they put bandages on to help (which it did). I've bandaged them and I'm cold-hosing and today the leg is a lot better to be honest. I still want to try and get an xray of the fetlock done OFF the insurance so as a separate thing, but if it's soft tissue damage then I don't see an xray doing much in the way of showing up damage. </font>

as reading this thread it seems to be totally ignored. as far as the surgery goes i would currently put a hold on it. until you have answers, i would also be inclined to turn the horse out, if it is the stifles making him lame then being out it the field wont cause it to worsen in a course of a short time.
<font color="blue">I am a bit loathe to do this as, if they are telling the truth, which now I've heard the report, talked it through and thought about it all I am inclined to think they are, he has fragments floating around the stifle joint, and he's in pain. The box rest is what is thought to have helped him come slightly more sound since the onset of the lameness. I have also received PMs from two or three people whose horses had this ailment and ended up not making it because either they were advised to turn out or the horse couldn't settle on box rest and was rearing in its box, so not resting the leg. </font>
id possibly in the meen time have a play around with the bute myself, ie stop it for 48 hours and see if the fetlock worsens.
<font color="blue"> I did this under vet supervision before the investigations, and the fetlock didn't worsen, swell more or heat more. In fact, it was done when he was brought in to be rested and he was better when the vet saw him again a few days later, which is why vet said the rest had helped him.</font>

the reason i would do that would be because id be wanting to know if was going to ballon up, if bute is keeping the swelling down then theres clearly an underlying problem.

<font color="blue"> He was on bute and then off it for about a week until taken to the clinic. The fetlock did not swell in that time at all; when he was there they prescribed Danilon until his op, and this has also made no difference to his fetlock (ie, when it was a bit swollen and hot yesterday, he'd been on danilon for nearly a week, but when off anti-inflammatories he didn't really have any swelling that was worth writing home about). </font>

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Maybe I am clutching at straws because I don't want my gorgeous boy to become some expensive field ornament. I have only had him a year - we have tackled loading problems, sweet itch, aversion to water. I'm just absolutely gutted.
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I know exactly how you feel my old horse Gulliver and I felt like yo-yo's by the time the vets diagnosed his lameness and I still dont believe them so I retired him.
I had about 3 different diagnoses in 8 months and when I finally said what if I give him a year or so off they all appeared to heave a sigh of relief!!
 
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