Charmin
Well-Known Member
Jeeze louise what a week.
Little homebred mare Ruby has never been lame in her life (apart from one time but it went away with a few days rest - just twinged something hooling around) so when she came in 5/10's lame on Thursday and then on 3 legs last Friday it was a bit of a shock for poor old mum. She had heat in her shoulder, a bit in her knee, slightly swollen pastern. No digital pulses or tenderness in her foot, but vet thought foot abscess so she was poulticed and put back out. Still not burst by Tuesday and she seemed to be intermittently lame so out came the farrier, who said he didn't think foot abscess but he thought ligament damage.
So in she came onto box rest. She's an absolute nightmare to stable when everything else goes out, and she started cribbing pretty severely, and throwing herself around when everything else went out (American barn style yard so she can't see anyone else). Half a tube of ACP later and she was dancing around on her back legs and throwing herself to the floor proper tantrum style. Mum went down at 12 and it took a few of them to collar her (she's normally the sweetest thing, so had worked herself into a right state). She was kicking out at travel boots, had to be bridled to be loaded and then refused to be tied up in the box so had a bit of a grapple with a few sneaky nips.
Mum phoned ahead to vets to warn them about new fire-breathing-wall-eating-human-beating pony and so arrived to a small army who cracked the ramp open expecting her to be foaming at the mouth and boxing at them, only to be met with a dejected expression of complete sadness and her to limp down the ramp looking all the part of the injured at war. She was put in a big airy loose box, promptly rolled in the thick bed of shavings and then started cribbing on the newly painted wall (oops).
She was nerve blocked this moring, and voila, nerve blocked the foot and she immediately came sound. So they were pretty sure of a foot abscess, had a dig around and found it very, very deep, it oozed black-y pus and was in danger of tracking up her leg so they're quite pleased. She's coming home this afternoon and will be poulticed for the next week or so until it runs clear, and then she'll still need padding as she's got a bit of a hole in her foot, bless her!
So one comfier pony with a few fans at the vets (who couldn't believe she'd ever be naughty or even look at anyone the wrong way) and one expensive abcsess! However it's also given us the push to investigate her cribbing a bit further. Due to the infrequency and no other symptoms we've always said it was simply an annoying habit stemming from when she used to be stabled at night, but it's become a lot severer with the pain etc. So once she's over the foot abscess (I think if we tried to starve her for 24 hours right now she would not be happy at all!) she's off to be scoped to see if there's anything there.
She's had us all worried - maybe she's heard a week on Monday we've got a new arrival and wants to maintain her position as number 1 sweetheart, or jealous of the fact I was getting all medical attention (just been through a knee operation).
Whatever it was I've wrangled time out of uni and have booked a train home next Thursday for pony cuddles and new foal cuddles! Massive thank you to all the support and well wishes, H+H really is a good place. Promise lots of foal pictures when he arrives!
Little homebred mare Ruby has never been lame in her life (apart from one time but it went away with a few days rest - just twinged something hooling around) so when she came in 5/10's lame on Thursday and then on 3 legs last Friday it was a bit of a shock for poor old mum. She had heat in her shoulder, a bit in her knee, slightly swollen pastern. No digital pulses or tenderness in her foot, but vet thought foot abscess so she was poulticed and put back out. Still not burst by Tuesday and she seemed to be intermittently lame so out came the farrier, who said he didn't think foot abscess but he thought ligament damage.
So in she came onto box rest. She's an absolute nightmare to stable when everything else goes out, and she started cribbing pretty severely, and throwing herself around when everything else went out (American barn style yard so she can't see anyone else). Half a tube of ACP later and she was dancing around on her back legs and throwing herself to the floor proper tantrum style. Mum went down at 12 and it took a few of them to collar her (she's normally the sweetest thing, so had worked herself into a right state). She was kicking out at travel boots, had to be bridled to be loaded and then refused to be tied up in the box so had a bit of a grapple with a few sneaky nips.
Mum phoned ahead to vets to warn them about new fire-breathing-wall-eating-human-beating pony and so arrived to a small army who cracked the ramp open expecting her to be foaming at the mouth and boxing at them, only to be met with a dejected expression of complete sadness and her to limp down the ramp looking all the part of the injured at war. She was put in a big airy loose box, promptly rolled in the thick bed of shavings and then started cribbing on the newly painted wall (oops).
She was nerve blocked this moring, and voila, nerve blocked the foot and she immediately came sound. So they were pretty sure of a foot abscess, had a dig around and found it very, very deep, it oozed black-y pus and was in danger of tracking up her leg so they're quite pleased. She's coming home this afternoon and will be poulticed for the next week or so until it runs clear, and then she'll still need padding as she's got a bit of a hole in her foot, bless her!
So one comfier pony with a few fans at the vets (who couldn't believe she'd ever be naughty or even look at anyone the wrong way) and one expensive abcsess! However it's also given us the push to investigate her cribbing a bit further. Due to the infrequency and no other symptoms we've always said it was simply an annoying habit stemming from when she used to be stabled at night, but it's become a lot severer with the pain etc. So once she's over the foot abscess (I think if we tried to starve her for 24 hours right now she would not be happy at all!) she's off to be scoped to see if there's anything there.
She's had us all worried - maybe she's heard a week on Monday we've got a new arrival and wants to maintain her position as number 1 sweetheart, or jealous of the fact I was getting all medical attention (just been through a knee operation).
Whatever it was I've wrangled time out of uni and have booked a train home next Thursday for pony cuddles and new foal cuddles! Massive thank you to all the support and well wishes, H+H really is a good place. Promise lots of foal pictures when he arrives!
