Laminitis, cushings & ems pony

[Sarah04]

Hi, I have a 20 year old pony I bought 5 years ago as a happy hack. 2 months after owning him he came down with laminitis then tested positive for cushings. He also has Equine metabolic syndrome and Arthritis in his hocks. He is a nightmare to catch and at taking his prascend. I haven't ridden him for possibly 2 years as even when we get the all clear from the vets he's slow. I've lost count of the amount of times he's had laminitis over the years. Just recently I haven't been able to catch him in a new field (not a huge amount of grass in with 3 others) for 2 weeks. He's now got a huge neck, footy and bulging eyes so he's now in on box rest on all his meds. I will never ride him again but feel sad as we seem to constantly go round in circles. I also have 4 minis at home and ideally I'd like another horse to ride. I just wondered if anyone else has been through something similar ☹️. Thanks

 

[Melody Grey]

I’ve not been through it personally but have experienced a multitude of other veterinary issues and seen those in a similar position to you so can sympathise.

Not intending to be blunt or offensive in any way, but I’d be seriously considering calling it a day with that one. I’m not sure at 20 with all of those issues there is a fix to be had and for me, life is too short to not have a riding horse because I’m spending all time and funds on something without much of a future.

It’s hard, but wishing you the best of luck x

 

[Sarah04]

Thank you for your reply Melody. That's what I'm thinking. He often comes right again after box rest, medication and restricted grazing but never enough to ride and that's only till the next time it happens . Thank you x

 

[Nudibranch]

That's sad, but you owe him nothing. My CB developed PPID and we pts when her levels became sky high despite pergolide. We would have needed 5-6 tablets a day so I pts before she started to go downhill. At that cost it just wasnt viable for a potential companion.

 

[Gloi]

If you aren't getting any enjoyment from keeping him don't feel bad about calling it a day.

 

[Roxylola]

Thank you for your reply Melody. That's what I'm thinking. He often comes right again after box rest, medication and restricted grazing but never enough to ride and that's only till the next time it happens . Thank you x

Oh bless him, I'd let him go - if he's not right enough to ride then he must be in a bit of pain most of the time and it's no life for a horse constantly in a cycle of being box rested, restricted food etc. He's 20 you owe him nothing, animals can only live in the now, so he can't think that if he endures this he will eventually feel a bit better and go out again. For a young horse as a short one off it's a bit different but you've given him 5 years he'd likely not have had otherwise

 

[fusspot]

I feel your pain!.My welsh D had EMS which caused a couple of Lami attacks.Got him right after the first and after a couple of years of controlling his weight and levels he had to start on metformin.To Cut a very long story short,the metformin worked properly for about a year.He kept getting recurring accesses and was basically suffering from low grade lami-he progressively got worse,hadn’t been ridden for 2 years as every time I got him sound he would go lame again.I said that next time he got Laminitis again I would let him go.I did that in February-he went down with Lami again suddenly,was skinny but still had fat pads and the vet said that the Metformin only works for a certain amount of time and letting him go was right decision.I say with all of mine that if cannot be worked but can have one quality of life and a few hours in the field-that was fine.As soon as that changed I would let them go.When it’s done as much as I was devastated as this horse was my world and owed me nothing-I felt relieved as he was always a worry.Don’t feel bad for making the decision to let yours go-with that history of health issues,sadly it’s just a matter of time and always better a Day to early than a Day Too late.x