Meet Barry! Also, suggestions/thoughts please- Barry is lame

hnmisty

hnmisty

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 March 2013
Messages
2,561
Location
Sheffield
Visit site
This is the Bazza himself, I got him in May. He's a 9y/o 16.1 hh (passport says 15.2hh, my behind he is!) ex p2p (rather unsuccessfully it seems, much to my housemate's amusement) TB who spends most of his time thinking he's a beach donkey. He's done quite a bit of RC stuff, and if one day we made it to a BE80 then I'd be very happy! His full name is Barry the Farmer :D

www.dropbox.com/s/g9c6d2970yrjifz/2013-06-17 19.13.29.jpg
www.dropbox.com/s/wff518951prr35a/2013-08-13 17.30.40.jpg

I rode yesterday, and we weren't sure if he was lame or not. We trotted him up lots and concluded he was ok. This morning, the lady who looks after him in the morning for me texted to say she thought he was slightly lame. Not hopping lame, but not right. I kept my ponies at home before, and my dad's a vet, so he was always on hand to tell me whether or not to expect that leg to drop off etc. Plus my old two (bar when Harry got lami...which was the end) didn't go lame. So I've never had to make the "do I call the vet for this?" decision on my own before. It's his front right, not that that would help diagnosis :p

I'm going to see how he is tonight, but at what point do I call the vet? Argh. Reassurance sought for owner who is trying not to imagine said leg dropping off in the field!
 
Could be an abscess brewing. Get the vet if you're worried but don't let vet start digging holes in his hoof. Can you hot poultice and see if any improvement? Sometimes you can squeeze the foot and they'll react. How are his pulses?
 
Thanks for the reply.
I've bunked off work early so I'm about to head up and give him a good poke. Shame my dad isn't up to visit this weekend!
 
ridefast said:
Could be an abscess brewing. Get the vet if you're worried but don't let vet start digging holes in his hoof. Can you hot poultice and see if any improvement? Sometimes you can squeeze the foot and they'll react. How are his pulses?
Click to expand...

^^This.

Get your farrier to come and have a prod.

My gelding started out 'not lame but slightly off'. Got progressively worse over the course of a month. Stuck him on box rest and 2 days before vet was due to be called, black goo everywhere! Instantly sound after it had burst.
 
if he's only got a very low grade lameness i wouldnt be rushing to get the vet out. its hopefully nothing more than a bruised foot, but definately keep an eye on especially over a bank holiday weekend ! they do seem to know how to time things dont they :) either way you could try tubbing/poulticing as both would work for either an abcess brewing or bruising, have you checked for a bounding pulse in the offending foot?

on the name front how about giles - barry the farmer... farmer giles ???? i'm useless at names without knowing the horse, all of mine have 'gained' a nickname on their own. called my latest squizzel as a foal as she used to charge about with her tail held up just like a squirrel, she was meant to be sold on at weaning but she's still here as a 2.5year old, and squizzel has stuck ! her registered name is now elegancia, but i couldnt bring myself to change her stable name as she comes to call - bless her !

he looks a lovely sort, my 3/4 TB is about as laid back as the come too, so much for being a fiesty hot blooded TB! not that i would change him for the world, he's very much appreciated after years of putting up with a stubborn /opinionated WB/anglo arab, who's thankfully retired at the age of 22 :)
 
Last edited:
If you are worried then I would suggest a couple of days box rest before going down the (expensive) vet route for nerve blocking and X-ray

The most common action vets recommend is most lameness cases box rest and bute. If you decide to box rest, best to do it immediately, if there was something more serious going on then the early days of box rest are the most important.

You can also do a bute trial - if he is sound on bute but lame not on bute that rules out some things.

But first, have a really good careful feel of his legs for bruises, filling, swellings, etc. You could also try cold hosing.

(PS can't look at the pictures so this is just a v general reply)
 
Thanks for the answers guys :)
Thanks Bennions Field, I like the name Squizzel :D I call him Bazza and it makes my OH cringe! I like his name, it suits him :)

We trotted him up lots, I've got to admit it's not very noticeable, but some at the yard are going "he's not right" (OH says some of them are quite quick to spot a lame horse, which someone else agreed with). It seems to be higher up his leg- you can't see any lameness at all if you look at his hoof/lower leg. If you look below his elbow he seems to be putting his right leg down differently the left, but it's not massively noticeable. I'm going to see how he is tomorrow. I don't know if that's how he usually moves. Someone else thinks it's normal for him. He might have just pulled something gallivanting around? I've tapped his foot and he didn't bat an eyelid.

Blurr said:
Does your dad not have a phone? How quaint. :)
Click to expand...

He does :p but he works for DEFRA, so he hasn't done much with horses for a long time. And then they were usually dead anyway! So I thought I'd ask for the opinions of horsey people :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top