Mystery Nightmare Hacker *PLS READ EVERYTHING*

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Yes the vet has seen her.

Then it sounds to me as if you and the horse have been let down by the vet, who should have checked her knees before prescribing further (minimal) amounts of bute. If you want to keep riding and a good equine vet thinks it would be beneficial, as well as regular bute, you could try magnetic leg wraps, I have known horses respond very well to them, while I have also known others whom they have made no difference to at all.

 

[Ellie Ruby]

Then it sounds to me as if you and the horse have been let down by the vet, who should have checked her knees before prescribing further (minimal) amounts of bute. If you want to keep riding and a good equine vet thinks it would be beneficial, as well as regular bute, you could try magnetic leg wraps, I have known horses respond very well to them, while I have also known others whom they have made no difference to at all.

Ok, thank you i will have a look at them.

 

[Trouper]

I am not sure I would have done as well as you are with this situation at your age so don't get disheartened by it all. I am afraid that we have all had to face problems with our horses and sometimes have had to make very difficult decisions so you are not alone. I would stop listening to people on the yard. It is important for arthritic horses to move around but that does not necessarily mean being ridden. If your vet is due to see her soon, I would have a conversation with them before they come to say you need to review her medical condition and plans for her future so that they know that it is not just a routine vaccination visit. They can advise you properly on what is best for her and I would follow their advice and explain to your parents what the vet has said.

 

[Dreamer515]

Hi, I congratulate you on doing your best for your mare. it isn't easy when we think there is an issue but don't know how to help.

Just following on from Trouper's comment regarding explaining o your parents what the vet has said, maybe it would be best if your father was there when the vet is there so he can hear it first hand. That way it takes the strain off of you having to speak up to your father and also he can ask any questions he can think of.

If your vet recommends that your mare is not ridden any more than at least your dad would have heard it from a professional and hopefully won't push the issue with you.

I wish you luck with your mare. I myself have a 19yr old who I have had to retire but he is still very well loved and enjoys pottering around the block in hand every now and again just to keep his brain engaged. (he hates doing absolutely nothing and gets depressed)

 

[Ellie Ruby]

Can you post videos on here?

 

[ester]

you need to use a third party posting site and put the link for vids, them they usually automatically show up as vid.

 

[Ellie Ruby]

Would iCloud sharing work?

 

[holeymoley]

Try imgur it’s fairly simply to use you just upload and post the link. I can’t remember if they do videos though.

 

[Beachbabe]

Well done for not giving up on her. As has been said on here, stabling is the worst option for arthritis, she needs to keep moving.
As you have taken her shoes off, I'd be looking at her diet and making sure she's on as low a sugar and starch one as possible. I appreciate she needs meds, have you tried Fast Fibre? It's very sloppy so easy to put meds in, and is very low in starch. You clearly care for her very much and as one person among many who has had a Welsh D, I can only give you the benefit of my experience. I bought one from a girl who was scared of riding him for many of the reasons you have listed. He was overweight, about 15 years old and had had a very busy life. I bought him because we needed a companion for our pony after we bought our own land. As soon as they were alone in the field, he attacked our pony and absolutely meant it. I witnessed the whole thing and it was terrifying. After that they were put in separate fields, but they couldn't even be next door to each other as he spent all day running at the fence. Anyway, I started riding him, being the idiot that I am, and the more I rode him, the better mannered he became. I ended up in riding him every day. I don't know what it is with Welsh D's, but that was how I managed him. 20 is not old, tell that to my two hooligans aged 19 and 25. It sounds to me as tho she is bored and looking to make trouble. Even if she can't be ridden, there are plenty of things she could do with you on the ground and that you would both enjoy. Please don't give up on her, sounds as tho she has had a tough time before and just needs lots of tlc.

 

[Ellie Ruby]

Well done for not giving up on her. As has been said on here, stabling is the worst option for arthritis, she needs to keep moving.
As you have taken her shoes off, I'd be looking at her diet and making sure she's on as low a sugar and starch one as possible. I appreciate she needs meds, have you tried Fast Fibre? It's very sloppy so easy to put meds in, and is very low in starch. You clearly care for her very much and as one person among many who has had a Welsh D, I can only give you the benefit of my experience. I bought one from a girl who was scared of riding him for many of the reasons you have listed. He was overweight, about 15 years old and had had a very busy life. I bought him because we needed a companion for our pony after we bought our own land. As soon as they were alone in the field, he attacked our pony and absolutely meant it. I witnessed the whole thing and it was terrifying. After that they were put in separate fields, but they couldn't even be next door to each other as he spent all day running at the fence. Anyway, I started riding him, being the idiot that I am, and the more I rode him, the better mannered he became. I ended up in riding him every day. I don't know what it is with Welsh D's, but that was how I managed him. 20 is not old, tell that to my two hooligans aged 19 and 25. It sounds to me as tho she is bored and looking to make trouble. Even if she can't be ridden, there are plenty of things she could do with you on the ground and that you would both enjoy. Please don't give up on her, sounds as tho she has had a tough time before and just needs lots of tlc.

you need to use a third party posting site and put the link for vids, them they usually automatically show up as vid.

Thanks for your reply!
I will have a look at some fast fibre!

 

[Ellie Ruby]

This is when she didn’t want to be caught

 

[Ellie Ruby]

This is her walking

 

[Ellie Ruby]

Well done for not giving up on her. As has been said on here, stabling is the worst option for arthritis, she needs to keep moving.
As you have taken her shoes off, I'd be looking at her diet and making sure she's on as low a sugar and starch one as possible. I appreciate she needs meds, have you tried Fast Fibre? It's very sloppy so easy to put meds in, and is very low in starch. You clearly care for her very much and as one person among many who has had a Welsh D, I can only give you the benefit of my experience. I bought one from a girl who was scared of riding him for many of the reasons you have listed. He was overweight, about 15 years old and had had a very busy life. I bought him because we needed a companion for our pony after we bought our own land. As soon as they were alone in the field, he attacked our pony and absolutely meant it. I witnessed the whole thing and it was terrifying. After that they were put in separate fields, but they couldn't even be next door to each other as he spent all day running at the fence. Anyway, I started riding him, being the idiot that I am, and the more I rode him, the better mannered he became. I ended up in riding him every day. I don't know what it is with Welsh D's, but that was how I managed him. 20 is not old, tell that to my two hooligans aged 19 and 25. It sounds to me as tho she is bored and looking to make trouble. Even if she can't be ridden, there are plenty of things she could do with you on the ground and that you would both enjoy. Please don't give up on her, sounds as tho she has had a tough time before and just needs lots of tlc.

She doesn’t like anything smaller than her!

 

[Ellie Ruby]

T

This is her walking

Trotting I mean

 

[Nari]

Beachbabe Welsh Ds are a law unto themselves - if you get on with them then they are fantastic fun, but I can quite see how people end up terrified of them. Mine will act like an absolute plonker because he thinks it's funny and he can, but the fact is he's nowhere near as fierce as he makes out and if I just sigh and sound bored he loses all interest in whatever today's chosen monster is. He's generally good in a herd but can take a dislike, when that happens it's best to do as you did and split them up.

I think the routine of regular consistent handling, and riding if possible is so important for them mentally. More than some other breeds they need to know where they stand and have consistent boundaries if they're to be nice calm people.

 

[Ellie Ruby]

When we are in the arena she is perfect. Ears pricked up. Doesn’t make a fuss but a soon as we are out hacking that’s it!

 

[Ellie Ruby]

Beachbabe Welsh Ds are a law unto themselves - if you get on with them then they are fantastic fun, but I can quite see how people end up terrified of them. Mine will act like an absolute plonker because he thinks it's funny and he can, but the fact is he's nowhere near as fierce as he makes out and if I just sigh and sound bored he loses all interest in whatever today's chosen monster is. He's generally good in a herd but can take a dislike, when that happens it's best to do as you did and split them up.

I think the routine of regular consistent handling, and riding if possible is so important for them mentally. More than some other breeds they need to know where they stand and have consistent boundaries if they're to be nice calm people.

Yea allot of people are scared of her at the yard!

 

[Nari]

Ellie Ruby she does look quite short on both fronts and lame in that clip, though she's also choosing to trot of her own accord and looks happy in herself. I think until you've had the vet look at her properly you're best to stop riding, and then be guided by what he says. Make sure when you book the appointment that you specify what it's for, vets rarely have time to add in a full assessment when they come out to do something routine like a jab or teeth.

 

[Nari]

When we are in the arena she is perfect. Ears pricked up. Doesn’t make a fuss but a soon as we are out hacking that’s it!

Maybe on the softer surface of the arena she's more comfortable? Or maybe you're more confident in there and so she gets some leadership from you, a lot of the ones I've known really do look to their rider for confidence.

 

[IrishMilo]

You can tell she's very uncomfortable in the trotting video, so definitely time to retire her.

 

[Ellie Ruby]

She hasn’t been ridden in 4months in these vids.She loosens up and swelling goes down when she is in a routine

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

Honestly, get x rays of both of her knees. Mine is very arthritic, the x rays were horrific, although he’s actually sound in all paces and happy to gallop round. However, I wouldn’t put anyone on him. It’s tough, he can’t be ridden but is otherwise happy. He’s on daily danilon, I couldn’t let him carry on without painkiller and liaise regularly with the vet. My first move would be to get the vet out again.

 

[Ellie Ruby]

She hasn’t been ridden in 4months in these vids.

 

[Ellie Ruby]

Sorry posted it twice

 

[AmyMay]

You can tell she's very uncomfortable in the trotting video.

Really? ??‍??‍

 

[IrishMilo]

Really? ??‍??‍

Do you disagree? I think she looks extremely tight up front.

 

[Muddywellies]

I agree with others the arthritis could be causing pain. She sounds like she may have ulcers too (my Welshie gets them at the drop of a hat). Kissing spines? Is the behaviour hormonal? Have you kept a diary? Possible ovary problems.
It's often not as simple as teeth/saddle/physio. I think the horse needs some pretty heavy duty investigating by the vet, or time to retire her to a nice quiet life in the field (bearing in mind retirees do take a fair amount of management).

 

[ycbm]

Really? ??‍??‍

Yes.
.

 

[holeymoley]

She’s very short behind which could indicate hock arthritis but could just be stiff overall.

 

[The Xmas Furry]

In the 1st clip she looks like a very pottery oldie.
OP, heed the advice given above, try and have a parent with you when vet comes and get vet to give prognosis going forwards.
Good luck x