Need some honest advice

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indiat

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Hi all,

My old mare has had arthritis for a couple of years now, a dodgy petula bone and shivers. She is on cortaflex, msm, buteless and magnesium and has magnetic boots. Most of the time she is fine and is still ridden, with the odd bady day but come the winter, she wants in and then she lies down and can't get up. The physio was convinced it was the problems with petula bone but her muscles have improved and the bone is now stablised and she doesn't have any more pain from it, according to the physio. The arthritis is manageable but this lying down thing is a real problem. She has been down now since last night. She's not showing any signs of distress and she's eating and drinking but she is exhuasted from struggling to get up. The vet thinks if she keeps doing this I will have to put her down. What do you guys think? What kills me is when she eventually gets to her feet she seems fine. But if she is in enough pain that it keeps her immobilised, then she can't be fine can she? I haven't had her joints injected and she has been on synequin before, it didn't stop this problem.

I forgot to add, she is in a barn with lots of room to move about on a very deep bed and she gets regular turnout.
 
I think if the old girl cant get up its time to call it a day for her sake
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have her pts. asap. seriously.
i'm really sorry, i know it's heartbreaking, but she has to go at some point, and it's better that she goes with dignity, not after struggling until she is exhausted.
give her lots of love and cuddles and let her go, she'll thank you for it. honestly.
 
Im so sorry for you but i have to say i would probably call it a day.
It sounds like its only gonna be downhill from here and i wouldnt want to see them suffering more than necessary.
You really have no idea what pain she is suffering if she physically cant get up.
 
To be fair if she is really struggling to get back up even though when she does she seems fine, I would certainly seriously think about calling it a day for her sake also....

Tough one to call and believe me it's not something to be taken lightly at all...been there sadly, but you seriously need to think about her future....

Sorry
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I agree....such a hard decision to make but also a brave one when your old girl has reached this point. Its coming up to winter too so it would be kindest to let her go now.

I really feel for you as you obviously care so very much for her.
 
Have you tried changing her supplement? Some people have better results with other products (by which I mean they don't rate cosequin
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) and if she is normally well enough to still be ridden (so clearly not "normally" in this much distress) I think it may be worth giving her one last chance (and a couple of weeks) on something else??- I wholeheartedly recommend cosequin, saw a 98% improvement in only a week or so with my boy.


I understand what the others are saying, if she is really suffering it may be the kindest thing to PTS ASAP, however this option really is a "one way ticket" and she is genuinely normally well then it seems to me to be a shame not to try what you can first

Good luck x x x
 
please put her down now.

my friend had a lovely old horse she had owned since she was 15 and had him for over 20 years.

we were able to ride him sometimes and he used to love coming out on hacks if i led him from another horse.

it was awful to watch him decline, the same way as yours- he really struggled with getting up.

we used to have to help him get up with shavings bales and ropes and it was awful.

it came to a head one day when despite 4 of us trying to push him to get up we couldn't get him to stand.

he was quite happy lying down, not stressed but i think it was his way of saying he was ready to go.

he was pts that morning but i really wish my friend had let him go a few months earlier with a little bit of dignity.
 
What's a petula bone? Do you mean pedal bone? If she is regularly goes down and can't get up, and there is no treatment that will improve the situation, then I think you have to face up to the fact that the kindest thing to do is to have her put down.

How many times has she gone down recently?
 
If she's been down a long time and is exhausting herself then IMHO you should be getting the vet or hunt out now.

Having said that, if you can get someone to lift her and who will come out each time then you could probably keep her going. I really don't like the sound of her being exhausted trying to get herself up though.

I have various people ready on call for my chap who has had difficulties getting up in the past - starting with a team of people who will help lift or just provide a bit of extra shove for him to get himself up.
 
ali_m, please don't encourage the OP to keep this poor mare going any longer. a horse which is "exhausted from struggling to get up" and which has been down since last night (with a history of struggling to get up) is NOT going to be put right by a different supplement imho.
if she's down for another night i believe that her internal organs will probably start getting crushed unless she is hoisted up in slings... so, she'll die anyway... not nicely either.
OP, please do the responsible thing for your old girl. get a vet and have her pts before she suffers any more.
 
ditto kerilli, it doesn't do them any good to be down for any length of time.

Sad decision but I would PTS sooner rather than later.
 
indiat
(((((((())))))) sorry to read you last post but you are doing the right thing a horrible decision to make at any time. hope she rests in peace. Well done brave thing to do.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Thank you all, the vet is on his way. My beautiful girl, 10 years toghether, I can't stop crying.

[/ QUOTE ]

(((((HUGS)))))

Chin up for her, she needs you to be calm and happy just now, however much your heart is breaking.

Remember that you will get lots of support and understanding on here when she's settled one way or the other.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Thank you all, the vet is on his way. My beautiful girl, 10 years toghether, I can't stop crying.

[/ QUOTE ]

Stay strong for her, you are making the bravest decision an owner can make
 
TBTH, if she is so bad that she struggles to get up, I can't think why you are dallying any longer by asking us. Do the right thing by her as soon as you can. Sorry to be so blunt but the poor girl is obviously suffering so please do the fairest thing for her.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Thank you all, the vet is on his way. My beautiful girl, 10 years toghether, I can't stop crying.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh honey, you are doing the kindest thing you can for her. This is the kindest hing any owner of any animal can do. Its a heartbreaking decision but we need to think of their quality of life and not our needs.

(((((((((HUGS))))))))))
 
A horse at our yard is suffering similar problems. He is currently in my horse's stable as its much bigger and easier for us to get him up. Vet had to come out to him this morning as hed been down some time, listened to his heart, which is failing and thus affecting his circulation and thus oxygen flow toi his muscles making it much harder for him to get up. We got him up this morning but vet has said to let him go before he has a heart attack. just goes to show that sometimes there is much more to not being able to get up than meets the eye.

I would have PTS this morning if I was in your situation. You've tried your best, now is the time to let her go with a bit of dignity. xxx
 
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