New pony lame.. farrier thinks PTS :( Vibes please

Wow, your farrier is insensitive!

I'm not sure how he can tell you to PTS when he wasn't able to tell you the problem.

My shetland has had lammy in her hinds with none in the fronts, and one side is usually worse than the other. At this time of year the risk of lammy is higher than in summer because of the increase in grass fructins, plus she's been moved onto more grazing and on top of that she's a Sec A.

The wet/longer grass after a long sunny and dry period means a lot of horses will have softer soles at the min, and cracked heels and thrush. If damaged when damp their feet are vulnerable to a whole other set of bacteria too. It could even be that she just has a bruised sole.

Realistically, I'm not a vet but these are all problems I've had with natives and none of them are necessarily obvious if you don't know what you're looking for. All are usually treatable, and if only to put your mind at rest, if the vet was overly concerned by the info you gave them, they wouldn't make you wait for a visit.

Hope this helps put your mind at ease, let us know how she gets on?
 
My old mare has limited movement when her fetlock joints are flexed. She still starts stampedes in the field at bed time and friday I watched her overtake 2 young ex racers win were hooning round! She doesn't stop well but other than that quality of life is great. Have vet in case you can fix it but don't worry too much for now.
 
My horse has had lami in front with abscesses in hind. That would b my first though WIth any horse going from limited grazing to a. Lot more! Horses can make Abcesses appear horrendous!!

If she doesn't like pressure this would also b my first thought.

Definitely get vet and pos look of xrays of foot or hock longer term of no improvemt. And second a chiro just to rule out any other issues.
 
Get a vet out. As much as we all appreciate the work of a farrier, he isn't a vet and he shouldn't be saying that he thinks you should PTS, even a vet doesn't say that!
 
SNORKEY said:
Wait for the vet, she could have an abscess or even laminitis or she could of hurt her self in the field. It's really not for your farrier to say, he's not a vet.
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But a decent farrier is far more qualified in matters of the foot; a vet does very little training on feet whereas a farrier does a very intense four years.
If it's an abscess I can't make out why he didn't spear it there and then, the relief from pressure would have been almost instant.
It could be an old injury that has fused which is why there was so little movement in the joint so something she has learnt to live with or it could even be something as mundane as mud fever swelling before the skin cracks which is why she's sore.
Whatever you do, don't give her any painkillers before the vet comes as they need to see it as it is, not with the edge taken off it.

Don't panic
 
elsiecat said:
What would you suggest first? Vet or chiropracter? :)
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I would get the vet to go through the basics. I don't think your farrier has done anything other than upset and worry you. After all one would hardly consider having a horse PTS for an abscess. :) If laminitis is suspected there are lots of things you can do. There are so many relatively small things this could be.

If the problem wasn't immediately resolved I would tell the vet that I wanted the chiropractor to have a look at the horse so that you had some more information before making a decision as to what to do.

For one chiropractor visit they should be able to go through your pony, highlight the problems, discuss what can be done an the future prospects and adjust the pony.
If they cannot resolve the problem it means you will have a lot of information to work on as to the overall health of the pony before deciding whether to persue further with lamenss workouts from the vet or how comfortable a life it can have.
I am sure it won't get that far and something will become obvious however at least you will then be able to make an informed decision based on facts rather than being spooked and upset by a farrier.
good luck and don't panic yet. Just work your way through the problem and the answer will become obvious.
 
Your pony is lame and you are considering PTS? :confused: Ridiculous. It could be anything. See what the vet says. Sounds like your farrier is a bit sensationalist.
 
Bobby Boy said:
Agreed, a section A with good grazing and my first thought would be laminitis, have you got stables to bring her off the grass?
Hope the vet is more helpful for you:)
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Yes, our previous farrier thought it was shoulder lameness in our Section A when it was early laminitis.

Why are you waiting a week to get the vet out for a look if you were thinking she would be PTS at the start of the thread? I'd get them out ASAP and get on with trying to solve the problem..
 
paddy555 said:
I'm not sure why your farrier can't work out if you have an abscess. However if it turns out not to be an abscess I would get a chiropractor out before doing anything else. That would be a cost effective way of considering the lack of flexion in the ankle (fetlock) and seeing if it can be resolved. You may well find after a chiropractor's visit that the pony is moving completely differently. I have seen lots of improvements in our horses after their treatment.
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I'd get the vet to take a look before the chiro. They're good, but they can make things worse.

Honestly, don't panic. :) There's so many silly things that it could be and most of them are simple to treat. Get the vet to take a look, consider taking x-rays of that leg and go from there.
 
I NEVER said PTS. Ever. I was shocked at the farrier saying it and hoping dearly that this wasn't the case.

Old owners spoken to her vet as the horse apparently had a similar injury some time ago to do with the tendons in the bottom of her leg. The vet thinks that they may have never completely healed and the bigger field and the running with my horses has brought the damage back on. However the owner watched her walking and shes no way near as bad as it was. Vets suggested to putting her in a smaller paddock for the next few days to see how she goes on as they're convinced its the same issue again. If theres no improvement by Thursday/Friday at the latest then the vets going to come out and do a check up.

Thanks for all the advise and suggestions everyone :D
 
Faracat said:
I hope that she's feeling much better soon. :)
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Me too, barely been able to relax all weekend but I feel much more at ease tonight. Old owner was worried when I rang her saturday but after coming today she said she's no longer worried as it seems just like the old injury. As I say, vet out thursday/friday at the latest if theres no drastic improvement (which I doubt there will be).

She doesn't SEEM in pain to me when shes grazing and moving slow. Just when you start prodding and pushing.

:)
 
Not read all the replies but have you considered laminitis? Small field changing to a big field, native pony - older could be prone to cushings, autumn flush of grass (well round our way anyway). Sorry if this has been eliminated but it would be my first thought. The pony may have a chronic condition like arthritis but if it is more lame than previously I would be taking it off the grass and giving soaked hay etc until the vet has been.
 
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