New pony lameness nightmare – advice please!

[Foxy girl]

Hoping for some advice! Viewed Arab x Warmblood 14.2hh pony in October last year and was aware of DDFT issue 2 years before from which she’d fully recovered and had since competed. Had 5 stage vetting just to make sure, which she passed and was also given letter from previous vets for insurance purposes to verify injury had been treated and no exclusions should be put in place as she had had the all clear.
Daughter has ridden new pony maybe 10+ times and she starts to go very lame, mainly on left fore. Straight into vets who inject both front coffin joints with steroids and she has 6 weeks box rest. Seems to be improving but assessed yesterday and she’s v lame now on right fore. Insurance claim in progress but unlikely they’ll pay out as it is probably relatable to previous injury.
Question now is how to proceed – MRI scan next obvious step but cost is mounting and having had daughter's pony PTS last year due to a similar injury and inconclusive MRI, I’m reluctant to use up any savings on this rather than treatment. I know this is horses and sh&t happens but feeling really hard done by that we’ve had pony 5 months, daughter has ridden a handful of times and we’re facing a massive bill and/or a very tough decision about the poor pony’s future.

Anyone got any advice at all? Is there any point going back to the seller at all? Also vetting deemed her fully fit for all PC activities. Vet has now said she’ll never be up to doing anything near that. Love my vet to bits and don’t want to fall out but I’m £4k+ out of pocket here and no pony for the season! Do I have any come back at all? I work for a horse insurance company so I know the ins and outs that end, but what about the vetting, or the vendors – is there any point going down those routes or am I just damned unlucky? Thanks in advance….

 

[bonny]

Hoping for some advice! Viewed Arab x Warmblood 14.2hh pony in October last year and was aware of DDFT issue 2 years before from which she’d fully recovered and had since competed. Had 5 stage vetting just to make sure, which she passed and was also given letter from previous vets for insurance purposes to verify injury had been treated and no exclusions should be put in place as she had had the all clear.
Daughter has ridden new pony maybe 10+ times and she starts to go very lame, mainly on left fore. Straight into vets who inject both front coffin joints with steroids and she has 6 weeks box rest. Seems to be improving but assessed yesterday and she’s v lame now on right fore. Insurance claim in progress but unlikely they’ll pay out as it is probably relatable to previous injury.
Question now is how to proceed – MRI scan next obvious step but cost is mounting and having had daughter's pony PTS last year due to a similar injury and inconclusive MRI, I’m reluctant to use up any savings on this rather than treatment. I know this is horses and sh&t happens but feeling really hard done by that we’ve had pony 5 months, daughter has ridden a handful of times and we’re facing a massive bill and/or a very tough decision about the poor pony’s future.

Anyone got any advice at all? Is there any point going back to the seller at all? Also vetting deemed her fully fit for all PC activities. Vet has now said she’ll never be up to doing anything near that. Love my vet to bits and don’t want to fall out but I’m £4k+ out of pocket here and no pony for the season! Do I have any come back at all? I work for a horse insurance company so I know the ins and outs that end, but what about the vetting, or the vendors – is there any point going down those routes or am I just damned unlucky? Thanks in advance….

Hard to see how you have any comeback with previous owners who sound like they were honest with you and you knew the pony had had a problem, as regards the vetting it’s only for the day in question and the pony was sound then. Sorry but you took a chance and it hasn’t paid off, hopefully the pony was cheap ?

 

[SusieT]

Have to say you took on a known problem with a poor prognosis - why did you do this if you weren't prepared to retire the pony at the drop of a hat as it was highly likely this issue was gong to be recurrant or need manageing?

 

[be positive]

I don't see how you can have any comeback as you bought knowing there had been a fairly significant injury that may well have recovered but was a risk it could happen again, certainly the vendors have been open with you, I think it was a gamble that I would not have advised one of my clients to even get it vetted unless the pony was very cheap, they were prepared to lose out financially and it was a really exceptional opportunity that made the gamble worthwhile. Your vet or trainer may have been remiss from that point of view but as you chose to vet it and it passed on the day then there is nothing to complain about.
It is highly unlikely the insurance will pay out so it may be best to accept you will lose out and possibly go down the conservative route of treating it as a DDFT injury, without the MRI to confirm, taking the shoes off and doing a barefoot rehab, it will not cost a fortune but will require your time and effort, the money saved could be put in the pot towards another if this one does not come right.

 

[Orangehorse]

I agree with be positive about this and treat conservatively. Contact the previous owners, they may say "well it was OK when it was vetted" or they might give you some money back.

What a shame for you and the pony.

 

[AandK]

I don't understand why you think you would have any reason to contact the seller. You bought the pony fully aware of the previous issue, and also had it vetted. Which, at the end of the day, is just how the pony was on the day, and not a guarantee it will be sound forever more. What did your vet find that led them to inject the coffin joints? Have they said this is related to the previous issue, you don't say which leg the DDFT problem was in.
And yes it is a case of "that's horses for you" sometimes they have no issues at all, and sometimes they just can't cope with whatever workload we want them to. If you had a pony before with soundness issues, why buy one with such a history? Can only assume it was because it was cheap.. in which case you took a gamble, and it didn't pay off.

 

[ycbm]

Contact the previous owners, they may say "well it was OK when it was vetted" or they might give you some money back.

What a shame for you and the pony.

Have you ever had a buyer try and scam money back out of you this way? I have, and it wasn't pleasant. Why on earth should a seller who fully divulged the pony's history be given this stress and bother?

 

[Michen]

I would have the bloods run from the vetting just to be sure though they sound like honest open sellers so unlikely to cover anything up.

 

[ester]

Why did the vets inject coffin joints? Was there something on X-ray or were they presuming ddft and aiming for some dissipation?

 

[tallyho!]

You've had the pony since October... daughter ridden it 10 times...

What has it been doing the last 6 months? If it was field kept then it may have laminitis.

The vets may not have picked this up, because I have seen at least 5 cases where a vet injected the joints and it was laminitis all along... I'm not saying that IS the case here - but if both front feet are affected, one has to consider what else is going on. If you're going to MRI then do the coffin joint as well at least you can rule lami out.

 

[Shay]

If you read the post - hasn't it been lame, treated and then on box rest?

Injecting the coffin joints seems a slightly odd response to me - but I presume there was something there that was seen on the day. I am so sorry for your daughter - and you - but I tend to agree with BP and others. This doesn't read like a horse who is going to come sound and stay sound for any length of time. You are facing a rotten decision I'm afraid.

Might you be able to loan something suitable over the summer so you can get out and about? Turning pony away for a prolonged period might help - but personally I would not expect to be able to bring it back into work for any length of time before something else happens.

I can't see any route for comeback I'm afraid. The pony was clearly sound at vetting and had at that time recovered fully from the previous serious injury (or as fully as you can). The only vague question in my mind is that the activity description "PC Activities" is very broad. The pony might well have been capable of the odd low key rally or to tootle about on a lead rein but not have been suitable for Area or National competition? But even then I don't think there is much scope for any come back and the pony was clearly sound at the time and no-one can predict the future.