Nitty's newest war wound, and advice about these pesky feet of hers please

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Jesstickle

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So here is the result of her run in with the mounting block. She is very stiff as a result but everything seems to be in working order underneath the brusing

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Idiot mare!

And now to these feet. She will not stay in her stable on total box rest ( I mean, she'll stay in there but she'll kill me and stress herself out horrendously) but if I put her in the school or the field she runs around like a mental. I know. I've tried both the last couple of days. All her pulses had gone so thought I'd let her out for half an hour. Half an hour of belting about later they are all back again and her feet are clearly sore. Sigh.

I just don't know how to manage her. What do people do with horses that need to be in but can't? I can fence her a tiny bit of paddock but BH is on box rest so she'll be by herself and I think she'll just stress, plus she isn't really meant to be on grass due to these feet anyway?

Suggestions on what to do with the cow?
 
OW! :(

No suggestions as I've not found any answers, particually with any horse that is a TB or has looked at a TB. Maybe the wiser people can help?
 
I wish for her own sake she would just be sensible. If she would be calm there is no reason she couldn't go out for an hour a couple of times a day. But she won't. She just hoons about and makes her feet hurt. Bit of a vicious cycle. The more I keep her in the more she hoons and the more I have to keep her in again :(

She does think it is OW. Which is unusual for her. She is normally pretty brave but apparently this one hurts!
 
I have one suggestion, but it is rather drastic...

bullet.

and I bet you'd remember all the reasons you love her before they pull the trigger too ;)
 
JFTD said:
I have one suggestion, but it is rather drastic...

bullet.

and I bet you'd remember all the reasons you love her before they pull the trigger too ;)
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You reckon? If it was remotely ethical I'd have her shot like that. But it isn't and people would be (rightly) angry so on we plug...

Flame_ said:
Wow, you do have some problems. :( Could you make two little outdoor sick-pens side by side?
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I don't know. I will ask my vet about whether BH (who is being absolutely angelic about his box rest the little lamb) might be allowed out in to a pen to keep the beast from hell company. I don't see any reason why not but you know how funny vets can be! Not that she can go back out for a while again now as with her DPs back I daren't risk it :(
Will try another week in her box and then aim for a tiny pen with BH as company to try and persuade her to keep a lid on it.
 
2 stable sized patches in your field? Any chance she could go out with something really quiet to keep her company?
Or maybe some gentle lunging so you have a bit of a say in what she's up to?

Doubt any of them will help though :(
 
dh- nothing is quiet with Nitty around! :eek: but yes, I think she might just have to go on the lunge to begin with. What a bloody minefield. I'm sure laminitics are meant to be in so much pain that they keep still. She clearly doesn't think they hurt that much!

flirtygerty- I think I might just take to going to the yard drunk. Would make it seem more bearable! I usually cope with her calamities ok but having him off work too is doing my head in!!

ETS: the mounting block is in the corner of the school and she wedged herself between the fence and it. Then decided to take off at speed and ran into it. I'm pretty sure she knew it was there and totally misjudged it being a spanner. Infact I know she knows it's there because I always use it to get on her and because she had her hocks touching it before she beggared off. There is no limit to her stupidity!
 
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Don't know your yard set up but mine is currently out on her own during the day as her field mate is on box rest. She has horses near her so can see ( brood mares about to drop and a stallion so going out with them isn't an option) I thought she would go nuts on her own (TB into self harming just like Nits) but apart a bit of calling and the odd silly canter she's settled into the routine really well. Can you not turn her out and leave her out ? - sorry can't keep up with what she done this time as she does so much to herself :D
 
I was going to suggest sedalin, that kept Melly just on the wobbly side of calm when she had to go on box rest with lami. She had 2 ml to start with, and then we kept her topped up for the next 24hours (she went to my bosses yard and was a nightmare to stable, she has confinement issues) Sedalin lasts approx 6 hours, so we gave her another ml every 6 hours, then half a ml for another 12 hours. After that we let her off it and she settled nicely. Would it be worth trying that, or any other calmer? Its horrible when they wont settle :( you have my sympathies xx
 
Sorry, I should start from the beginning.

She should be out 24/7 but she has what looks a lot like laminitis (well let's call a spade a spade, she has laminitis) so I can't just put her out. I would love to. I have no idea why she has it, she hasn't really been on grass or anything, she just does :rollseyes:

Hence her having to stay in. Only she won't stay in without killing me. She's be ok out grazing for short periods of time if she didn't belt about but she does. Gah!! I really hate her at the moment. I just wish she would vanish into thin air and go away for a while.

However, that won't happen so I don't really know what to do with her :(
 
Well soaked hay on bare earth and out 24/7, no doubt she'll hoon for a bit but then settle I would imagine - french always did, and lot of tlc and attention, taking her for walks in hand, gentle stretches etc. i.e. things to keep her brain occupied

ETS: Could the laminitis be concussion related as you said she had a dramatic trim...hard ground..hooning...
 
jesstickle said:
Sorry, I should start from the beginning.

She should be out 24/7 but she has what looks a lot like laminitis (well let's call a spade a spade, she has laminitis) so I can't just put her out. I would love to. I have no idea why she has it, she hasn't really been on grass or anything, she just does :rollseyes:

Hence her having to stay in. Only she won't stay in without killing me. She's be ok out grazing for short periods of time if she didn't belt about but she does. Gah!! I really hate her at the moment. I just wish she would vanish into thin air and go away for a while.

However, that won't happen so I don't really know what to do with her :(
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What a pain. Do you have a school or ploughed/bald field you can leave her in? I'd cut out all feed other than fibre even if she drops condition and leave her to burn off as much as she can. She's still quite young isn't she? My old girl wasn't sane and ready to work till she was 12 ish. But then she went on for many many years after that. I've always liked your posts on Nitty, maybe she just needs more time. xx
 
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We don't have an earth field :( And all our fields have been fertilised :mad: and I doubt very much she'll be allowed in the school all day.

She isn't fed anything other than hay, never has been.

She is sane enough to work. She's backed, I just can't stop her breaking for long enough to get any work into her. I actually think regular, steady work would do her the world of good if I could just keep her injury free!

V- I have no idea what sets her off. She got it about this time last year too and she'd been on box rest for weeks (for her hock). Quite possibly it is the hard ground but I can't stop her belting about on it. Even out 24/7 she likes to have a blast round every day. I can't make it rain for her. I would if I could!
 
Grazing muzzle? and possibly worth speaking to the vet/farrier about shoe options/pads that might help?

A pony I used to look after was very lammi prone but always did better out that in as could move around more - i also wouldn't want to turn out in school because of the risk of sand colic

ETS RE working, even with the feet I would probably do a little bit with her in the school every day, nothing ridden of physically hard, just thing like desensiting, in hand exercises, stretching etc to occupy her brain and get her thinking
 
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Is she mareish? I've never used them but would one of the oestruss (spelling?) type supplements work. Just wondering if it's this time of year that sets her off because she is coming into season. I feel for you, it must be a nightmare. xx

ETA I don't know how many vets bills I had encountered by the time my girl was 10 or so, but it was a lot, and all down to injury, not illness. :rolleyes:
 
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nikicb said:
Is she mareish? I've never used them but would one of the oestruss (spelling?) type supplements work. Just wondering if it's this time of year that sets her off because she is coming into season. I feel for you, it must be a nightmare. xx

ETA I don't know how many vets bills I had encountered by the time my girl was 10 or so, but it was a lot, and all down to injury, not illness. :rolleyes:
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No she really isn't at all but you aren't the first person to suggest that it could be hormonal. I knew there was a reason I usually had geldings! :)

When the vet is back in business I will try and have a sensible conversation with them about what on earth to do with her. Will also call farrier on Tuesday and see what he thinks.

She is one high maintenance beasty!
 
jesstickle said:
No she really isn't at all but you aren't the first person to suggest that it could be hormonal. I knew there was a reason I usually had geldings! :)

When the vet is back in business I will try and have a sensible conversation with them about what on earth to do with her. Will also call farrier on Tuesday and see what he thinks.

She is one high maintenance beasty!
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Well, it's worth a try. Now I'm going to try and make you feel better here. This is what I can remember off the top of my head while owning my girl.....

Ran through a barbed wire fence while hacking - several stitches to chest (1 week after owning).

Jumped the gate coming in by herself from the field, fell on her knees (6 months after I got her).

6 inch cut under her elbow, required stitches, no idea how it got there as she had been in her stable all the time (around 18 months after I got her).

Then it calmed down for a little.....

Major puncture wound to hock, spurting blood, rescued by non horsey neighbour, vet said she lost at least 1/4 of her blood and would have been dead within another 15 minutes - 3 years after I got her.

Then various scrapes, cuts etc. including going over backwards when loading and various other exciting adventures.

Then moved her to her final home (around 17 years ago). Within half an hour of getting there she tripped out of her stable and cut a front coronet band with a hind toe. Puncture wound, vertical jets of blood and 5 week recovery.

Then there was the 12 inch gash on her hind quarters when she got in the way of the horse in the next stable who managed to lift his door off the hinges and ran up the path by the school.

The less said about the 6 months off after major colic surgery the better. :rolleyes:

She lasted to 35. I wonder how many fewer grey hairs I would have if she hadn't been so accident prone. :confused::p

I love owning horses, don't you. :rolleyes::)

ETA Oops I forgot the time she reared up when loading at a show, bolted across the showground, disappeared up the lane and was found 3 miles away. No injuries (luckily she was fully bandaged for travelling), just wrecked my nerves somewhat. :eek:
 
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Prepared to be shot down for this....but what about keeping her tied up in the stable, and tethered out in the field?
I know its drastic and not the way we like to keep our horses, but sometimes I do think you need to be cruel to be kind in some cased, especially if only for a short time to get her right.

When in the stable she can have all her hay and water in front of her and be kept on a rope and ball just long enough for her to lie down and step forward and back without getting caught up- ball keeps the rope tight.
In a separate field from others she can be secured on proper tethering neck belt to stake in the ground, gradually lengthening the plastic covered chain as she learns to avoid getting tangled in it. If tied outside when hungry she should eat the grass greedily and forget about running about. It is fine to put her out for an hour or so like this without water to get tangled in, as you can water her once back inside.

I had to resort to this way of management for a laminitic pony, he soon got the hang of it, reduced his weight drastically and improved his manners aswell.

I don't see it as being any different than cross tying for weeks to allow a fracture to heal, but watch as folk jump on me.
 
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