ongoing saga of boxrest pony- new chapter, gastric ulcers?

[throwawayaccount]

some of you may have read my earlier threads about my mare and our journey to soundness (bought her as a lockdown pony- unseen and unvetted(no vettings were conducted 'back then'!), so far we have discovered and have/are dealing with, in the space of less than a year and a half:
1 - massive hole in suspensory ligament left fore - essentially healed now but still got to be careful
2 - bone spavin in hocks - treated with steroids, ethanol and tildren
3 - discomfort in lumbar region/glutes/sacroiliac - treated with regular physio and shockwave
4 - discomfort in right fore, treated with steroids in coffin joint (I think)
5 - laminitis - onset as a result of steroids, being treated. i caught this fast, pulses are much better and we are getting there
6 - cellulitis - as a result of the laminitis, caught early by myself and getting there

my latest potential worry is 7 - ulcers.

the past few days my mare was on livery and i went up to check after work- i'm super busy at the moment hence whacking her on full livery. on 3 occasions she was left with no hay! twice of which i had to sort, once was by a livery during the day making sure she had enough to keep her going til i popped down. admittedly my mare is on a restricted hay diet as a result of the lami (soaked) but it is still not okay to leave a horse 10-14+ hours without hay. so this is a separate issue in itself that i now have to stress about.

i gave her a groom/ little wash today, and when i got to her hind quarters/gut area- immediately she was not happy- turning around and threatening to bite (she never does) she also fully brought her leg up and out to kick me, on both sides. massively unhappy pony. other than that she is fine in herself ( so long as not touching those areas, still bright, playful, eating, drinking, pooing etc). i phoned my vet for advice, who suggested to half her bute intake at the mo over the weekend and to schedule her in for a gastro on monday at the hospital

i don't know how soon ulcers can occur, and i don't know how many times in the past this has happened either.

i feel sick writing this really, with stress and worry. going to be googling all sorts, as i can't sleep.

i love my mare to pieces. admittedly i bought her as a general riding club type horse and have barely rode her. before her last lot of tildren and steroid treatment, we were happy enough walking out and plodding around- she was comfortable, free, happy, stretching out lovely. i don't care if we get that back or not, my first and foremost concern has always been her wellbeing. i've done more digging on her past and found out after she turned 5, she was sold to someone who brought her on carefully- i got in touch with the lady who showed me videos and my mare is sound!! and jumping a nice little jump well. the next person who bought her said that my mare 'blew a tendon' in a week, she couldn't afford the vetbills and sold her on as a companion. my mare did not get sold as a companion. she was dumped at auction, went to her last owner who work work worked her, then came to me, who has been shelling out ever since.

kind words please, i know this is a self pitying post, i just feel so utterly down and upset about it all. its also causing friction in my relationship- ive spent near enough (or going to be totalling now, at least) 3k in excesses for vetbills, plus livery services, plus everything else. i told my boyfriend about it tonight, he essentially said it was my fault for having a horse.

it COULD! be nothing, but more than likely it is going to be something.

i'm just feeling so sad and worried, my beautiful girl doesn't deserve this. she's not long turned 10 .

ETA— she’s had bloods checked after lami onset, all clear for Cushings and anything else

 

[Bernster]

Didn’t want to read and run, although don’t think I can be much help in terms of possible issue no 7. But did want to say that you’ve both had a rough time of it, and she is very lucky that you care and are giving her the best chance of coming sound. I hope it works out ok for you. Take care of yourself as well though, it must be very draining, mentally as well as financially!

 

[throwawayaccount]

Didn’t want to read and run, although don’t think I can be much help in terms of possible issue no 7. But did want to say that you’ve both had a rough time of it, and she is very lucky that you care and are giving her the best chance of coming sound. I hope it works out ok for you. Take care of yourself as well though, it must be very draining, mentally as well as financially!

thankyou, I appreciate your reply so much! I just feel utterly drained. I’m moving off now, that’ll be inevitable. I’ve got a of things to sort this week (vets, test, hospital appts) and one yard that really resonates with me is one I used to be on. The problem is it is where I used to live…

I guess I have a whole load of life choices to make

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Tbh I wouldn't be surprised if she has ulcers after all that lot, they are most often a response to pain. When I thought my mare had ulcer-type symptoms, I followed a tip on here and added Aloe Vera juice to her (minimal) feed. She was on a diet, as she was obese when I bought her, having been on a high sugar/high starch feed in her previous home. I cut her diet back to a ration of hay, loads of oat straw chaff, so that she never had to stand in without forage and a small amount of Agrobs Wiesencobs to carry the AV and salt. She also had Brewers' Yeast, although we stopped that after a while. I soon learned not to run out of AV, as if she missed 2 doses, she got grumpy again.
If the regime works, it's much cheaper than scoping and Gastroguard, so might be worth a try with your mare.

Your pony definitely fell on her hooves, when you bought her.

 

[throwawayaccount]

thank you for your kind words, i'll get some aloe vera ordered- that's a pretty good shout to be fair!

i think its best its looked at because knowing my luck if i dared bury my head in the sand i'd end up with more issues she's meant to be going into the vets today, just need to finalise when. will keep the thread updated!! X

 

[honetpot]

First of all I admire all you have done for her, and I can understand why you have put her on full livery, but I wonder if where you have her is the right place. I would try and find somewhere that has a barn/shed, it doesn't have to be a posh yard, where she can relax and perhaps a companion, and have an enriched environment.
You have been through the mill with horse ownership, and sometimes you have to take a step back and think what to I want to achieve long term. This time of year is perhaps the easiest and cheapest time to keep a horse, it's going to be harder coming into winter. Just changing management, which may cost less could, and give you a mental break.

 

[HashRouge]

I would also not be surprised if she has ulcers after all that!
If it is any consolation, I currently have a horse sitting in my field who has had: navicular, started crib biting due to box rest, stress laminitis as a result of remedial shoeing, hock spavin, ulcers and sacroiliac pain. And he has been sound for years and looks amazing hoolying round the field like a little nutter. I don't ride him, but that is because he's hard to catch and I can't be bothered with the agro, not because he's not sound. And I'm not entirely surprised he's hard to catch, given how long he was on box rest for at the beginning!
I would get your vet up and get your mare scoped, but I would also be very keen to change her set up as soon as she has recovered from her laminitis. You want her out as much as possible, but on restricted grazing. Over winter you should find her much easier to manage, but I would want her to have a long holiday with as much turnout as possible. I know you have to be careful with her suspensory, but a sensible, settled herd shouldn't run her around too much.

 

[throwawayaccount]

thank you both honestly hashrogue that sounds stressful, your horse is lucky to have you!! essentially the yard i'm on at the mo is a DIY yard but it has a livery services option so you can chop and change your days as needed, but unfortunately it seems that hasn't worked out. *and breathe* (!) the grass on our yard is super rich as it was dairy grass so i've always had to be super careful with it, but sometimes it feels like you swap one thing for another. my friend has poised the idea of moving yards with her to a place with a small stable block, nice-enough fields (hilly tho), but i'm torn on the right thing to do [or not to do]. the whole saga has also sadly been, a contributing factor to the damages of my relationship (amongst other things). depending on what happens i may have an option to move back home and put her on my old yard, but it all depends on whats happening. i can't think past tomorrow at the mo!!

i've just spoke to vets, she'll be going in this afternoon and then sorted and coming home tomorrow. poor girl- and my poor bank account!
i am 'glad' this has happened over summer and not winter, i think thatd be even more gruelling and miserable what with the weather. xx

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I hope it all goes well this afternoon.

 

[Casey76]

Poor you OP, and your poor mare. She has really fallen on her feet with you.

I am horrified on your behalf that your horse has been left for up to 14 hours without hay. That is willful neglect on the side of the livery yard. There are just so many options to allow a limited amount of hay to be fed over a long period of time these days.

I hope you get some answers this afternoon. In the meantime, if you get aloe juice, make sure it is pure or high percentage aloe, and not 5% aloe and 95% water . Slippery elm is also good for soothing tummies, and can be used long term as a preventative.

 

[brighteyes]

I too echo everything said above and couldn't 'read and run' either.

The toll on oneself can't be ignored as you need to be available and have enough spare capacity to deal with setback. I think your personal overload has been reached so setting this all out to share hopefully will help.

Some excellent, low-cost stop-gaps and realistic suggestions up there to which I can only add my nods and the opinion you have done your absolute best already with no stones unturned and nothing else missed by oversight.

Cut yourself some slack as you really need to be fully operational for life outside horses. I hope something simple and inexpensive is discovered. Bless her - she is having a rough deal of life. Glad she has found you and not always been subjected to hardship.

 

[brighteyes]

I disagree with the OP calling this a self-pitying post.

 

[littleshetland]

I had my suspicions that one of mine may be suffering from ulcers, so I put him on a course of pro Equine UlsaSoothe. It really seems to have helped a lot and he's back to his old self now. Good luck with it all...I'm sure you'll get there!

 

[throwawayaccount]

thank you so much everyone for all your kind replies and well wishes.

got a call from my vet late morning- and bingo, I was right..ulcers. not sure of grading, they are causing discomfort though so i've gone ahead with omeprazole injections and also a paste. a supplement too but that wasn't dropped off, so not sure. I made sure to ask about any side affects or potential problems this time!! but seems straight forward enough, thank god, and my mare came home this afternoon. she was a bit cross with me to say the least, but after twenty minutes walked over to where I was in the lockup (sat on a shavings bale, working!) and watched with interest.

she has to have weekly injections and this paste twice a day, then rescope in for 4 weeks

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I am glad that you have got an answer and a treatment plan. Fingers crossed!

 

[ycbm]

Well spotted, TA. Poor girl has had practically everything now!
.

 

[maya2008]

Well spotted!

 

[Apizz2019]

some of you may have read my earlier threads about my mare and our journey to soundness (bought her as a lockdown pony- unseen and unvetted(no vettings were conducted 'back then'!), so far we have discovered and have/are dealing with, in the space of less than a year and a half:
1 - massive hole in suspensory ligament left fore - essentially healed now but still got to be careful
2 - bone spavin in hocks - treated with steroids, ethanol and tildren
3 - discomfort in lumbar region/glutes/sacroiliac - treated with regular physio and shockwave
4 - discomfort in right fore, treated with steroids in coffin joint (I think)
5 - laminitis - onset as a result of steroids, being treated. i caught this fast, pulses are much better and we are getting there
6 - cellulitis - as a result of the laminitis, caught early by myself and getting there

my latest potential worry is 7 - ulcers.

the past few days my mare was on livery and i went up to check after work- i'm super busy at the moment hence whacking her on full livery. on 3 occasions she was left with no hay! twice of which i had to sort, once was by a livery during the day making sure she had enough to keep her going til i popped down. admittedly my mare is on a restricted hay diet as a result of the lami (soaked) but it is still not okay to leave a horse 10-14+ hours without hay. so this is a separate issue in itself that i now have to stress about.

i gave her a groom/ little wash today, and when i got to her hind quarters/gut area- immediately she was not happy- turning around and threatening to bite (she never does) she also fully brought her leg up and out to kick me, on both sides. massively unhappy pony. other than that she is fine in herself ( so long as not touching those areas, still bright, playful, eating, drinking, pooing etc). i phoned my vet for advice, who suggested to half her bute intake at the mo over the weekend and to schedule her in for a gastro on monday at the hospital

i don't know how soon ulcers can occur, and i don't know how many times in the past this has happened either.

i feel sick writing this really, with stress and worry. going to be googling all sorts, as i can't sleep.

i love my mare to pieces. admittedly i bought her as a general riding club type horse and have barely rode her. before her last lot of tildren and steroid treatment, we were happy enough walking out and plodding around- she was comfortable, free, happy, stretching out lovely. i don't care if we get that back or not, my first and foremost concern has always been her wellbeing. i've done more digging on her past and found out after she turned 5, she was sold to someone who brought her on carefully- i got in touch with the lady who showed me videos and my mare is sound!! and jumping a nice little jump well. the next person who bought her said that my mare 'blew a tendon' in a week, she couldn't afford the vetbills and sold her on as a companion. my mare did not get sold as a companion. she was dumped at auction, went to her last owner who work work worked her, then came to me, who has been shelling out ever since.

kind words please, i know this is a self pitying post, i just feel so utterly down and upset about it all. its also causing friction in my relationship- ive spent near enough (or going to be totalling now, at least) 3k in excesses for vetbills, plus livery services, plus everything else. i told my boyfriend about it tonight, he essentially said it was my fault for having a horse.

it COULD! be nothing, but more than likely it is going to be something.

i'm just feeling so sad and worried, my beautiful girl doesn't deserve this. she's not long turned 10 .

ETA— she’s had bloods checked after lami onset, all clear for Cushings and anything else

I haven't dealt with ulcers, thankfully, but wanted to say that our pony is on restricted grazing and soaked hay due to a mild bout of lami and that top chop zero has been a lifesaver, as I've been able to leave him a bucket during the day and in the evening, so he has something to pick at when out of hay.

The calories are negligible and it means he doesn't have an empty tummy for hours on end.

It sounds like you've both been through the mill! I hope things get better soon x

 

[throwawayaccount]

thanks so much everyone!! Xx

its nice sorting her myself of a morning again, as it means i can see how she is and alleviate her boxwalking, weaving or stressing needlessly (as i've found out, has been the norm recently!!!!!). minimising stress is key for her and me - well, my stress levels will drop eventually!! she had her hock boots and ice boots on her hinds while i mucked out, then i took her for a walk inhand. she was a bit stiff and limpy on her front leg, sadly. but it got better the more she walked. i'll pop back down in the afternoon and see how she is then, if still not comfortable i'll phone vets. (i must be their favourite customer!!!) i need to discuss with the vet about her bute too and go from there really.

i'm hoping she'll be allowed out in a sick paddock eventually or even her normal field, albeit with a strict time limit, although i don't want her blasting it around- in which case inhand grazing may be better. .or relaquin to start with, but can't dope her up forever, it isn't fair. i know its not normal circumstances for her, but still.