amzy
Well-Known Member
Hi there,
I have a 21 year old New Forest who, in Spring this year, was given a basic vet check while the vet was at the yard. He said that he was in good shape for his age but may have a bit of bone spavin going on in his hocks, after doing a flexion test. When I bought him 3 years ago he was a nice weight and flew up and down the hills but since then I will admit that he has got overweight despite my efforts with muzzling on the good grazing here. Recently he has been struggling with going up hills, to the point where he stops when faced with just a little one. I let him rest and then he goes on again when he feels he's ready. He manages to walk down steep hills absolutely fine. The vet came back last week and prescribed bute for a week to see if that made any difference before deciding whether to take xrays of his hocks. I took him out today and there was no change. I tested him out on the flat and he was fine, walking out nicely, downhill was also no problem but going up a little hill really puffed him out to the point of his sides heaving in and out and him stopping to rest until he was ready to go on again. He has a thick winter coat and I am hoping that this, combined with his weight, is the problem. He will hopefully lose weight soon and I could give him a small clip to cool him down. So I was just wondering if anyone here had any thoughts... Thanks
I have a 21 year old New Forest who, in Spring this year, was given a basic vet check while the vet was at the yard. He said that he was in good shape for his age but may have a bit of bone spavin going on in his hocks, after doing a flexion test. When I bought him 3 years ago he was a nice weight and flew up and down the hills but since then I will admit that he has got overweight despite my efforts with muzzling on the good grazing here. Recently he has been struggling with going up hills, to the point where he stops when faced with just a little one. I let him rest and then he goes on again when he feels he's ready. He manages to walk down steep hills absolutely fine. The vet came back last week and prescribed bute for a week to see if that made any difference before deciding whether to take xrays of his hocks. I took him out today and there was no change. I tested him out on the flat and he was fine, walking out nicely, downhill was also no problem but going up a little hill really puffed him out to the point of his sides heaving in and out and him stopping to rest until he was ready to go on again. He has a thick winter coat and I am hoping that this, combined with his weight, is the problem. He will hopefully lose weight soon and I could give him a small clip to cool him down. So I was just wondering if anyone here had any thoughts... Thanks