PSD, Would you take a horse on loan who had it?

[sidesaddlegirl]

My friend rang me up last night letting me know that she may be getting a horse on loan who has PSD. I'd never heard of it so googled it but from what I could pick out from the techno-babble, it's not good, it's permanent and comes and goes/gets worse? The horse has egg bar shoes on the front and is on Cortaflex.

She literally is a complete novice and is just learning how to do rising trot. The horse is being loaned as a light hack (w/t/c) only which is all my friend wants to do. Apparently, the loaner said she would be find to learn on their horse but I am worried that my friend may get in over her head with the upkeep of this horse due to the PSD. This is not a wind-up btw, my friend is desperate for a horse.

What do you all think as I've never dealt with PSD before.

 

[Jesstickle]

My friends horse has just had PSD surgery. I would be very wary about taking an untreated horse on loan unless I had it in writing the owner was going to take it back if it got worse. I certainly don't think it's a death knell for a horse or anything like that but it seems to be a frustrating condition and I think a lot of people decide to have the op done as the lame/sound/lame thing prevents anything much getting done with the horse. Would it be possible to speak to the horse's vet to get a proper idea of what is going on in that particular case before making any further decisions?

I only base that on a couple of people's experiences so could be barking up the wrong tree enitrely!

 

[Ilovefoals]

My horse has just had surgery for PSD. Would I buy or loan one that already had the condition? No. But then again, I want to compete at a high level in dressage. If your friend truely will be happy just hacking, then it could be worth investigating. If PSD isn't treated straight away, it becomes unfixable and the only way to manage it is to have surgery performed to reduce the pain it causes. Horses can often return to the workload they were previously undertaking successfully, but for how long is the question.

I'd tell your friend to find out exactly what treatment, if any, the horse has had and also talk to the vet about the severity of the injury and likelihood of it deteriorating further.

ETA Surgery and associated treatment cost me over £5k!

 

[Laafet]

Like the other two, I also have gone through PSD surgery with my boy. I would take a horse that had had the surgery dependant on it being rescanned for my benefit on loan, however I would not touch one that had not been treated.

 

[Auslander]

I'm more concerned about the loaner! I would not allow a horse of mine with this condition to go to a complete novice, unless it remained under my direct supervision - or was on full livery with an experienced person managing its care. It's hard enough for someone experienced to pick up the subtle signs of lameness, and I would be very concerned that, despite best intentions - the loaner would not be able to tell when the horse was uncomfortable.

In answer to the actual question - if it were perfect in every other way, and the owner had agreed to cover the cost of treatment/surgery if required, then Yes. I wouldn't take on a horse with a degenerative condition without assurance that I wouldn't be left to pick up the bills.

 

[sidesaddlegirl]

Thanks guys, you all said what my gut was telling me when my friend told me about this potential loan horse. I do think that at this stage in her riding education, taking on such a horse would be too much for her (like spotting the signs that he is uncomfortable) and although the horse would be kept at the yard I am at, I don't want the responsibility either of helping her care for a permanently lame horse when I have my own accident prone horse to deal with!

I told her today what I thought (and showed her the replies here) and STRONGLY advised against it but she still seemed adamant so we shall see...