Should I sell her?

N

nomini

Well-Known Member
Joined
6 June 2004
Messages
3,356
Location
Hertfordshire
Visit site
Bought Alisha last July for showjumping. Got on well with her for the first 2 months or so, but since then things have gone downhill. Firstly she got a punture wound just before christmas which put her out of work for almost a month. Started riding her again when she came sound and competed her once after that. She then went lame again at the end of January. She is sound in the school and in a straight line, but quite lame on a circle on the hard ground. Vet came out a month ago, and she was getting better, but he came out last week and she was worse than she was a month ago.
Anyway, am continuing light work (with vets advice) with her. However, she is becoming more and more uncomfortable to ride. Her back, teeth and tack have all been checked recently. Yesterday when I was riding her (with a martingale on) she was managing to get her head so high that I had no control on her. She is also spooky when I hack out which is getting worse and beginning to worry me.
Obviously I need to wait until she is completely sound to sell her but am I giving up too soon with her?
confused.gif
 
I think you need to pursue further veterinary investigation. I'd be tempted to ask for a full lameness work up and go for bone scans/back x-rays if nothing can be found in the limbs.
You need to rule out all potential sources of pain, it will be expensive though, is she insured?
 
bensababy - she has osteoarthritis in her coffin joint which vet said is manageable but not curable but she should come sound. Unlikely that she will be able to jump competitively at affiliated level again
frown.gif

samp - she has had xrays - they were completely normal!
 
[ QUOTE ]
I think you need to pursue further veterinary investigation. I'd be tempted to ask for a full lameness work up and go for bone scans/back x-rays if nothing can be found in the limbs.
You need to rule out all potential sources of pain, it will be expensive though, is she insured?

[/ QUOTE ]
Yes she is insured, but my dad is not keen on her going for further investigation, as the way he looks at it is he is paying £100/month plus feed, shoeing etc for a horse that I can't do anything with and he would rather sell her for less, and buy something else!
 
Nomini - so does the vet think its the osteoarthritis that shes lame with? if i was you id ask for further investigation into this is she should come sound from Osteoarthritis
 
[ QUOTE ]
has she been nerve blocked? You wont get much for her if shes a difficult ride.....

has your vet looked into kissing spine? I would ask for xrays....

[/ QUOTE ]
Yes, she has had nerve blocking in the coffin joint and she came 100% sound on hard surface. My friend hacked her out last week and really liked her so she's not difficult, i'm just a bit scared of her and i think she can sense it which doesn't help.

Nope, not looked into kissing spine, although maybe an idea...
 
[ QUOTE ]
Nomini - so does the vet think its the osteoarthritis that shes lame with? if i was you id ask for further investigation into this is she should come sound from Osteoarthritis

[/ QUOTE ]
Not sure, he hasn't been very open about it all! Wasn't my normal vet that told me she has osteoarthritis, was a vet that I don't really like. My normal vet hasn't said anything about this, but said she could have just sprained the coffin joint. She is on bute and newmarket joint supplement which is what all the other horses on my yard who have osteoarthritis are on!
 
Maybe try a second opinion from another vet? you surely wouldnt be able to sell her anyway if shes that lame... i feel for you.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Maybe try a second opinion from another vet? you surely wouldnt be able to sell her anyway if shes that lame... i feel for you.

[/ QUOTE ]
I have thought about getting a second opinion but it's trying to get round my dad who pays all the bills!
My vet wants me to get the farrier to put some gel stuff in her feet to help reduce the concussion, but not sure it is worth paying out for that if I want to sell her anyway.
frown.gif
Just so fustrated now
mad.gif
 
i see, if you are scared of her then its probably coming through to her (which you know).......

Id ask your vet about Kissing Spine......altho if you have had xrays surely something wouldve shown up on them, or was it just the legs you had xrayed? If it was id definately get her in to get her back xrayed.
 
P_g - it was just the foot and lower leg that was x-rayed. What is kissing spine? She is not bucking or rearing when being ridden, just raising her head beyond the point of control!
 
how are you going to sell a lame horse tho?? if you find out the prob - treat it - sell her on - you will recover your costs of the vet, can i ask a question without it sounding harsh? - if your dad/you cant afford/dont want to spend money to treat your lame horse - why get a horse in the first place? you are gonna come across lameness/vets bills with any horse you have at some stage!?
 
[ QUOTE ]
how are you going to sell a lame horse tho?? if you find out the prob - treat it - sell her on - you will recover your costs of the vet, can i ask a question without it sounding harsh? - if your dad/you cant afford/dont want to spend money to treat your lame horse - why get a horse in the first place? you are gonna come across lameness/vets bills with any horse you have at some stage!?

[/ QUOTE ]
Probably haven't worded it right, we can afford the horse and the vets bills and we have insurance for further tests so money isn't really the problem.
We are not going to even attempt to sell her until she is sound so don't worry, i'm not going to sell someone a lame horse!
 
It sounds to me like she is in some sort of pain and i'm really sorry to be a bit harsh but I cannot believe you're going to sell her because she's been lame and you're reluctant to pay out to investigate the cause and get it sorted....

A friend of mine had a beautiful 17h WB who she brought to event, shortly after she brought him he went lame with suspected joint desease, after a few months he was lame in all 4 legs. She kept saying she'd had the vet and they have thought XYZ etc... in the end she sold him to a dealer as she couldn't get him sound (this was all in under a year - btw my horse was 1/10 lame in his knee for over a year after a slight slip in the field). Anyway to cut a long story short, he was very lucky and got purchased by a lovely family who've had him 3 months - he is now sound and fit and passed a 5 stage vetting for insurance!

My point is this really... injuries take time to heal. If you're vet isn't getting you results, change your vet, but please give your horse a chance to get better. If you sell it lame it could end up god knows where with god knows who
 
Sorry Nomini I wrote that before you had replied to the other post....

Personally I would give her time - she could be spooky for a number of reasons including pain or maybe just because she's been in and out of work - she maybe just a bit fresh, but I would get the vets and investigate thoroughly before making any major decisions
 
I don't think I worded my original post very well. I'm not going to sell a lame horse. We are going to make sure she is completely 100% sound before we even think about advertising her.

I'm just very upset about the whole thing, the vets don't seem to be able to tell me what is wrong with her. My dad does not want her to go in for further investigation cos he does not want to put her through more months of box rest etc as she absolutely hates it, spends all day everyday box walking and kicking the walls and door. She also doesn't eat anything when she is in, so it is not fair on her. She is the same when she has company.

I promise you, I will not sell her while she is lame. I would not want to be sold a lame horse and I would not dream of selling anyone else a lame horse.
 
I'd stop riding her and take her up to the RVC - get her fully checked out by the specialists and sort out the problems. Once you know exactly what you're dealing with both you and your dad can deal with it. The longer you leave it the more likely you are to run out of time on your insurance and then you will have to pay out fully if you decide to sort it out later. If she has been lame for that length of time without improvement you need to stop, review the situation and get referred. Then you can decide whether or not she is the horse for you.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Sorry Nomini I wrote that before you had replied to the other post....

Personally I would give her time - she could be spooky for a number of reasons including pain or maybe just because she's been in and out of work - she maybe just a bit fresh, but I would get the vets and investigate thoroughly before making any major decisions

[/ QUOTE ]
Ok, had already been thinking about selling before she went lame back in january as it hadn't really been working out ever since I bought her. I know she's fresh, but i had a bad accident just over a year ago which keeps replaying in my mind. I don't have much confidence on her and it is rapidly decreasing.
I think I will wait until she is sound and then sell her on to someone who is more confident.
 
If she isnt coping with work now then she needs further investigation. You cant continue working her and expect her to come sound enough to sell.

I know it will be hard persuading your dad that she needs it but you cant sell her until you know what the problem is- if it's long term then you cant sell her to a ridden home full stop.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I'd stop riding her and take her up to the RVC - get her fully checked out by the specialists and sort out the problems. Once you know exactly what you're dealing with both you and your dad can deal with it. The longer you leave it the more likely you are to run out of time on your insurance and then you will have to pay out fully if you decide to sort it out later. If she has been lame for that length of time without improvement you need to stop, review the situation and get referred. Then you can decide whether or not she is the horse for you.

[/ QUOTE ]
She has already been into the RVC, had xrays which were normal and a steroid injection. Also had nerve blocking to the coffin joint after which she showed up completely sound. My vet is coming out again in 3 weeks to reassess her after which if she is not improving she can go in for further investigations. Need to speak to my dad again, but he is not keen on her going back up there.
I am riding her cos the vet has told me to, he thinks it may improve with gentle exercise.
 
[ QUOTE ]
If she isnt coping with work now then she needs further investigation. You cant continue working her and expect her to come sound enough to sell.

I know it will be hard persuading your dad that she needs it but you cant sell her until you know what the problem is- if it's long term then you cant sell her to a ridden home full stop.

[/ QUOTE ]
I will try and speak to my dad when he comes home later, and see if we can get her up to the RVC next week for further investigation. I am only riding her cos the vet has told me to, otherwise trust me I would be resting her for as long as she needs resting for.
 
[ QUOTE ]
found this for you on Kissing Spine

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/horsecare/1370/58084.html

personally i think your horse sounds like it might have the beginnings of it - the avoiding the contact being one symptom. She dosent have to be rearing or bucking to have it.

My friends horse had it and she just tried to avoid the contact all the time......

[/ QUOTE ]
Thanks, that is really useful, will ask my vet about it
smile.gif
 
You're posts are a little confusinf then Monini - you shoudl have said you've got confidence issues with this mare and she isn't the right horse for you. There is nothing wrong with that and I would never advise anyone to keep a horse that wasn't right for them.

However, it has been my experience that horses are spooky etc for a reason... i'm not saying all horses as some are just naturally like that. Personally I beleieve it takes a good 6 months (or more) for horses to settle into a new home and that could be one reason why you had problem with her before she went lame... or it could have been warning signs that something was wrong.

Either way, whatever you do, please change vets or get referred to the RVC and get this mare sorted out, the sooner the better for all of you
 
Thanks, I'm very confused about the whole thing which has obviously come through in my post. I am going to speak to my dad later and see if she can go in for further tests.
 
Sorry to say it but you really between a rock and a hard place right now. Whatever you choose to do, you have no option but to try to fix whatever is wrong with her.......then once you've done that? Well if she was mine - I'd sell.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top