stifle issues in 6yo

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occasional_rider

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Hi sorry this might be a long post. I was given a 17hh oldenberg youngster with dodgy confirmation 4 years ago, with the understanding he may never come sound but that he may become a happy hacker. He has been intermittently lame for the whole time. Last Feb I had him properly checked over by the vet (X rays, joint blocking) where the prognosis was not good but seemed mainly related to poor feet (at the time). I've worked through 2 years of foot issues (he was heading for navicular and terribly prone to abcesses so he had a year of corrective shoeing and hoof supplements which I can only assume from the price contained gold dust). He has been on full livery, receiving the very best care, sensitively worked in-hand to improve balance without over-straining him, physio, massage, tack fitting, lots and lots of turnout. He was re x-rayed in November and appeared sound, with some good improvement in hoof balance although still not level (ie the outside wall of his hoof is not parallell with the internal bones) - this is most obvious in the way the outside of his hooves grows much longer than the inside so he needs regular trimming. Farrier has been amazing and done a truly outstanding job - he does have to be sedated for farrier though so it's a good £300 every 6 weeks to keep on top of that. Oh, and he does have a heart murmur so could in theory drop dead at any one of these sedations....
He's now rising 7 and has now gone lame again, vet suspects the stifle, he's lame in both hind legs. One side worse. Lots of muscle tension across his back, tail kinks, right hindquarters are dropped. Been lame for 4 weeks now. Vet suggests that they could X Ray or bone scan him to see what's going on with the stifle joint, perhaps it's undeveloped cartilage, perhaps or perhaps ligament injury (meniscus tear?). They are not able to block his joints as he would not tolerate the needles without sedation. Not clear to me at the moment whether there is any actual treatment / cure available for any of these issues if they are found.
Now to the crux of it. With many rising bills I am now out of money, I can't afford to keep him on full livery any more and with work/family I don't have the time to see him daily. I can't loan or sell him as he's a big, potentially dangerous youngster in some pain. I have 2 choices - put him in a field for a year while I try and save up some money, or put him down. Personally I don't see what good the extra year will do him, (I suppose it could be a meniscus injury but as the lameness came on gradually and the horse is not in work, I find this unlikely) but I feel that putting him down when he is happy enough plodding around in a field is cruel. But on the other hand I can't do anything else with him!!
Help help help. Any advice welcome please. Have you been in a similar circumstance? Do you have any experience of stifle issues? It cannot be arthritis in a 6yo who has never worked - and if it is, then surely he's screwed? At what point do I just draw a line under this, I estimate I've spent almost £40,000 so far and we are still at square 1.
 
Honestly I think you have gone above and beyond what most people would have done and hats off to you for throwing everything at him, I understand the concept of his happy mooching in a field and you feel sad about pts, I totally get it I know I would probably be the same in your shoes.

I think you either turn him away for a bit as long as his comfortable enough while you get your head around it, my guess is even after a stint of turning away I wouldn't expect miracles of him coming sound, however at least you can say you have literally done everything you possibly could for him.

At least he won't be costing you a fortune on full livery and it will give you some time, it's a truly horrible position to be in and I'm sorry your having to go through it x
 
You are out of money.
He is now lame with suspected stifle issues (which are notoriously hard to fix especially in a big horse)
He sounds like he can't be happily retired without being in pain.
Any further investigation will involve considerable funds. If you really wanted to see what the issue is, you could possibly x-ray which is straightforward and relatively inexpensive compared with a bone scan. But it might not be conclusive. I know how tempting it is to say, "oh just this one more thing to test" over and over again.

I think you have no accept that you might have no choice but to pts. He won't know anything about it and you will be doing you both a massive favour in the long run.
 
ycbm said:
Unfortunately it can, or more likely OCD, and yes, sorry, he's screwed.


I would fully support this horse being PTS.
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Oh my goodness. I had forgotten about OCD. Yes you're right with his breeding that's very likely. And the outcome is not good? I heard that maybe there's an operation to remove chips - is it not often successful?
 
occasional_rider said:
Oh my goodness. I had forgotten about OCD. Yes you're right with his breeding that's very likely. And the outcome is not good? I heard that maybe there's an operation to remove chips - is it not often successful?
Click to expand...

As an isolated issue success depends on the chip and location, but many surgeries can be very successful for some horses.

That said this is not an isolated issue and it is just part of a much bigger/wider problem by the sounds of things.
 
I don't think he's screwed ,.there's a lot that can be done for arthritis and OCD. And given his age and size it is quite possibly stifle OCD.
But all those things will cost money. And you've already done so much for him , much more than the average person.

If he can't be safely turned away and he won't be relatively comfortable living in a field, then I don't see what option you have rather than PTS. It's terrible having to euthanize a young horse , well any horse really. I had to do this to my rising 5 year old. But if his quality of life isn't acceptable as a field ornament, then letting him go safely must be the best option.

Have you discussed with your vet what his quality of life would be like living in a field? Does your vet think his comfort level would be acceptable? A vet can assess whether the horse is "field sound" or not. I'd be inclined to have that conversation with your vet. But obviously if he doesn't settle or doesn't seem happy , then you've at least exhausted every last option.

But putting to sleep a horse with problems is never a bad thing , considering what other fates could be waiting for him. Preventing further suffering is never the wrong thing to do.

I know it will be a difficult decision to make though.
 
O.R., when you are considering his future, it might help to focus on why you own him in the first place. Other people gave you a valuable 3 year old for free because they thought he would never stand a ridden career. He's been lame intermittently for the whole 4 years you've owned him. It could be time to admit the people who gave him to you were right.

I'm so sorry you're in this situation, it's an awful one to face.
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Stifle athroscopy is the potential cure for ocd, meniscal tear ( unusual if lameness is bilateral but could be part of extreme ocd) and deformed cartilage, of the stifles .

Until they operate they cannot be sure of what they are going to find, and so prognosis etc, it involves full anaesthesia which is obviously a greater risk with a horse with a heart murmur.

It cost usually at least £2500 for bilateral plus usually further treatment addressing what they find , such as joint injections of whatever they recommend, which on average is another £2000 but could be a lot more , or may even not be needed, ( usually is though ) who knows,
Plus a full rehab program following usually at least 4 weeks box rest, with controlled in hand walking , small paddock turnout then a ridden slowly increasing work program.

I would seriously consider pts the horse you describe, it doesn’t sound to me it has an athletic future at all .
 
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