swelling oozing - any suggestions?

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millyspaniel

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Just waiting for a phone call from the vet.
Basically - my mare has a swelling (very large) underneath her belly, vet has given bute and anti-biotics. The swelling this morning looks to be a bit oozy and has a sticky substance coming out of it, the vet said this may happen.
Do you think he will be able to advise me over the phone about what to do witout coming out? any suggestions? i really cannot afford another £50 odd for another visit
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You aren't going to want to hear this, but I feel obliged to write it for the sake of your horse.

If you cannot afford another £50 for a vet visit you really should think twice about whether you should be owning a horse at all.
 
It sounds like it could be an abscess.

Basically all you can do is as the vet has suggested, clean with warm salt water (or very diluted hibiscrub if you have any, which is better!) and hopefully that and the antibiotics, it should clear up - if not, Im afraid its the vet again
 
If the vet has already said it could well ooze then I wouldn't be too concerned, what has the vet said it is anyway?

I feel your pain though re vets bill...I have the vet booked for thursday morning for a suspected case of cellulitis again....could really do without it as I have gone out and spent all this months money on prezzies, stocked up on xmas food and on horses feed etc which hasn't left me with much left over.... hopefully I wont get the bill until after payday!!
 
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You aren't going to want to hear this, but I feel obliged to write it for the sake of your horse.

If you cannot afford another £50 for a vet visit you really should think twice about whether you should be owning a horse at all.

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What a ridiculous thing to say.
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I'm sure MillySpaniel would fork out for the vet if necessary but most people I know are short of money at the moment. It's an expensive time to have horses plus we all have christmas to contend with.

It REALLY annoys me when people say stuff like that!!!
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You aren't going to want to hear this, but I feel obliged to write it for the sake of your horse.

If you cannot afford another £50 for a vet visit you really should think twice about whether you should be owning a horse at all.

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What a ridiculous thing to say.
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I'm sure MillySpaniel would fork out for the vet if necessary but most people I know are short of money at the moment. It's an expensive time to have horses plus we all have christmas to contend with.

It REALLY annoys me when people say stuff like that!!!
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Thats what I wanted to say, but you are braver that I!
 
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You aren't going to want to hear this, but I feel obliged to write it for the sake of your horse.

If you cannot afford another £50 for a vet visit you really should think twice about whether you should be owning a horse at all.

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What a ridiculous thing to say.
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I'm sure MillySpaniel would fork out for the vet if necessary but most people I know are short of money at the moment. It's an expensive time to have horses plus we all have christmas to contend with.

It REALLY annoys me when people say stuff like that!!!
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She said she can't afford it. Not that it would be a nuisance, or that she'll have to go without a new party dress. She wrote "I REALLY CANNOT (my emphasis) afford another £50 ..."

Anyone who is scratching to find £50 has no business owning a live creature who might dump them with bill a sight bigger than that at any time. Life isn't fair, that's just how it is.
 
But you know that 'I can't afford it' does NOT mean that she literally couldn't find £50 if her life (or her horse's) depended on it.

I often say 'I want to get my hair cut but can't afford it'. That doesn't mean that I don't have £30 in my bank account....it just means I have other things to spend the money on at that moment in time.

You are just stirring and it is very rude when someone is looking for advice about their poorly horse.
 
I wouldn't be able to afford a vet bill either. I am a student with no job and a horse. Do I have to get rid of my boy?

Every day I look out of my window and he is in the field warm, healthy and happy with no problems, he is shod, fed and has a more expensive wardrobe than me but because I wouldn't be able to afford a vet bill I shouldn't own him?!
 
If anyone said to me "I REALLY cannot afford to have my hair cut" I would interpret it as you do not have enough money to have your hair cut, not just a throwaway comment.

I am not "just stirring".

I am concerned about the increasing number of horses which are being kept by people who simply don't seem to realise just how much money they can cost you. I bought a horse at auction that my vets had seized in non-payment of a bill. That horse was lucky to end up with me and not a meatman, since it went through the meat market with a star fracture obvious on its leg.

Anyone who has had horses for any length of time will tell you "colic last week and now an abscess" is simply "par for the course" when you own a horse. And anyone genuinely scratching around for £50 cannot guarantee a safe future for their horse and, in my opinion, has no business keeping one.
 
I think we could all do without vet bills at this time of year to be honest! Whether they be 50 quid or thousands. Im very sure millyspaniel can find 50 quid if her horse needs it, but i think what she was saying is she could really do without it right now, as we all could!

My bill is creeping up to 5 grand, (horse has fractured leg) which i sure as hell haven't got right now, but it will get paid (eventually!!) And if he needs the vet i will get the vet in.

So yeah im also saying I dont have the money to pay my vet bills, but i dont think that means i dont deserve to keep my horses! Without me paying off the 5 grand vet bill (slowly lol) he would have been dead weeks ago! So I think he is more then looked after with me!
 
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I wouldn't be able to afford a vet bill either. I am a student with no job and a horse. Do I have to get rid of my boy?

Every day I look out of my window and he is in the field warm, healthy and happy with no problems, he is shod, fed and has a more expensive wardrobe than me but because I wouldn't be able to afford a vet bill I shouldn't own him?!

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How incredibly irresponsible! What are you going to pay the vet with when he DOES need one? If you genuinely mean you cannot afford a vet bill, then NO, you should not be keeping a horse!
 
I think there is a big difference between people who are too tight to pay for the vet, and a person who temporarily cannot afford it.

The person who cannot afford it can at least work out terms with the vet.

The person who is too tight/thinks they know better won't bother.

I know who I would rather have as an owner!
 
Yup thats me, worked out a monthly payment with my vet!

Im thinking i may be old and grey before its all paid off tho!!
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But he is worth EVERY penny!!
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I'm amazed at people's cavalier attitude to paying their vet bills. Do people realise that the vet can take your horse in payment? Do you expect to be able to walk into a shop and say "I can't pay but you have to let me have this service and I'll pay when I can afford it?"

Basically, it sounds like a lot of owners are playing a lottery with their horse's lives, using the fact that a Vet will not allow the horse to go untreated and die even if they know the owner can't pay the bill. Does that sound fair to anyone - the horse or the vet??
 
Well if you are not 'just stirring' then you seem to be a genuinely difficult person!!!

I agree that people do underestimate the costs of keeping a horse and that keeping one without the means to pay for it IS irresponsible.

I just think that you can't take things on here literally, the written word is open to interpretation. To me it was quite clear what she was saying and I doubt that if she was really that hard up she would be publicising it on here.
 
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I'm amazed at people's cavalier attitude to paying their vet bills. Do people realise that the vet can take your horse in payment?

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They are more than welcome to mine!!
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Although I am unsure they would want him, the old cripple!! Dunno what they would do with him other than groom him for hours and gaze at him over the stable door!!!
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Very much doubt they would take a horse with a fractured leg as payment for the 5k plus i owe them!!!!
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Honestly, I dont think that saying "I cant afford the vet bill" is a reason to not own a horse - usually its an unexpected amount and certainly not a great situation at Xmas

Im ALWAYS saying "oh, I cant afford this or that" Yesterday I said "I cant really afford to get my car fixed" but you know what, I found the money and my car is being fixed right at this minute. When my horse was exceptionally ill, I FOUND the money for his £5,500 bill rather than have him PTS

You are a very fortunate person if you can pay all your vet bills without batting an eye lid, but it certainly does not mean the rest of us who arent like that do not deserve to own a horse

I think your views are very narrow minded and very mean when someone just comes on here asking a question
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Im curious to know what your definition is of being able to pay a vet? Is to be able to rely on an insurance policy, or to rely on a credit card, or is it to be able to pay any vets bill that comes your way in full, no matter how much, out of your disposable income?

Because if its the latter then I very much doubt anyone (unless they happen to have won the lottery recently) can 'afford' to do that....
 
QR

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Just waiting for a phone call from the vet.
Basically - my mare has a swelling (very large) underneath her belly, vet has given bute and anti-biotics. The swelling this morning looks to be a bit oozy and has a sticky substance coming out of it, the vet said this may happen.
Do you think he will be able to advise me over the phone about what to do witout coming out? any suggestions? i really cannot afford another £50 odd for another visit
frown.gif


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I have quoted the OP in full because I think its important that it is read again carefully.

They started the post saying they are waiting for a call from the vet, this must mean that they OP has instigated it, or they are psychic. Furthermore, they go on to indicate the vet has already been out to see this lump, and that it is behaving as vet said it might.

Any problems with being an irresponsible owner so far? Thought not.

The OP was then asking our advice on if the vet will advise them over the phone.

Any problem with that in essence? No. If it is something that the vet can advise on over the phone, (and I would imagine it is since vet has already seen it and it is behaving as vet said it could do) it would be sensible all around if the vet didn't need to come out in the snow and it saves the OP some money.

They end it by saying they really can't afford another £50 for another vets visit.

Yes, might have been bad wording by the OP, but the OP has in every other way indicated that they are a responsible owner who is seeking the advice of a vet and treating their horse as per veterinary instruction. So calm down on the calling this person irresponsible, please. If money is tight it does not mean it cannot be found in case of emergency.
 
QR - But isn't that why we have insurance??!! I certainly couldn't afford to fork out 12k which is what my friend has paid for her horse's leg injury.

Seriously, how many people do you think have that sort of cash lying around?! Both my horses are insured up to the eyeballs!
 
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I wouldn't be able to afford a vet bill either. I am a student with no job and a horse. Do I have to get rid of my boy?

Every day I look out of my window and he is in the field warm, healthy and happy with no problems, he is shod, fed and has a more expensive wardrobe than me but because I wouldn't be able to afford a vet bill I shouldn't own him?!

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How incredibly irresponsible! What are you going to pay the vet with when he DOES need one? If you genuinely mean you cannot afford a vet bill, then NO, you should not be keeping a horse!

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I have no idea how this student affords their horse either, but isn't it slightly possible that they and their horse is in a situation that we don't know about?

Maybe their parents are paying everything for their horse, heck maybe they're a millionaire and don't need to work. You are judging people here on a few words, which is what you so vehemently dislike people doing to you on this forum.

Please, you'd get on a lot better with everyone here if you just sat back and considered that things aren't as black and white as text on a forum.
 
I have excellent insurance, still have to find anything up to £ 120 though being the excess.

As we all know, horses are an expensive business., sometimes you just have to find that extra money for the one off vet's bills.

You can bet that Millyspaniels, latest problem won't be an insurance job, and that's where I think it can really add up.
 
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Im curious to know what your definition is of being able to pay a vet? Is to be able to rely on an insurance policy, or to rely on a credit card, or is it to be able to pay any vets bill that comes your way in full, no matter how much, out of your disposable income?

Because if its the latter then I very much doubt anyone (unless they happen to have won the lottery recently) can 'afford' to do that....

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Indeed.....my vets bill me anything from a week to several weeks after the visit. I then have 28 days to pay in full or ring them and make arrangements to pay in installments. Depends on how much it is......I have rung and said can I pay half now, the rest next week after payday?....Other times I just pay straight away. Thats between me and my vet. I dont think thats a cavalier attitude at all....when I ring the vet for emergencies I just want my horses dealt with....if the bill is reasonable and I have more money left than month (unusual, but it occasionally happens) then I pay straight away....if its a massive bill I may pay by CC or in installements- just becasue I dont have the immediate cash to pay the bill there and then doesnt mean the vet doesnt get paid and doesnt mean I shouldnt have horses.......
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russianhorse "deserving" to own a horse is not the point. There are millions of people who "deserve" more from life than they get.

Life is not fair. I can't do everything I want to do, but that's just life. If people "did" find the money, like you, then they had the money. Those aren't the people I am referring to. But if a person CAN'T find the money they have no business owning a horse. It's not like a car, if it goes wrong you can't just scrap it, it costs £200 plus even to do that to a horse.

Those of you who know you would need your vet to take staged payments if something went badly wrong with your horse are simply taking advantage of a vet's obligation not to let an animal suffer. Would you expect to be able to do that to any other business? If your kitchen burned out tonight would you expect to walk into Comet and say - I'll have that cooker but I'll pay you when I can afford it? If nothing else, unless your vet offers you those terms up front before any incident has happened, then it's unfair to your vet to expect his business to wait for its revenue until you are ready to pay it.

Montyandzoom, I'm a "difficult person" because I took the word of someone I do not know who wrote in plain English, with considerable emphasis, that they could not afford to pay a vet bill? I wish everyone I met was as "difficult" as me.
 
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Im curious to know what your definition is of being able to pay a vet? Is to be able to rely on an insurance policy, or to rely on a credit card, or is it to be able to pay any vets bill that comes your way in full, no matter how much, out of your disposable income?

Because if its the latter then I very much doubt anyone (unless they happen to have won the lottery recently) can 'afford' to do that....

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My definition is that the Vet should receive his payment within the , normally, 28 days that he asks for it. If you do not have savings, then you should have insurance.
 
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If money is tight it does not mean it cannot be found in case of emergency.

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If it doesn't mean it couldn't be found, why did she say it couldn't be found? Not "I can't afford it", but "I REALLY can't afford it".
 
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