To follow vets advice or not?/rant

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kgj66

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I had previously posted about my mare who had basically been written off by one vet as a brood mare or field companion.
I decided that as she is only 5 and was turning out to be a very good horse i would get a second opinion.

Brief history-went lame in hindquarters, mainly left hind in March, vet1 said she had maybe cracked her pelvis or damaged it as lameness def wasn't any lower in leg(was nerve blocked). I was advised to get a bone scan, but at three thousand pounds, i could not afford this. The vet advised me to out her put in a small paddock for 3 months and see what happened-3 months later she was not any better(she is not the type that stands quietly in a paddock-likes to muck around alot!) When I took her back to vet1 he said that if she was not any better now she was unlikely to fully recover and as i want to event he recommended getting something else and not relying on her to come sound.

So onto Vet no.2. I wanted a 2nd opinion so i wouldn't regret making a decision- he felt her pelvis internally(which vet1 did not do) and said he could not feel any tilting or fracture/uneveness in the pelvis. He said that in his opinion it is most likely to be her Sacroiliac ligament and to give her 3 months strict box rest.
He did warn me it may be hairline fracture in the tibia, but if this was the case she should have got alot worse from being turned out and messing around.

I have researched this injury on i'net(bad idea i know) and have found that a lot of people with the same injury on their horses were told to walk their horse in hand regularly??

I just don't know whether to follow this vets advice as strictly as i followed vet1's advice-as i believe he was wrong/did not investigate problem as much as he should have. Anyone had this problem with their horse before-did the horse recover and were they on strict box rest? I know it will take a lot of time, but i am willing to give her that if it means she will be ok.

*When she first went lame, it wasn't so bad that she couldn't walk/put foot to ground which makes me think it isn't a fracture, as surely that would be very painful? But she was/is quite obviously lame.

Any advice would be appreciated!
 
It sounds to me as if she may have partially trapped her sciatic nerve. I have had this happen before.
A good chiropractor who uses Applied Kinesiology should be able to release it.
 
Get another vet out?

my freind had this before with a dog, although sadly dog was put down and she got the 'oh that wasnt necesarry it would have been this' from two others after the fact.

Id gather a few opinions before making a decision.
 
I'm assuming that she is not insured and that's why you cannot do the bone scan?

In any event, I also assume that both vets are the best horse vets you can find in your area? And, if she's not insured then I think that you should follow the second vet's advice to the letter. If you cannot afford to do further investigation procedures then I think that following this advice is your only option as quite frankly everyone is only guessing and no-one can tell you 100% for sure exactly what her problem is.
 
charmeroo said:
I'm assuming that she is not insured and that's why you cannot do the bone scan?

In any event, I also assume that both vets are the best horse vets you can find in your area? And, if she's not insured then I think that you should follow the second vet's advice to the letter. If you cannot afford to do further investigation procedures then I think that following this advice is your only option as quite frankly everyone is only guessing and no-one can tell you 100% for sure exactly what her problem is.
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Yes they are the best i can find, and absolutely right-only insured for loss and theft, unfortunately!
I agree that box rest is def the way forward as obviously turnout hasnt done anything-just wondering if anyone else had same experience and if walking in hand was advised to them!
 
Speak to vet 2 again. did he specifically say no in hand walking?

My vet would say' box rest' meaning walk out twice a day unless he said otherwise
 
TBH Vet 2 sounds a little more realistic in terms of not writing her off straight away. Assuming you can afford (in terms of time without a horse) to do three months box rest then I would do that. I would also ask vet for details of a qualified and good physio. They may be able to help!
 
He said strict box rest-not out of stable at all.

Think will stick to his advice as box his quite big, so although its not like exercising she won't be cramped!
Think it is going to be awful-she was a bit nuts after just 7days box rest when i first got her!!
 
Lots of stable toys, spread her nets around, likits, trickle feeders, hide carrots in her nets, lots of grooming, clicker training - all keeps the mind active :o) Good luck!
 
my mare is on boxrest(9 weeks now) for mild KS and sacroiliac damage but this is with walking in hand twice a day
started from 5 mins building up to 20 mins --
have another talk with 2nd vet
 
3k for a bone scan!!! i paid 1k for a full body bone scan! still expensive but it picked up everything that was wrong which turned out to be navicular, bone spavins and kissing spines! Im not a massive fan of box rest myself but if the horse can cope (only you know what your horse can manage with) then go for it. I couldnt box rest any of mine as they would injure themselves in the box! I field rested mine when he agrivated a hairline fracture. Just made his pen small and gave him things to occupy his mind. hope you get a good outcome.
 
I know of two similar cases with two different out comes. First horse eventer all the symptoms of yours. All over the country to vets, back woman was in yard and she took a look at the horse and he had a trapped nerve, problem sorted. Second horse was at racing yard, did scans xrays, backs nothing made any difference, did bloods and the horse was actually tying up, it showed in the bloods, put on correct feed, low starch, horse now back on the track and winning! Dont give up hope!
 
One of mine was coming up short behind after a "mad moment" in the field, I rested him in a small paddock for a week but he was still not right on a circle so I called the vet. Basic tests proved nothing so he went for nreve blocks and X-rays as he was sure it was hock related. These tests still proved inconlusive and even though he was insured I discussed with the vet and we decided to go for a prolonged period of box rest as the next option was it was either a deep muscle or sacrililiac. He was on total box rest for a period of 9 weeks in the end, just coming out the box to be mucked out. After 4 weeks there was a minor improvement so we knew we were doing the right thing. By the end of the 9 weeks he was sound, he did another 4 weeks rest in a small paddock before returning to full work. So I would think that yes, this is a total box rest situation.
 
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