To put down or not? head and heart fighting!

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Beany1800

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Hi, I am looking for some unimotional opinions please.
I have a beautiful ex-racer, 17hh, 16yrs who has been lame for 5 weeks. He spent last weeks at the vets and the diagnosis is as follows.
Having gone to check for a hind lameness, he has been diagnosed with chrinic tendonitis on both front legs. I can see he is slightly unlevel on the fronts but feel he has probably always been this way and worked quite happily for me hacking. He sometimes felt a little short in his stride but happily hacked out, forward going.
I also had his back and back legs x-rayed and his hind suspensorys checked and nothing has come to light. There is definately something wrong behind. His back muscles are so tight and sore from compensating, and the dishing behind to support each back leg is so obvious. On the lunge at the vets on the soft he struggled getting into canter, most times went into counter canter and couldn't sustain any canter. He is tense and obviously in some pain.
Unfortunatley, I cannot affor to retire and keep a horse if I want to have a second riding horse. My children are getting to an age where I can start to have a life again and do more riding - I want to hunt, hack, pleasure rides, small SJ/XC etc.
Head says he is never going to be sound enough to manage what I want to do. Heart says he is a gutsy horse, very gritty, is not hobbling and certainly loving life, bute hime, give him some time and see how he goes.
Meanwhile, I have nothing to ride, cannot afford to keep another horse and am flailing back and forth on what is best for me and the horse.

Any constructive thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I love this horse to pieces but at the same time realise that giving some time could be a good few months without a positive outcome at the end. Help!!!!!
Thanks:confused:
 
Difficult one, if you are confident he won't do what you want and will continue to be in pain then you should follow your head. If you can turn him away for a couple of months, grass keep, little costs, to see if he improves ( i know this will mean no hunting etc for a while) follow your heart.
Will your insurance cover x rays, back checks etc? It is actually very early days, I know it is fustrating but perhaps a little more investigation may be worthwhile before making any drastic decisions.
 
Firstly, I'm sorry that your boy is not well.

I believe that you have to do what is right for your horse and for you. How miserable it would be for you to keep a horse without being able to do all the things you would like to.
In your position I would PTS and let him go with dignity and respect. You will be dreadfully upset but in the long run I think it will be the right thing.
At least you are not considering the "companion horse" option you often hear of.
 
If he comfortable on bute?
I only ask as my 13yo mare went terrible lame - v similar to you. Our instincts were saying back/pelvis/stifle/hocks but she ended up having a fully body scan and about every Xray under the sun. We found so many little niggles here and there it was totally depressing, but nerve blocks showed these to be unrelated to the lameness and probably just underlying *things* that don't bother her.
As she could be comfortable on bute, I ended up turning her away in the field for many months and she slowly, slowly improved. I thought she was finished, to be honest, but 4 months after first presentation, I started walking her out in hand and got her off the bute. 6 months after first presentation, she went back to hacking and I'm now going to hack her until next summer while I decide what to do with her (she is/was my dressage mare). Am so glad we gave her the chance to come right as I do love her (soppy me!!).
 
thanks for your comments - I have already had so many x-rays/scans I am not sure how much more I would geet on insurance!! - vets are 50/50 - saying he has a lot going on, the chronic longterm tendonitis on both fronts - he may come sound enough to work after lots of rest so we could treat him with bute, and rest and see how he goes but also that they think it totally understandable if he was to be put down.

I believe that with rest of a few months he is likey to be sound. Then it would be a question of months of road work in walk to strengthen tendons, then onto trot etc. I am a mum with young children and cannot work him everyday. Holidays etc. Will I be able to do anything with him if I can get him fit without the legs breaking down on me? a million dollar question that no-one not event the vets can predict.

If I am being hard I would say, at 16, unsound, cut your losses and move onto a horse that you can work and do what I want without the worry and stress this would bring. When I am not being hard I think but what if he could!! :confused:
 
I think your horses deserves to be given a chance, so no, now knowing what your vets have said I would not put him down.

Owning a horse can often mean that there will be a period of time where injury or illness results in the horse having a significant period of time off. This is the situation you are now in. You can't empty a bullet in to his head just because it's inconvenient.

So in my view I would follow the recommended advice of your vet and give your horse every opportunity to recover.

If after that period of time he is not recovered then obviously you review your situation.

Family life is no reason to put a horse down.
 
I agree with Amymay, your horse deserves a chance. I know it is tough if you only have one horse to ride, but who is to say that you could not get another and it sustains a bad field injury necessitating time off?
I have 1 I ride and 1 in rehab and the 1 in rehab requires daily in hand work. I have a friend who kindly does that else I would struggle. He has been unridden since last January, but I can't cry about that - it's just bad luck and the risk with horses.
I personally couldn't pts unless the vet advises that.
 
Beany1800 said:
If I am being hard I would say, at 16, unsound, cut your losses and move onto a horse that you can work and do what I want without the worry and stress this would bring. When I am not being hard I think but what if he could!! :confused:
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What if you go ahead and put him down and then spend the rest of your life a guilt-ridden mess. That would be even more stressful.
 
amymay said:
Family life is no reason to put a horse down.
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The OP has made it perfectly clear that her family obligations to her children, husband and household will not allow her to give this horse the rehab he would need to come back to being ridden, (and even then, at best, as a light hack).

Sometimes, in the real world, obligations to people, including oneself, do come before obligations to horses.

Family life can be EVERY reason to have a chronically unsound horse put down.
 
I think in your situation I would give your horse a chance. It sounds like he does everything you want him to do and it could take a lot longer to find another horse so well suited to you - and even if you did who is to say they would stay sound.
Having horses off through injury stinks, but it comes with the territory.
Maybe you could find a horse to share or exercise in the meantime so you can carry on riding?
 
I agree with Amymay and the others here - 5 weeks is NO time at all! Christ my horse has been lame for about that recently and he is 20! I knew pretty much was an abscess though but i am still not 100% convinced there's not anything else going on. I would get a decent physio to give your horse a treatment to relax tight muscles in his back and then maybe just give him some time off to recuperate?

In horse ownership you have to prepare yourself for the fact that your horse could be out of work for a sustained period WHATEVER its age as you never know what's going to happen. Sure, if your horse had more severe issues and was going to only get worse not better then I may consider the PTS (although I probably wouldn't choose to as have space to let them retire in a field). If you'd been struggling to keep hiom sound for a year or so and he was older then maybe PTS would be the option now.

You wouldn't be able to get any money by having him PTS anyway if he's insured as it wouldn't be under BEVA guidlines so, if I were younI'd give him a few months off (we're coming in to winetr anyway so how often would you ride?) and maybe reevaluate in the spring. What's the rush in getting out riding anyway? I would rather take time getting my horse back to full soundness than give up and get rid just because I can't be bothered to take things slowly in building him back up to soundness.
 
I wouldn't PTS just yet.
Three things come to mind in terms of treatment.

Adequan is licensed for management of tendonitis so may help alongside the rest & bute.

The 'back end' problem is most likely related to the front end issues. Get him looked at by a good equine body worker or physio.

Get him looked at by a good remedial farrier.
 
Beany1800 said:
thanks for your comments - I have already had so many x-rays/scans I am not sure how much more I would geet on insurance!! - vets are 50/50 - saying he has a lot going on, the chronic longterm tendonitis on both fronts - he may come sound enough to work after lots of rest so we could treat him with bute, and rest and see how he goes but also that they think it totally understandable if he was to be put down.

I believe that with rest of a few months he is likey to be sound. Then it would be a question of months of road work in walk to strengthen tendons, then onto trot etc. I am a mum with young children and cannot work him everyday. Holidays etc. Will I be able to do anything with him if I can get him fit without the legs breaking down on me? a million dollar question that no-one not event the vets can predict.

If I am being hard I would say, at 16, unsound, cut your losses and move onto a horse that you can work and do what I want without the worry and stress this would bring. When I am not being hard I think but what if he could!! :confused:
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To be blunt, if you don't have enough time to rest a horse and then gently bring it back into work, then why would you have enough time to get a horse fit enough for hunting? Things don't add up there. However, having said that, I do sympathise with your problem. I have already retired one horse and bought a replacement, only to be faced with having to retire him too (he has never ending problems and looks to be a completel write off). I cannot afford another riding horse but cannot put him down either as he is as happy as larry in the field. If I was honest, it would be so much easier for me if the vets told me he was in pain in the field and then I would PTS, but he is happy, and he's a lovely sweet boy so even though I have only had him 18 months, I feel he deserves to be given a chance. I may turn him away for a year if nothing else can be done for him and then try again before finally giving up and retiring him.

I am in the lucky position of having my own land and so can retire both horses, but the end result is still the same. I cannot afford a riding horse if I do this.

My advice would be to you, to try everything first. Give him a real chance before finally pulling the plug. Good luck.
 
cptrayes said:
The OP has made it perfectly clear that her family obligations to her children, husband and household will not allow her to give this horse the rehab he would need to come back to being ridden, (and even then, at best, as a light hack).

Sometimes, in the real world, obligations to people, including oneself, do come before obligations to horses.

Family life can be EVERY reason to have a chronically unsound horse put down.
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Many of us have been in exactly the same situation - with a horse needing significant re-hab.

For me - with one particular horse - it would have been very difficult to do the riding work that was required due to the time of year (winter) and working full time.

I paid someone to do the walking and fittening work.

If family life means that you can't care for your animal in the appropriate manner then animals shouldn't be part of your life.
 
I haven't really ridden my horse since april and I have no intention of PTS just because he has been off for that time (now starting ridden work in walk again) I can't imagine even considering PTS for a non-life threatening lameness after only 5 weeks - madness!
 
I have mixed feelings about the family life question. I do think we should all realize that horses are animals just as we are and can become ill and need long term care. This should imo, be carefully thought through before horses are bought so we are prepared if this situation arises. This is not the case here but do we condone putting horses down purely for our convenience?

For me the real question is whether the horse is suffering and the level of pain or discomfort involved in each individual situation when pts is considered, otherwise horses can become disposable like a car we can't afford to fix. :( That's my 'real world' anyway. It can become about personal values but we are talking about killing a living creature not sending a car to the crusher. :(
 
Beany1800 said:
thanks for your comments - I have already had so many x-rays/scans I am not sure how much more I would geet on insurance!! - vets are 50/50 - saying he has a lot going on, the chronic longterm tendonitis on both fronts - he may come sound enough to work after lots of rest so we could treat him with bute, and rest and see how he goes but also that they think it totally understandable if he was to be put down.

I believe that with rest of a few months he is likey to be sound. Then it would be a question of months of road work in walk to strengthen tendons, then onto trot etc. I am a mum with young children and cannot work him everyday. Holidays etc. Will I be able to do anything with him if I can get him fit without the legs breaking down on me? a million dollar question that no-one not event the vets can predict.

If I am being hard I would say, at 16, unsound, cut your losses and move onto a horse that you can work and do what I want without the worry and stress this would bring. When I am not being hard I think but what if he could!! :confused:
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I think you need to talk to your vets about how long he would have off, and exactly what rehabilitating him would mean. With the greatest amount of respect, your knowledge may be a little out of date, as months of road work in walk does not strengthen tendons (but a period of time in walk does have plenty of other benefits). 16 is not really an age where you need to take old age into consideration, in my opinion. If the horse were 26, different matter. But if I have read this right, your horse has only been unsound for 5 weeks, and the prognosis is unclear. If you like the horse and he is a good horse to have in the majority of other ways, why not give him the benefit of the doubt?

amymay said:
I think your horses deserves to be given a chance, so no, now knowing what your vets have said I would not put him down.

Owning a horse can often mean that there will be a period of time where injury or illness results in the horse having a significant period of time off. This is the situation you are now in. You can't empty a bullet in to his head just because it's inconvenient.

So in my view I would follow the recommended advice of your vet and give your horse every opportunity to recover.

If after that period of time he is not recovered then obviously you review your situation.

Family life is no reason to put a horse down.
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Sensible advice as always from Amymay :)

cptrayes said:
The OP has made it perfectly clear that her family obligations to her children, husband and household will not allow her to give this horse the rehab he would need to come back to being ridden, (and even then, at best, as a light hack).

Sometimes, in the real world, obligations to people, including oneself, do come before obligations to horses.

Family life can be EVERY reason to have a chronically unsound horse put down.
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I'm a bit confused by this. The OP has also said they will have a bit more time for horse time coming up; they would just like to be able to spend it with the horse in full work (wouldn't we all?!).

Genuine question: in what way would rehabilitation be more of a time commitment than working the horse as normal? I mean, say the horse needed a period of time off for something reasonably inocuous and recovered, or the OP and her family had a life event which meant the horse was on enforced rest and subsequently needed to be brought back into work; how would the OP cope with that? Surely they wouldn't PTS in that scenario? The only difference is not knowing if the horse will come, and stay sound enough for full work at the end.
 
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I'm currently going back and forth deciding whether to PTS my ex-racer but he's 28 years old and miserable as sin with filled legs when he's in, gets soft feet and abscesses when he's out - no win situation but I've had him for an age so difficult decision

your horse is 16, only been lame for 5 weeks and you don't know what's really wrong with him.

Have you discussed your thoughts with your vet?
 
I couldn't personally pts after just five weeks of lameness, unless I knew for certain that the horse was going to be in permanent pain or discomfort with no positive outcome after rest.

I'm a big believer in time being a great healer, my only riding horse went lame and I was told to rest her for three months. Roll on three months and she was still lame, so I turned her away and left her to it, expecting her to be retired after she was still unsound after a years rest.

Roll on another year and she was sound as a pound and back to full work, yes I missed two years of riding, but I still had my horse.

It all depends how important riding is to you and whether you are comfortable pts a horse which may come right. For me, I enjoy the companionship and care of the horse as much as the riding, so I suppose it is easier for me to say.
 
Wheels said:
Yeah, it would be but think the current lack lustre is to do with an abscess we've just had treated - giving him a couple of weeks to see if he perks up :)
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Our old TB (27) had abscesses in both front feet a couple of years ago -vet thought he had laminitis as he really didn't want to put weight on either of them. He looked completely ready to give up (he's a bit of a wuss anyway) but as soon as they were fixed he was right as rain again. I've never seen a horse looked so miserable though! He now goes barefoot in winter, and is shod in summer to help prevent cracks. He also has some boa boots which can be handy if the ground becomes frozen in winter :)
 
This is your decision take a little time think it though yourself there is nothing wrong in my opinion in PTS in the situation you find yourself in but it's a prersonal choice and only you as his owner can take it.
 
How long have you had your horse?

See you could shoot your old friend and buy a strapping 6/7 year old who could still go and do a check ligament or whatever and be in the stable for 12 months.

16 is not ancient by any means, having a horse is a long term relationship.

If you really don't have the time to nurse him through his illness then PTS by all means but probably don't go and get another horse.

Also karma has a way of biting you on the bum...
 
ladyt25 said:
Very good point (and the same made by wagtail - I missed this valid point!)

Agree though - surely it takes a lot more time and energy to get a horse competition/hunting fit?
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No, I don't think so actually. Depending on the horse. Rehabilitation from memory means starting off box rest + 15 mins walk, building up to an hour. BUT it needs to be done daily. My own horse is competition fit (45-50 beats per min endurance I think) and I ride him 3 or 4 times a week (weekends only in winter), never for an hour. He is a b***** in the field though so that helps. This doesn't apply on box rest.
 
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