Update from Gingerwitch

I'm so sorry to hear that the outcome is still in the balance.

I lost a Shire mare to laminitis, which the vet, although attending frequently did not diagnose for 3 weeks and told me to put her out to graze. Admittedly I think the laminitis was as symptom of another condition but still...........
Needless to say I will not use that supposedly specialist equine practice again.

More <<<<<<<<<<vibes>>>>>>>>> for the big and <<<<<<<<some>>>>>>> for you too.
 
Please do not lose hope.
This sounds exactly like what happened to my best mates pony.
She survived and passed away a very old lady.
She did have a complete lifestyle change and became a high maintainence pony. Shavings knee deep, boots, bandages, diet...very strict diet no treats.
It is however a slow battle to win but many do win, and Big Lad sounds like a trooper.
Hugs and Vibes.
x
 
Pearlsinger - Thank you and sorry for your loss too.

Why oh why cant vets be more open minded - I do not care if I have to get 20 of them together to get opinons off - but its my money, its my horse and I dont care if its ethical or not - when did their ego's become greater than the welfare of the animal.

I am very angry with myself - for not trusting my judgement sooner - and for not involving my farrier and seeking a 2nd or 3rd opinon.

If we can get the big lad through this - then he will live a perfectly normal life - otherwise he wont be here.

If only we had not taken off the shoe, if only we had not polticed, if only we had got the shoe back on sooner, if only we had taken the threat of lami a little more seriously.

Now i have been around horses long enough to know that they sometimes throw a curve ball - but I must have asked 10 times if they thought it was lami - to 2 vets, a farrier - all said no.

maybe it is really a mystery disesae but horse has been off the grass for over 25 days - he has lost weight.... so when did this die get cast... I for one think it was last Wednesday - and if we had put him on deep shavings, got heart bars on him - then the x rays on Friday would have been fine and the x rays this Wed would have been fine - and me and the big lad would have lived to fight another year.
 
Waltzie

The egg bar was fitted to suppor the wall of the hoof - incase it was the pedal bone fracute. The heart bars are to support the pedal bone and the wall of the hoof.

Leaving a fracture or more importanlty a potential laminitic with 3 other shoes on has just compounded the situation.

Polticing has just made the sole of the hoof even softer so more liable to bruise and tear from effects of a bone piercing the lamini
 
Agree shoe useful if suspected fracture.
Didn't realise they had left the other 3 shoes on!! Sounds like u have Beend given a proper run around!!

Really useful tip if fracture ruled out and lami is more likely suspect is to cur a pad slightly larger than hoof and cUt out a half circle under where the pedal bone would sit. This will support foot but take pressure of pedal bone.
Hope u get things sorted soon . X
 
Oh GW :( I'm glad you have a diagnosis, though very, very sorry that it is lami.

It is such an awful condition and is such a roller coaster from start to finish. I, with a great vet and farrier, nursed my pony through lami and I wouldn't wish it on anybody. You think things are going great and then a dreaded abscess takes hold and you have to see them in a whole host of pain again.
My pony, was most patient and allowed me to tend to his every need whilst on 12 weeks box rest and we got through it. I had him back to rude health for a couple of years before I lost him to something unrelated.

Hang on in there and don't lose faith, the down days are dark days but where there's hope there's life!
 
Oh GW what a nightmare rollercoaster few days you have had, but you can not dwell on the what ifs and if onlys, you have been fighting for your boy from day one, it is the professionals that have let him (and you) down .
fingers crossed now for a full recovery, your lad is obviously a fighter , he's gong to come through this.xx
 
I really feel for you and your horse GW. What I found useful was to write down a twice daily report of the horses condition, pain level, everything. You can then review the written word quietly rather than trying to piece it together in your head. I have been on the brink of putting a horse down but on reviewing my notes, i could see it was still bad, but he was pulling back.

It is an awful condition and when in the thick of it the future looks bleak. But they do come back.

I have in the past argued with a vet and a farrier and been called neurotic. In fact they both laughed at me walking towards them (pony was walking normally - but I just knew from the sound of his footfall that he wasn't right). Foot testers went on. They had to eat their words.

Fingers crossed for a speedy turn round.
 
GW I hope that Big Lad pulls through for you and will keep checking back for updates.
I've also now learnt to trust my instincts. At he beginning of this yeat and after 5 colic attacks in 2 weeks I told the vet that enough was enough and that grey mare needed to go the clinic for investigations NOW!!!
Now if I suspect anything is wrong I act on it immediately. Just wish I hadn't waited for the 5th colic attack before doing anything - we could have lost her at anytime. She's ok now but has to have a special diet.
 
I had a misdiagnosis when my horse had laminitis, he came in shivering shifting weight on his hinds and holding them up. Called out the vet who diagnosed colic due to his raised heart rate. I didn't think it was colic as he'd had it before and had different symptoms. Vet didn't even checked his feet or legs just went straight into tubing him. He said he couldn't understand why he had colic as the rectel exam was clear. He was clearly lame and in pain. Had a second vet out 2 days later and he hoof tested him and diagnosed laminitis straight away. I rang the first vet for an explanation and he said colic can bring on lami. Which is fair enough but knowing my horse in my opinion he never had colic in the first place.

GW I wish you luck with your lad and hope he makes a full recovery. Mine did I trusted my instincts after the first vet and treated it as lamintis and kept him in on a deep bed. With my horse having it mainly in his hinds his symptoms threw even the vets.
 
Tonight - we have got the heart bar shoes on at 6.45pm - A big thank you to my wonderful farrier who came to me after a full day's shoeing just because it was my big lad - else he would have come at 8 in the morn - just dropped him a thank you card and a tenner in.

Vet phoned at half 6 and big lad is both metabolic syndrome and chusings drugs will be collected at 9.05am tomorrow morn.

Tell you more in a mo - hubby just home and wants tea - and after the money he has been spending i best go.... :)
 
Wishing you and your lad all the luck in the world.

Don't beat yourself up any more - you trust what the professionals tell you. I am in a very similar situation, having believed what I was told about my horse, and now finding out it was all wrong. I didn't get a second opinion in time and will be beating myself up for a long time, as like you, I had my suspicions that they weren't right, but allowed myself to be convinced.
 
I meant to reply earlier to this thread agreeing that you should be allowed to make your own decisions about your horses treatment, baby and her teeth got in the way!
I am desperately sorry that after all the run around your diagnosis is not great and I pray your boy is ok.
I have suffered from vets and their flippant diagnosis too. My precious mare had damaged her ddft in the field but first vet told me to go on riding gently for 4 days then turnout! She was pts 3 weeks later, I will forever wonder if he had diagnosed correctly, could we have saved her?
Put all your emotion and energy into you boy for now, he needs it most. Any repercussions can be dealt with later.
All the best, I do hope he recovers.
 
Thanks to everyone for their well wishes - as my "new" vet would say... were still in the woods, but at least we have found a track now.

If we get through tonight.... then our next watershed is Wed pm - more x rays.... this is going to be the slowest 5 days EVER ! andI know that it may still go wrong after this but I have to keep setting targets.

The diet is now the hardest part for me - he looks so well - but his ration is his ration and i have to think about him in so much pain if i am tempted to give him a carrot or a mint - so having to be really strong here,

4kg of hay and 2kg of dengie hi fi light is ALL he is allowed - he is a 17hh warmblood - but were sorting things out as we go... little routine set up now - so each time i leave he has food... and that makes ME feel better.

Keeping the little lad in, to keep the big lad company.... i know it does not seam fair - but i want to keep the big lad as stress free as possible - and the little un does not seam to mind.

Have even got my insturctor coming to yard for a lesson - he wants to see the big lad anyway - just so I dont have to leave the big lad alone for 2 hours whilst I travel to his yard and back.

GW
 
Tips for you:
Don't bring any treats to the yard for anyone then you don't feel guilty when BL doesn't get.
Get him a radio!!! Fancy loved the radio.
A roll of tin foil behind a sheet of perspex makes a cheap mirror type thingum for him to entertain himself!
We also used to drip lavendar oil on top of the wall of her stable, where she couldn't reach it just incase of allergy. Seemed to calm her.
Lots of people will make helpful suggestions about what to add to feed to help such as rescue remedies-DON'T. Even something so innocent seeming can tip the balance.

Everything crossed for you here
x
 
Gingerwitch said:
Keeping the little lad in, to keep the big lad company.... i know it does not seam fair - but i want to keep the big lad as stress free as possible - and the little un does not seam to mind.



GW
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GW, absolutely everything crossed for you and big lad, this ^^^ is exactly what I did when ebony was so ill, I think it also helped ben to be near her, please don't think its unfair, ben seemed to cope well with it all (really well) and it really helped ebony, so it was for the best. I am sure it is the case with big lad too x I will keep an eye for updates, the very best wishes and luck from now until wednesday xx
 
Didn't know about your problems till I read about them just now, poor sausage :(
love and hugs to you both x

Your not on your own, seems such a lot of horses with problems at the moment whoever you talk to, the ginger sausage has had to have nerve blocks and xrays about 3 weeks ago due to 100% sound one day, lame as duck the next, special shoeing etc, gone on for a few weeks now, he's had to have a muzzle for the first time in 8 years of me having him, that upset me a lot, he didn't get to go on holiday to Yorkshire with me last week either, they are an emotional roller coaster, and the expense :(,
 
Everything crossed here for you GW. Lots of vibes, love and hugs for you and that super hubby of yours ( sounds like mine..it is great to have great practical & emotional support in such stressful times)
Hopefully he can turn a big corner with all the care your giving him.
xxx
 
Big lad now on pergalite or whatever its called - picked it up as soon as it was dispendsed at the clinc - so thanks to them and he had it at half 10.

Then just to throw a spanner in the works he stared to colic at about 2pm !.... from call to vets to vet arrival was a whopping 27 mins ! - he had had one huge spasam and ran round the stable, and was visibly in pain - i was rubbing his belly, hubby was on route.... I was convinced i had lost him.

Vet looks, utters very reasuring words and tells me to phone hubby and send him back to work to earn some money to pay for his visit.

We think (hope) it was a combination of pain - from the shoeing last night, huge change in diet - now on only 6kg of food a day - and possibly the introductin of the pergolite. Vet gave him a good check over and said it was pretty much gas - but has issued a pain releaf injection and a mussle relaxant.

Just got home for something to eat, and he had just had a poo and is tucking in to his 1kg hay net....

Now waiting to go back to yard at 10 pm - and give him his 2kg hay net and to check on him

Just having a welll desreved can of larger as to be honest if it gets any worse I wont take him for surgery anywhere.
 
I am fighting on a lot of fronts at the moment.

Because he is so big 17hh - i have been told so many times that "big horses dont pull through"

I have the usual snide comments from the "told you so" lot - always easier to do this once a diagnosis is made

I am still beating myself up about everything I have done/not done

But hubby tells me - that as long as the big lad has the glint in his eye - we dont give up and my farrier is very confident... my vet is postive but realistic still 50 50 - yard manger very confident.

Me I just want my big lad pain free - I dont wish to think about it but I wont let him suffer - as soon as enough is enough I will make the right call - but i dont have those vibes yet
x
 
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