Birker2020
Well-Known Member
I didn’t have very good news about Lari last night from the vet. The vet said he is really sore on his left SI which is what the physio had said as well as his back being sore under the saddle area. He hooned around in his paddock the one evening when I turned him out and I noticed he walked towards me and looked sore on his near hind but when I lunged him the next day he was fine, didn’t appear lame and there was no heat or swelling.
He went to the vet on the 12th August to be scoped for ulcers (none present) and whilst he was there I asked the vet to lunge him just to see if he could see anything but he didn’t find anything on the lunge, just said he looked the best he’d ever looked in front but not 100% on the right hind and to just crack on with the rider and we would see where this took us.
I first got the physio involved over a week ago when the pro rider noticed he was having problems moving through on a right circle and he was getting resistant. I provisionally booked the vet and the physio looked at him again three days later and he was still lame and very sore so the vet came out last night and he did a variety of tests. He was pleased with him on the straight concrete trot up and on flexions he was good on the fronts but not so good on the hinds, but nothing notable but on a circle he was toe dragging both hinds slightly and couldn’t maintain canter behind on the circle, kept swapping his legs so he was disunited.
We discussed at length the best course of action for him, and I was going to have his SI and his hocks medicated again but I got thrown a curve ball when it was mentioned about treating his suspensories. So, instead of having the hocks and SI medicated which isn’t a good time as we are away on holiday this Friday for a week (and he needs box rest for two days and in hand walking for two days and then a very small paddock gradually increasing in size) I decided to get him booked in with the vets after our holiday and get the suspensories nerve blocked and scanned. If they are shot, there is no point even contemplating an operation. The other vet that has been seeing him has expressed concern whether he is an ideal candidate for surgery given that he’s already a little low on one fetlock when moving on the lunge and with his other issues he doesn’t know what kind of prognosis it will bring.
My main concern is that the pro rider has been riding him 4-5 times a week in the school for 25-30 minute sessions as well as on other days walking him a few times around the building and other days on a couple of short hacks. She's ridden him a total of 25 times. And now he is very sore. Now whether that is as a result of the hooning around in the field that day or whether that is totally unrelated and he can’t tolerate work we don’t know at this stage.
If the suspensories are acute on scanning then we won’t be going ahead with the op and will just try and treat the problem conservatively with medicating the SI and hocks.
I still don’t know how much money I have left, the invoices are all over the place and the vet seemed to think the operation might cost £4 or £5k which is totally out of the question in that case as I only have £5k limit on each claim and when I spoke to the insurance they seemed keen to try and lump everything together even though I have been given claim numbers for hocks, coffin joints and SI already by the insurance company. I thought it was much less than that in cost and was originally told box rest was 3 weeks, now been told its six weeks.
I am contemplating giving up on him and retiring him or trying to get him in at the blood bank, the vet said he would only require re-medicating every 6 months if he is in work, otherwise he can live a totally pain free life at either place. He is only 11 and I really don’t feel that PTS is justifiable at this point in time but I've been assured that people would support my decision if I did go ahead and do this.
Its such a sad situation for such a lovely boy.
He went to the vet on the 12th August to be scoped for ulcers (none present) and whilst he was there I asked the vet to lunge him just to see if he could see anything but he didn’t find anything on the lunge, just said he looked the best he’d ever looked in front but not 100% on the right hind and to just crack on with the rider and we would see where this took us.
I first got the physio involved over a week ago when the pro rider noticed he was having problems moving through on a right circle and he was getting resistant. I provisionally booked the vet and the physio looked at him again three days later and he was still lame and very sore so the vet came out last night and he did a variety of tests. He was pleased with him on the straight concrete trot up and on flexions he was good on the fronts but not so good on the hinds, but nothing notable but on a circle he was toe dragging both hinds slightly and couldn’t maintain canter behind on the circle, kept swapping his legs so he was disunited.
We discussed at length the best course of action for him, and I was going to have his SI and his hocks medicated again but I got thrown a curve ball when it was mentioned about treating his suspensories. So, instead of having the hocks and SI medicated which isn’t a good time as we are away on holiday this Friday for a week (and he needs box rest for two days and in hand walking for two days and then a very small paddock gradually increasing in size) I decided to get him booked in with the vets after our holiday and get the suspensories nerve blocked and scanned. If they are shot, there is no point even contemplating an operation. The other vet that has been seeing him has expressed concern whether he is an ideal candidate for surgery given that he’s already a little low on one fetlock when moving on the lunge and with his other issues he doesn’t know what kind of prognosis it will bring.
My main concern is that the pro rider has been riding him 4-5 times a week in the school for 25-30 minute sessions as well as on other days walking him a few times around the building and other days on a couple of short hacks. She's ridden him a total of 25 times. And now he is very sore. Now whether that is as a result of the hooning around in the field that day or whether that is totally unrelated and he can’t tolerate work we don’t know at this stage.
If the suspensories are acute on scanning then we won’t be going ahead with the op and will just try and treat the problem conservatively with medicating the SI and hocks.
I still don’t know how much money I have left, the invoices are all over the place and the vet seemed to think the operation might cost £4 or £5k which is totally out of the question in that case as I only have £5k limit on each claim and when I spoke to the insurance they seemed keen to try and lump everything together even though I have been given claim numbers for hocks, coffin joints and SI already by the insurance company. I thought it was much less than that in cost and was originally told box rest was 3 weeks, now been told its six weeks.
I am contemplating giving up on him and retiring him or trying to get him in at the blood bank, the vet said he would only require re-medicating every 6 months if he is in work, otherwise he can live a totally pain free life at either place. He is only 11 and I really don’t feel that PTS is justifiable at this point in time but I've been assured that people would support my decision if I did go ahead and do this.
Its such a sad situation for such a lovely boy.
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