Very fat pony Lame???

I'm another one who would get the vet out before Friday. If the pony has lami it could have a rotated pedal bone and perforated sole by Friday and that would result in PTS. The nick could be from a kick so the leg could even be fractured. I wouldn't wait until Friday, and I certainly wouldn't be turning the pony out - it should be on box rest on a deep bed.

FWIW - I wouldn't be buying a pony with undiagnosed lameness. There are plenty of safe, sound ponies out there cheap as chips...
 
HappyHooves said:
What a worry! I'm glad that you are getting the vet out as soon as you can. I have just been in a very similar situation - overweight animal, suddenly unable to move. Obviously laminitis, that came on overnight. The horse was immediately placed in a stable on a deep bed of chippings to give support to the pedal bone which can rotate and descend and thus lead to a horse's death/pts. Feed MUST be restricted immediately... you need to really reduce feed and it might seem cruel but if you don't it could mean the horse would have to be pts. The vet will advise how much to feed as it is calculated on a percentage of the horse's desired future weight. All hay should be soaked for 24 hours before given and all feed will need to be low calorie and definitely unmollassed. I hope that your vet will look for the cause of the lami - for an overweight animal it is often insulin resistance/ equine metabolic syndrome ( a bit like diabetes) rather than Cushings which gives other signs before real lameness. If it is IR then you are in for a long term bill of medicines, usually metformin and a lifetime of very restricted intake. If you haven't bought this horse then I really would advise you to walk away. It is an ongoing cost and there is sadly no way out of it. My horse has been stabled for 3 weeks and will be allowed out on a dry lot after that. He started on bute to kill the pain for 3 weeks and also a sedative to help him settle as he is not a stabled horse usually. I wish you luck and hope that you have the time and money and knowledge to cope with what is a very difficult situation.
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I have to totally agree with HappyHooves - My Pony ( 14.2 ) was suddenly lame at the end of December, I knew she was getting a bit fat but did not worry about it ( stupid me ), had the vet out, did all the tests, cost a fortune - She has EMS ( Equine Metabolic Syndrome ) Rotated pedal bones on the fronts - Not bad but enough to make her lame and a bit of Laminitus. She now has to be on box rest until she grows a new hoof at least 3/4 the way down, she was exactly the same as the horse above, 4kilos of hay aday, metformin pills ( blasted nightmare to get them to eat them - ( 40 tablets a day and cost £55 a tub). vet visits etc etc. We are now 5 months down the line and she has only just started to have a very slow walk out the stable and back in again - she will NEVER be able to go out on the grass 24/7, she will be in a starvation paddock with Hay and maybe 30 minutes on the grass thats all. my Advise if you can pull out of the deal please do so, you really do not want all the hassle and all the lifetime of worry this will bring you - if you have your own land that fine BUT if you are on livery nightmare......... Good Luck
 
HappyHooves said:
Care of a laminitic or cushinoid luckily doesn't feature in everone's ownership.
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I agree knowledge and research moves fast but the OP is knowingly buying a pony that's lame with no diagnosis of the problem. She then said she's be keeping it on good grass and plans to exercise it to get some weight off and if still lame then call the vet. Call me old fashioned but I would say knowing not to buy a lame pony and knowing how to treat a lame pony is very basic horse care essentials. We're not all experts but I'd hope the majority of owners would know not to exercise a lame horse or pony with out guidance from a vet.

OP - I'm glad your taking the advice and getting the vet out asap and making plans for the pony to be stabled straight away. Ideally I'd get the vet to visit at it's current owners place with you in attendance so you can hear what they have to say. If serious then I wouldn't be carrying on with the purchase as it could be a long and expensive road. If you walk away from this pony and start your search again I'd suggest taking you're instructor with you to view ponies and always have the pony vetted until you have more experience under your belt.

I'd also suggest getting the BHS horse care books to read and have as a reference guide and see if you're local riding school holds horse care/management sessions. I've helped out or provided ponies to loads of sessions like these and can honestly say each you learn something new each time and it's a great way to meet like minded people in your local area. Pony club would also be great for your kids.
 
Ya know, although we might pull our hair out at the 'lack of basic knowledge', shouldn't we be patting OP on the back for actually looking and asking for advice?

I can bet you anything there are those who will buy a horse on a whim who knows less that the OP does and won't do anything to improve their knowledge, or think they know best...

This forum does live up to it's reputation sometimes in our responses!

I recall my first pony when I was 21, she had mud fever in a week and I'd never heard of it! Hence searching for advice from everyone I could....

We should encourage as some have done, not condemn the OP for someone asking for help.

I take people at face value and at least OP returned after reading some of the posts, many wouldn't.

Keep us updated OP, don't let the negativity put you off. :)
 
OP, if this is a serious post then the pony's previous owner is taking you for a complete mug. Why on earth would you knowingly take on a lame, overweight pony that your children will possibly be unable to ride for months - or ever? The previous owner should have this pony looked at by a vet urgently so they can inform you as to what the problem is. Obviously the previous owner just wants rid, which would suggest they are aware there is a very expensive problem here. If I was about to sell a pony that had gone lame, I'm afraid I wouldn't let it out of my hands until I knew it was well again. If you continue with this purchase you are encouraging this person to neglect any future horses/ponies that pass through their hands and also to continue to take advantage of naive buyers.

As others have said, this does sound like lami. If this is the case then waiting until Friday could well mean that the only outcome would be pts. If it not lami (and nobody on a forum can be certain of this without seeing the pony) then there are many other things that could be the cause and that could cost a lot of money and take a lot of time to resolve. A vet needs to see this pony now, before you bring it to your yard. Then, if you do decide to carry on with this purchase (which, in my humble opinion would be mad as you would be setting your poor children up for possible heartbreak) then at least you can do so with all the info necessary to know what you are dealing with. Oh, and if you are going ahead then the vet that needs to see the pony should be your vet, not that of the seller.
 
You say the current owner has not been able to get the weight off him - I suspect she hasn't really tried. It IS possible to slim down a fatty, there's already been some great advice upthread on how to do it. I will just warn you that it's a lot of effort for the human! And you have to harden your heart against those pleading eyes, begging for more food.
The grazing muzzle will be your friend. If you put 'grazing muzzle' into the search box on here you will find many threads about them, the best way to keep them on and how to fit them.
 
If not a troll I think you are nuts paying for a pony with an undiagnosed could be anything, could be terminal and never sound again lameness that hasn't seen a vet .................
 
Palindrome said:
For all we know, the pony might have been kicked in the field, have an abscess, navicular, blown a tendon, etc... The fact that he is fat is just an indication that it might be lami. The pony needs a vet to do a proper diagnosis and that's what the OP is doing. You are being very judgemental.
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Yes, I am.

Op sounds like far too inexperienced to be taking on any horse.
 
If laminitis is diagnosed read the laminitis site info on diet, hoof support and trim thoroughly and join their FB group op.
 
Cherryade said:
reason for buying as hes very safe


How do you know he is 'very safe' have you ridden him? sorry but i think your being foolish if you buy this horse at least without a vet checking him over first, owners pulling a fast one.
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Agree

Only reason he may be safe is because he lame. Maybe once he sound and slimmed down he might be a little ****
 
Palindrome said:
For all we know, the pony might have been kicked in the field, have an abscess, navicular, blown a tendon, etc... The fact that he is fat is just an indication that it might be lami. The pony needs a vet to do a proper diagnosis and that's what the OP is doing. You are being very judgemental.
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Judgemental? Good grief! You're right of course, this pony could any number of things wrong with it - and you seem to think that such an obvious novice is the best person to take it on?

The pony doesn't yet belong to the OP, any sensible person would be advising the OP to avoid buying this pony at all costs, both for the OP's sake and the pony's.
 
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UPDATE....

Vet has been he does NOT have laminitis, he is lame because he is over weight vet said i need to control his grass as he currently is in a huge paddock & does not get fed anything, said i can either box rest or small paddock what would people reccommend?

To all neg comments im not really intrested in what you all have to say tbh as i said before & other people have being judgmental is a very sour thing goes to prove horsey people down to a teet, im purely asking for advice, alot of people buy ponies/horses & just leave them im asking for other peoples advice who have been in this situation im very worried about him & want to get him sorted,

Thank you for everyones advice it is much appreciated.
 
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thehorses2013 said:
UPDATE....

Vet has been he does NOT have laminitis, he is lame because he is over weight vet said i need to control his grass as he currently does not get fed anything, said i can either box rest or small paddock what would people reccommend?

To all neg comments im not really intrested in what you all have to say tbh as i said before & other people have being judgmental is a very sour thing goes to prove horsey people down to a teet, im purely asking for advice, alot of people buy ponies/horses & just leave them im asking for other peoples advice who have been in this situation im very worried about him & want to get him sorted,

Thank you for everyones advice it is much appreciated.
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..Basically he has laminitis then.....
 
thehorses2013 said:
UPDATE....

Vet has been he does NOT have laminitis, he is lame because he is over weight
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Yes but why is he lame, what's up with him?! 'Overweight' is not a valid excuse to be lame, does he have a pulled tendon, laminitis, etc :confused3: I'm sorry but I cannot take this thread seriously.
 
Moomin1 said:
Forgive me, I must have lost my senses thinking such a thing!!

Maybe he needs his toe nails clipping?!
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:D. I really hope this is a troll post otherwise there is a poor pony out there with probable laminitis suffering. OP did you get a specialist horse vet out or a small animal vet? I struggle to believe any equine vet worth his/ her salt would diagnose the cause of a lameness as obesity and then say box rest OR put in a small paddock. Surely if he was that fat any size paddock with grass would be too much..?
 
Lameness due to being overweight is very likely to be laminitis OP.
I would treat any overweight pony as a potential laminitic.
If he is lame then yes, box rest on a thick bed until he is not. Soaked hay with either a balancer or supplement suitable for a laminitic such as Spillers Lite balancer.
When he is completely sound then restricted turnout with soaked hay if necessary.
Have a look at this site and join their Facebook group...they are very knowledgable and helpful

http://www.thelaminitissite.org

Good luck
 
OP, please read up on Lami, and treat him as a laminitic, it will help you with his weight loss, and to be honest, it does sound like lami,
Lots of research can be found on here, on the net, and you can speak to your vet on how to manage it,

Please keep us updated
 
thehorses2013 said:
Farrier came out last week.
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Interesting, and puts an additional slant on it. I'm assuming pony doesn't have shoes on - could they have been trimmed too short?

Also, op, there's no point in getting shirty with posters for pointing out the obvious. Pony clearly has a problem that it would be nice for someone to take seriously. Be it you or the present owners.

Remember, your posting on a forum with members who do actually know something about horses. Also remember that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and in this case what suffers is the pony.
 
*walks in, cant be bothered with the idiocy of either a stupid owner and even more stupid vet or an idiot Troll who cant make up a good post, and walks out*




Ps i really hope its a troll as if it isn't someone is abusing their pony by not doing right by it.
 
OP it might be as well to ring the farrier and ask for his opinion as to why the pony is lame.
 
Surely no one has this much lack of a real life to make this kind of sh#t up do they?

Boggling, just weird.
 
thehorses2013 said:
The prev owner said he dont have lami & isit cushings the main sign is the coat is curly & does not shed normally? If so he has shred normally
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If the previous owner said the sky is pink and grass is yellow would you believe them?

Just because they say he doesn't gave lami/cushings doesn't mean it's true.

Get your vet out to look at him.

Haven't read the rest of the posts... Yet.
 
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