walking vet bills

[chaps89]

I love my pony dearly but she was bought as a tough, hardy cob type who was supposed to live out and be cheap to run.
Nearly 2 years later I've had about 3 months in total where I've been able to ride and do stuff with her. We had large vet bills for multiple lameness problems (near fore suspensory, off fore collateral, high and low ringbone all 4 feet), ems and now this week liver disease/failure.
In the nicest way I can say it, please some-one tell me it's not just me! And should I ever decide to get another one, that healthy/sound horses do exist!

 

[JanetGeorge]

Yoiu can be lucky - or VERY unlucky! I currently have 87 horses in total (3 of which HAVE been sold in the past few weeks - phew). Probably at least 70% of them have cost me NOTHING extra other than routine vaccinations, teeth, castyration, etc. But some of them have cost me a small fortune!

 

[Amicus]

The last ten horses I've owned or loaned, only one has required any vet non-routine attention bar a couple of minor colics solved by the sight of a vet with a big needle. Most of the time horses are very tough it's just when there not they're very expensive.

 

[jerrysmum]

I have three horses, two never give me a days trouble but the third one always has something wrong or gets injured. If anything happens in the field its always to him! I think some horses are just like this.

 

[starryeyed]

You're definitely not alone! My horse is so accident prone that it has become an enormous joke to my friends, family, work colleagues, instructors, vet, farrier etc etc - I am ALWAYS doing rehab and she costs an absolute fortune to keep because the list of issues keeps getting longer!! Every day taken off work is for a vet visit, my only holiday was because she was going to horse hospital for a week - I love her to pieces but not many people understand why!

 

[fatpiggy]

In my experience the most loved and cared for produce the highest and most frequent vets bills You can bet your life that the poor devils who are chained up on roadsides never have a days illness.

 

[WindyStacks]

My last one was a walking vet bill. Within 2 weeks of buying him he took a kick to the joint and basically it was just one thing after another. Last year he managed to tear through his heel bulb in the field and if there was one piece of flint in a 20 acre field he'd be able to wedge it deep into the white line. I used to joke I'd met every vet in Scotland... not really funny when I owned him less than 2 years!

I had him PTS in December due to Wobblers - and dare I say it? Almost a relief and I can probably count the number of amazing sound rides in the couple of dozen. Onwards and upwards - hopefully the next one will only see vets for jags!

 

[chaps89]

So she's one of those from the sounds of it that just likes to keep the vets in business.
The one upside was when I had to have the vet last week because she was lethargic, the vet could also see there was something wrong as she knows her so well. Silver linings and all that!
Old horse wasn't much better- djd diagnosis within 18 months of owning him, kept semi-retired and then protein-losing-enteropathy and neurological problems too.
Not sure I should be trusted to buy another (and this one was bought after having had 3 fail the vet and a lwvtb having to be returned!) (and I do promise, they are well looked after!)
At least it's not just me!

 

[Birker2020]

You are not alone, I've had my horse twelve years in June and in those twelve years I must have had about two months of not being able to ride at all, and about 18 months in total of rehabbing from one injury/condition and another. I have got through countless ice cups, ice packs and vet wrap, and had thousands paid on my behalf through the insurance not to mention the thousands I have had to pay myself now I am not covered for most things. 2nd degree heartblock, coffin joint disease, bone spavin, inflammed tendon sheath, 3 suspensory branches, bone chip through kick, countless colics, urticaria, and dodgy eye!

He has had more xrays than I have had hot dinners and more colics than any horse I have ever known yet I never give up.

Before I bought him, I lost four horses in just under seven years, none were of my own making, broken leg, wobblers, heart attack and severe injury, so everytime I go to hear myself complain about a new injury, or new problem I remind myself this..... at least he has four legs and a heart that still beats.

 

[Bernster]

Oh dear, sadly there do appear to be horses that are a walking vets bill, so it's entirely understandable. I've generally been very lucky but there is always the loveable but sick note exception !

 

[zaminda]

I have one who is referred to as sick note daisy, although she hasn't cost lots in vets bills, she has just required lots of time off with various things. My friend got a new horse as all his others kept breaking, horse did one season then fractured his knee requiring surgery, he is currently rehabbing from his second surgery for something un related, and one of his other horses is off for surgery next week!

 

[julie111]

I have a rising 7 cob, I bought him as a foal and he has cost me a small fortune! He has a generic bone disease and is basically a field ornament with the odd short hack in walk! This got diagnosed when he was five

 

[WindyStacks]

Was thinking more about this thread and... the overwhelming MAJORITY of his "incidents" resulted in weekend/bank holiday emergency call outs. In fact the most recent one was a Saturday call-out to an island meaning the vet had to come by ferry (no resident vet here).

 

[planete]

I once bought a lovely Arab gelding by Ahmoun who then spent the next two years crocking himself up in every way he could think of. When you saw him charging around the fields it was easy to see why. I am afraid he was sold on. He was just too mad for his own good in spite of being worked six days a week and turned out all day in company. If he could have been ridden all day and stabled at night he might have stayed sound. Or not!

 

[Damnation]

I knew one girl who lost her TB to colic, she then bought a youngster and 3 months later he coliced and she lost him. Her stable management was phenominal, just damned bad luck

Touch wood with this mare, I have had 2 call outs in 5 and a half years, one for mud fever that needed anti biotics, and one for colitis.

 

[mudmonkey17]

I had a walking vet bill horse on loan for a couple of years. Had to return her eventually as could afford to keep up with all her bills as already have a semi retired horse who was on bute every day at the time x
My old boy is arthritic but apart from bute every now and then and a good supplement he is pretty low maintained.
I also ride a horse for yard owner and he is never lame or needs vet (touch wood) x

 

[Goldenstar]

One of J's nicknames is sick note .

 

[Jim bob]

Another walking vet bill here!! We have had most things from unknown lameness, corns and abscesses to colic, gut issues and a very nasty field injury ( Another horse kicked him in the head! He ended up with a fractured forehead!)

 

[meesha]

First horse, solid cob bought from friend with no prior issues, retired after less than year after lots of investigations under insurance and rest, second horse 7 years of riding, bone cyst which started causing issues and whilst rehabing and just declared sound tore meniscus so 2 field ornaments (own land or would be bankrupt) 3rd horse I have had 10 months nothing as yet and keeping fingers crossed and insurance paid. Will cancel insurance for second lame as I did with first as too many exclusions and field ornament I wouldn't put through much vet wise.

You are not alone, they break. I am also of opinion that if you only ever use them as a light hack you probably won't notice/aggregate any underlying issues but as soon as you up the work a little any underlying weakness rears its head!


Just to add second lame likes to play with new addition (boys!) They rear at each other and charge around, not good for the torn meniscus and there has also been a fractured nose which horse didn't seem remotely bothered by and didn't cost me a penny as vet already coming out for meniscus and shook head in despair and said it would heal, it has!

 

[little_critter]

Mines racking up vet bills at the moment. I've owned her 5 years and I think there has been something that's put her out of action for a while in every one of those years....liver inflammation, hock spavins, check ligament, tight back and now she's in for SI, more hock issues, possible suspensory and the vet thinks we should scope for ulcers too.
She should be a cheap and simple native type but obviously has some sort of vet obsession.
Ps....this last lot is excluded on insurance so coming out of my own pocket...ouch.

 

[WindyStacks]

I think meesha raises a good point - aside obvious "injury", happy hackers (potentially not on this forum!) who hop on for a walk around the lanes type thing may not notice an underlying problem. I don't believe for a second that these gypsy cobs are problem free... but perhaps as a generalisation - the owners are unaware.

The minute you start asking them to work through their backs and actually use their hocks (and understand that you are doing so!) is when you're going to start seeing things that others may not notice because they're unaware/haven't asked.

 

[twiggy2]

I think meesha raises a good point - aside obvious "injury", happy hackers (potentially not on this forum!) who hop on for a walk around the lanes type thing may not notice an underlying problem.
The minute you start asking them to work through their backs and actually use their hocks (and understand that you are doing so!) is when you're going to start seeing things that others may not notice because they're unaware/haven't asked.

I don't think many people at any level of riding notice a slight lameness, my mare is a happy hacker (although we do school a fair bit too), I work with eventers up to novice level currently and the 3 owners and 2 weekend staff and the rest of the horsey family can only see a lameness if the horse is hopping, the instructors they use cant see a lame horse either, also the vet they used to use spent 4 moths disagreeing with me about a horse being lame despite massive abnormal muscle development that he said was an A symmetrical pelvis!

 

[WindyStacks]

I think you're right. Subtle lameness is very hard to spot - especially hind end. Knowing my lad wasn't quite right and vets could find nothing - I rode a dressage test thinking "aha! the judge will pick up on it and I'll have affirmation" - nope.

 

[TeamChaser]

I think you're right. Subtle lameness is very hard to spot - especially hind end. Knowing my lad wasn't quite right and vets could find nothing - I rode a dressage test thinking "aha! the judge will pick up on it and I'll have affirmation" - nope.

This

Currently racking up what I'm sure will be huge bill to get to the bottom of horse just not quite right. Not lame when trotted up but performance issues have told me something is not right. Team chaser who did 3 yrs with never a single stop and has out of the blue started stopping.

So we've had feet, back and hocks all x rayed - slight remodelling of left hock so something we can go on but vet thinks something going on in front feet. X rays completely normal so could just be sore feet/bruising or DFT issue. So going whole hog and having MRI as now I've started might as well finish!! Conscience won't let me carry on competing without knowing as far as possible that I have a sound horse

Point is, if he was just hacking, would never have picked up he was in any way suffering some discomfort