What to do?

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saz2

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So I am in a dilemma. I brought a horse in november. 7 year old appy with basic schooling. We got off to an ok start then he did some silly stuff and i lost my confidence. He then went lame and in may was diagnosed with bone chips in both front fetlocks. He had surgery to remove these and is just coming back into work. So basically i am the owner of a not sound hose who i am pretty worried about riding. Obviously not riding him doesnt help. I have been doing ground work and he is much better on the floor now. One minute hes settled, floppy lip and all and the next hes charging off. Hes bucked with me, galloped off and not stopped, bronked about previous to his surgery. So how much could of been down to discomfort i dont no but he wasnt lame at this point. Hes got a new fitted saddle... i feel like rubbish after doing most things with him. I feel like i have failed. Spent my savings on what i wanted to be my bestfriend. As we didnt gel my plan was sell him after a year if we still didnt get on. Now hes got athritis in his fetlocks and currently isnt 100% sound. Whos going to want him! Any advise grateful recieved .
 
I so feel for you - and so will many. As MrsM says - that's just horses. It happens sometimes. And horses - unlike most other pets - are very expensive so what you do next will, to an extent, depend on your resources.

Can you get him sound enough to ride at all - and is he likely to stay sound? At 7 with arthritis this could be an issue. If you can't - can you afford a field ornament who could live another 15 - 20 years?

If you can't get him sound to ride and can't afford to keep him retired then I am really sorry you may need to think about PTS.

If you can get him sound enough to ride can you afford to send him away for schooling or to have a pro ride him for you for a bit? That would help with his basic manners. If they can then also teach you that would help you with your confidence on him.

As a final - although not to mind a very good - option I suppose you could get him sound enough and send him to a dealer or to auction. But his long term future would be uncertain. That said - its an option and I've known it happen.

Confidence issues in riders are really common so don't feel bad in any way about that. There are books, podcasts and professionals who can help. It depends on how you as an individual process information best but there are loads of resources out there. Don't let that element interfere too much with your decision.

Its really rough that this happened to you with your first horse and part of this is the shattered dreams. But it does happen. Anyone who has had horses for any length of time will have experienced something similar. Its heartbreaking. But you are not alone.
 
its horses. As others have said. keep doing ground work when you feel comfortable tack him up. do more ground work. when you feel comfortable sit on him. even if its only for half a minute . build up slowly from there. theres no time limit ,give yourself and him space and time if it takes a year until you trot then so be it. be kind to yourself.
 
What's his prognosis? Has the vet said he's expected to be sound enough to ride? If so, I'd carry on with the groundwork for a while and save some money to get a professional to get back on him for the first few rides to see what his behaviour is like. It is entirely possible that the pain was causing him to do it and all will be well now he's been treated. I hope it works out for you.
 
if the vets prognosis is good, i would be tempted to send him away to a yard that can rehab him and school him, this way you can determine if the behaviour was pain related, poor schooling etc.
Once you are at that crossroad you can make a decision as to what to do.

Don't feel compelled to do everything yourself, that's why there is help out there. :)
Maybe find something else to ride/ have some lessons on to build up your confidence once more.
 
I lost my confidence with my horse last year following a fall and it's awful. The best advice that I was given by somebody on here was to go and get some lessons on a school master at a riding school. That way you can concentrate solely on you and not worry about the horse. It really helped and between that and riding my new horse I have now totally regained my confidence with my mare.

I'm sure you have already had guidance from the vet about how much your horse can do, but maybe start some groundwork while you have lessons elsewhere and then get an instructor to help you with riding your horse. I always feel better when someone is giving me something to concentrate on.

Once you have started to make some progress with your horse you may be better placed to make more long term decisions.

Good luck x
 
So he was expected to come sound and be able to do a reasonable level of work. Being ridden 3-4 days a week in hacking, schooling just not competeting every weekend type of thing. The vet expects him to come back sound still. He had steriod injected into the hocks but if this doesnt do the job there is a different drug which acts as a cushion as its nore gel like in the joint. Basically his prognosis is steady work with possible re-injecting into the hocks in the future if he becomes lame again due to the arthritis. Obviously in older age this may become much more of an issue which is why noone will maybe want to buy him. We live on a farm so i get grazing and hay for free so he can be a field ornament if needed. Hes insured for a year from when the injury started so may and we have £5000 to try and fix him with. After that the insurance wont pay out for anything connected to this claim. So anyone else taking him on would have this problem to. I want to do the best for him. My mental health has taken a battering with stress and anxiety caused by it all and yes i suppose it is shattered dreams 💔 part of me says push and you will get there. Part says get rid so you dont have to worry anymore. Thank you for your help. I will definitly get an experienced person invovled. I have had help already and he went away for schooling before he went off work. Obviously all that is now wasted really as hes lost so much muscle. Money isnt a massive issue but i obviously dont want to keep throwing it at him if its not going to get better.
 
JulesRules said:
If it helps my mare had a steroid injection in her hock 3 years ago and has been sound since.
Click to expand...

....and my then 20 year old had an injection in his elbow due to arthritis nearly two years ago. We came 2nd in the veteran class county show at the weekend and the judge told me it was lovely to see "a horse of his age moving so freely". I was told at 11 (when he had his coffin joint injected ) my other horse would be lucky to see 15 in ridden work. He's also 22 now and still hacking merrily.
 
Its nice to hear they can do well. Fingers crossed my boy comes right but now left fetlock is puffy and hes really lame... it seems never ending!
 
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