What would you do........

annunziata

annunziata

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Right can I have some advice please..I have a 13 yr old 17.1hh ID all rounder, he hunts team chases goes on the beach and is a general lovely boy. He has done his deep digital flexor tendon in the field :( he has a whole the size of a 2p piece deep in the tendon. The vets want to operate under a general anesthetic to clean up the area through key hole surgery (no actual repair of the tendon) and then stick him on 2 weeks total box rest then 2 weeks of box rest with hand walking then hopefully pen rest for 3 months then turn out for up to a year. his chances are 50%. At the moment he is out in the field (totally sane in the field does not run about or anything) on rest and he is 4/10 lame if he stands in the stable for more than a couple of hours he is like 6/10 lame, he hates being in the box and box walks and turn it into a road-about. Would you go through the op and all of that or would you stick him out in a field for 12 months try an arcequine and let nature take its course. The chances are if he comes sound I will have a horse i can lightly hack, if not a giant field companion which does not bother me as he lives at home. I am totally devastated as i love him soo much and he is soo much fun to ride but his well being is far more important than my emotional attachment to riding him. what would you do??? Currently he has an apt. at the hospital for the 12th of August for his op
 
If he had 12 months of field rest would that rule out the operation at a later stage? I would think a few months in the field with shoes off and good trims,*might* enable his body to heal itself but if it doesn't surely you would be able to revisit the operation next year?
 
In theory no. but you know what vets are like, they want him in ASAP. Mine are are really good but with a 50% prognosis then would not not just try turnout? Apparently the surgery is the gold plated service. He is covered under the insurance at the moment so I would have a time limit to do it I think, but surely putting a horse under a general is not a brilliant idea unless totally necessary like colic etc. he is not a grand prix jumper. i have also ready that barefoot rehab is also the way to go??
 
I would consider shoes off apporiate trim and out or a trip to Rockley .
But I would not do what the vet suggests .
 
... whereas I would do what the vet suggested if you can afford it... it sounds like a pretty huge hole in the tendon, are you sure they said a 2p piece, OP!? There is always a risk with anaesthetic and it's something I had to weigh up with similar odds of recovery only 2 months ago. I couldn't see the point in waiting when the insurance clock was ticking away.
But you have to do what feels right for you.
 
I am waiting to hear from the insurance to see if they would cover the op. G has a host of other issues which makes me very nervous of him going through the op, he has a shiver which can make him present very neurological and i really worry about him trying to get up. I am half tempted to take his shoes off have him trimmed (luckily I am married to a barefoot trimmer) and give him a couple of weeks till I get back from holiday and re-scan and see what it looks like. To be fair i could not even see it on the scans I am only going by what I was told. But what I cant work of what is the op actually going to do as they are not injecting it with anything??
 
I am waiting to hear from the insurance to see if they would cover the op. G has a host of other issues which makes me very nervous of him going through the op, he has a shiver which can make him present very neurological and i really worry about him trying to get up. I am half tempted to take his shoes off have him trimmed (luckily I am married to a barefoot trimmer) and give him a couple of weeks till I get back from holiday and re-scan and see what it looks like. To be fair i could not even see it on the scans I am only going by what I was told. But what I cant work of what is the op actually going to do as they are not injecting it with anything??
 
For me why you're insured it's becomes all about how the horse will cope with the post surgery rehab .
It's a nightmare dealing with a horse who has had surgery need to be kept quiet and is going nuts in the stable .
It's also about how you can look after the horse through this time .
If you're working and on DIY you are going to think about how you can break up his day to keep him happy perhaps think of getting a freelance to visit if you're at work
all day .
I don't think 50% success is great odds .
All this is very hard it's awful bad luck.
 
I think you need to speak to your vet again to get it all straight in your head.
I'd imagine the surgery is to remove any small fragments of tissue that are causing inflammation from what you've said but could be wrong. That's what we did for my horse.
Mine was also a greater anaesthetic risk due to previous reactions to the pre-med. I had a long chat with the anaesthetist at my vet surgery before making the decision.
It's a big thing to decide, I'm sure your vets would be happy to talk through in more detail.
 
milliepops said:
I think you need to speak to your vet again to get it all straight in your head.
I'd imagine the surgery is to remove any small fragments of tissue that are causing inflammation from what you've said but could be wrong. That's what we did for my horse.
Mine was also a greater anaesthetic risk due to previous reactions to the pre-med. I had a long chat with the anaesthetist at my vet surgery before making the decision.
It's a big thing to decide, I'm sure your vets would be happy to talk through in more detail.
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Did you go ahead with the surgery?? I have a yard at home so I am very lucky but still really worried about how I am going to break up his day. They want him next week but I think until I am sure that I am making the right decision I may put if off. I have been assured that it is not going to make any difference if he has it this week or in 2 weeks. We are going away in a couple of weeks and don't want to leave him if he just has had surgery.
 
Goldenstar said:
I don't think 50% success is great odds .
All this is very hard it's awful bad luck.
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Well this is what I thought?! 50% seems rather low and with odds like that is it really worth it?!?! I have a friend who keeps her horse at my horse so maybe we could change our routine so she can visit in the day time.

totally gutted, he seems so happy in the field at the moment
 
annunziata said:
Did you go ahead with the surgery?? I have a yard at home so I am very lucky but still really worried about how I am going to break up his day. They want him next week but I think until I am sure that I am making the right decision I may put if off. I have been assured that it is not going to make any difference if he has it this week or in 2 weeks. We are going away in a couple of weeks and don't want to leave him if he just has had surgery.
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Yes I did. The alternative for my mare was to medicate the joint and tendon sheath and rest, and then to try bringing back into work. The expectation was that she'd probably go lame again due to the tissue debris in the joint at which point surgery would be the next step, or retirement.
I thought I had to just throw everything at it really, couldn't take the heartbreak of seeing her go lame again. .
As it is, she IS still 1-2 tenths lame so there is a tentative return to hacking to see if it's just adhesions and therefore a better prognosis, or if we are at the end of the road . I'm still glad we did the surgery. At least I know I've done what I can for her.
Very personal decision though. If she'd have died on the table I would have been distraught but for me it would still have been the right decision.
 
HI milliepops I have postponed the surgery to have time to speak to the insurance company and with going away at the end of the month I cant leave a sick horse with a friend. My vets have assured me leaving him for a couple of weeks wont be the end of the world. I have bought an arc equine so will try that and rescan him when I get back from holiday
 
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