When did you know it was time to call it a day ?

I assume that by him saying you would have to forego the insurance, she is not clinically bad enough at the moment and you are just concerned about her deteriorating? I know it's very easy to say this when you're not going through it and you have all my sympathy for having to make the decision, but to me, that would be the same as saying you've not reached the end of road yet. I think from reading other stuff that she's quite young? Could you not find her a companion home if she's happy out in the field and you can't afford to keep her?
 
Really sorry to hear this, it's the worst thing in the world. I think for me your important comment is this:

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She has a degenerative condition - so yes she is only going to get worse

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This makes it very tough for us as owners but even more important we stay strong and consider the week too early rather than day to late situation.

I had my mare sadly PTS just over a week ago due to a condition she has had since a 4 year old (she was 15), so know how hard this is, but ultimately we have to take a step back and consider the horses long term future and quality of life.

In my case she had started to get very stressy and agrressive and although we couldn't prove the condition was the cause it was a strong possibilty so I had no real choice but I was so relieved that the day I booked the vet she seemed happy and calm and almost back to her normal self so was quiet and peaceful when it happened.
 
sorry hope this doesnt dredge anything up, but whats the problem with her living as a field ornament for the rest of her days? could it be years of happy field living?
 
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I and even got to the point of phoning my vet and asking him come and and PTS.
He talked me out of it though!!!


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Ditto .. she was due to be PTS on the 1st of April but then it never happened , I decided(or it was decided we would persue treatment)

I don't care about the ridden aspect of it anymore ( since this whole thing I haven't!) but its the fact that people around me are concerned for me (and my well being) as I've been making myself ill over all of this (things I won't go into on a public forum) and they think that me clinging on for years to come will ultimately send me over the edge . These next few months are so important (A levels) and I can't do anything but think and think and think about Sol and how however hard I try I can't fix this .
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It is really difficult - I would find a horse friend your trust and run it by them.

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I will try (usually end up in a blubbering mess - lucky you lot can't see me behind this PC screen!)


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I assume that by him saying you would have to forego the insurance, she is not clinically bad enough at the moment and you are just concerned about her deteriorating? I know it's very easy to say this when you're not going through it and you have all my sympathy for having to make the decision, but to me, that would be the same as saying you've not reached the end of road yet. I think from reading other stuff that she's quite young? Could you not find her a companion home if she's happy out in the field and you can't afford to keep her?

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Yes the insurance we would have to forget about (we can't claim LOU as it is so LOA would be our only choice anyway..)

Yes she is very young ( She has just turned 5 a month or so ago
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At the moment she's on livery but turning her out 24/7 in jsut a field is a very real option as I don't think she's make a great companion
 
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sorry hope this doesnt dredge anything up, but whats the problem with her living as a field ornament for the rest of her days? could it be years of happy field living?

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The problem about her living out as a field ornament for the rest of her days is the fact she is only just 5 , a highly strung ISH (mainly TB) that doesn't keep condition well in the winter so she'd struggle to winter out well . Another factor is the level of pain relief she'd need to be on in the coming years and how that would also effect her
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Sorry to hear about your horse
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She is really happy at the moment and is enjoying the summery weather which is making thing a little easier as I am able to leave her out and at grass to get my head together .

Its just an impossible situation - She could be happy for another 10 years or she could rapidly deteriorate and be unable to walk in 6months ..? I don't know and at this stage nor do the vets , I am constantly thinking that she's got a chance and then realising she really , really doesn't . I've put everything I have into trying to sort it out and I can't admit defeat
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I have to say, what I would do in your position is this:

If she is field sound, give her the summer in the field enjoying being a horse. Then, when the days start to draw in, re-assess her condition. If she's still the same or worse, PTS before winter.

Sorry.

If you keep her in work how much money are you willing to spend on a horse that will (lets face it) never stay sound? Shoes, saddlers, physio, tack, not to mention on going vets fees and insurance. You could put that money towards a horse you actually could ride and enjoy. I know you want to do the best for your horse, but she doesn't care whether she's ridden or not, and you can at least give her a nice summer out.

Hugs, whatever you decide.
 
I don't wan't to ride her , that is no longer the bigger problem.

The problem is more ... it may take me 5 years to prove her quality of life is compromised ..? Or it may happen tommorow but whats the point of hanging on ..? Like you said she doesn't care , she lives for today she has no time scale in her head of how long she should be around for ?

My head is such a jumble at the moment . In my heart (like I said to Liz on Saturday) I want her gone , I don't want the heartache anymore , the constant worry or the hassle of everyone that thinks they no better .

And thats because I'm weak and pathetic and can't cope and have nobody here to tell me that whatever I do she will be ok for now and that she's no different to 3 months ago when we hadn't the foggiest what was wrong. I can't get hold of the one person that know her inside out and that could tell me what I should do and help me either way , all in all I feel terribly useless . I even considered giving her away the other day and I fell awful for doing so but I know someone else could just get on with it !
 
Why can't you just do what I suggested - turn her away for the summer? Check on her every day but otherwise let he be and get your head together? She'll be happy, and you can give yourself a break.

regarding giving her away - she is your responsibility. You must either keep her and look after her or have her put to sleep. Nothing else. Imagine what she might go through if she fell into the wrong hands.
 
This is what I'm doing she's out 24/7 apart from poor weather/ hot weather . Its not ideal as I'm on a yard that most horses don't go out 24/7 so she's alone at night but she seems settled.

No I 10000% agree re; giving her away . But this is just how I feel and it worries me as I know exactly what would happen to her if she was given away .
 
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This is what I'm doing she's out 24/7 apart from poor weather/ hot weather . Its not ideal as I'm on a yard that most horses don't go out 24/7 so she's alone at night but she seems settled.

No I 10000% agree re; giving her away . But this is just how I feel and it worries me as I know exactly what would happen to her if she was given away .

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To give you more of an idea of my situation, my horse had a terribly injury which unknown at the time had chipped away at his navicular bone through his coffin joint. I had huge vet bills and after his box rest he developed bone spavin which we had to work through he was just never sound but such a genuine soul he never complained when we rode him. He was on bute every other day cortoflex and physio every 2-3months it became a real stress and i just couldnt do the best for him (thinking work would fuze his joints and he would be better) In the end i loaned him out he had another serious accident with them, I was absolutely heartbroken and when i went to see him i couldnt believe what i saw they took him with a healthy coat glossy eyes and plenty of weight. That day his coat was dull the light had gone from his eyes he was so unhappy but couldnt bring myself to take him back i just couldnt cope with the emotional torment. A friend sold him on as a happy hacker and told the new owners everything about him including all his ailments and that he may be hacked 2-3 months then may need time off through lameness. Every day i feel guilty, at the time of his accident the vet hadnt fully investigated his initial injury and told me what he could expect to live through he hadnt even found the navicular.
If i had known he had navicular I would have pts that same day instead I have probably put that horse through months maybe years of unecessary pain and torment.
I was weak and buried my head in the sand, but i loved him and didnt want to be the one that did it, I should have done!
I dont know where he is, how he is, if he's alive and well or if hes in pain and unhappy - my time to come again I know what i'd do.
If you have a nagging feeling that is telling you what to do, then its probably the right one.
 
Halfstep has spoken nothing but complete sense. However hard this may be for you, you must make the decision. Failing to do so is making you ill, and at this time in your life (A levels) you need to be focussed. If you give her the summer to enjoy herself,be a horse, get fat and shiny, without a doubt she will look well come the autumn, but don't let that deflect you from what needs to be done. IMO if you feel that course will only prolong YOUR agony - do it now. You will be far better remembering her looking well, rather than deteriorating,being in pain, and beating yourself up for not making the decision earlier. I know you said the riding isn't the issue - but I am assuming you bought this young horse to ride and bring on? You can't "replace" your mare in your memories,ever, but you can put another horse in your box, enjoy it, and have it as an antidote to the stresses of school and exams; the yard will be a place of recovery,as opposed to somewhere you are (at the moment) desperately unhappy. I really feel for you, and am so sorry if anything I have said upsets you further, but with the benefit of experience I know it will be raw,raw,raw for some time, but it really,truly DOES get easier. xxxx
 
I do sympathise with your predicament, but I really think you should try to just chill out, as you young ones say.

If you are having a hard time now with thinking about Sol, when really she is not in any immediate distress or danger, imagine how you might feel if you rush into having her PTS and then potentially regret it for the rest of your life?

I'm not saying you will, but imagine how messed up you would be then, because there would be no going back.

Why don't you just let her go out into the field for the summer, concentrate on your exams, and see how things are in a few months time?
 
I fail to see why you want to PTS if she is field sound? Whilst she is field sound, put her in the field and let her be. When that situation changes..reassess.
 
QR

I hope I'm not speaking out of turn in assuming certain things but I *think* Ishy's main cause for her concern and frustration is the lack of certainty and answers regarding Sol.

Sol has a degenerative disease and it is a case of taking each day as it comes however this can be incredibly frustrating and exhausting. If Ishy is anything like me than she just wants an answer but that's the one thing nobody can give.

It's all fair and well saying just turn her away and give her the summer but if the horse isn't sound (sorry, I think I read she wasn't field sound without danolin, but that might have been an older post?) and isn't going to get better. Why keep her going?

I appreciate it's not about the money but to keep a lame horse in medication, feed, vet, farrier etc is the same, if not more, than keeping a sound horse.

I also think the main point is if a horse is lame then it's because something hurts. If the horse isn't right and is unable to carry itself properly it's because something is wrong and causing it pain. It's my understanding that the source of the pain has been identified and that it's degenerative so the bottom line, no matter how heartbreaking, is the Sol won't get better or recover and the best that can be hoped for is that she remains the same?

I can only guess that similar posts asking similar questions are repeatedly made out of frustration as nothing has changed or become clearer or easier and it's clutching at straws hoping for a response along the lines of "my horse had the exact same thing and we done X, Y or Z and things turned out A, B or C". Ishy has posted a few times that Sol isn't really suitable "companion" material and can't just be turned away in a field somewhere so she is stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Personally, going only by my interpretation of the posts I've read, I am shocked at the vet not putting the horse to sleep when you asked given the circumstances and encouraging you to keep the horse going when it's not a positive long (or short?) term prognosis. Unless I'm missing something, if I am I apologise.

I can empathise with your situation. My mum bought a 14yr old (now 16) horse unvetted 2yrs ago and 2wks after it arrived I didn't think it looked right. She was ultimately diagnosed with navic (small cyst on the navic bone) and spavins. We were mucked about by the practice for 18mths and they basically said she'd be "fine", the cyst was too small to be of any concern, her hocks would fuse themselves and the best course of action would be to breed from her. I didn't agree at all but there are limited practices in my area and this was the best of a bad bunch. I spent the 18mths questioning everything the vet was doing and harrassing my farrier.

Thankfully I managed to get an out of area practice to take us on and straight away he got things put straight. He showed me her original plates (he insisted old practice send them to him as they had ignored all my previous requests) and even I could see how big the cyst was. New vet confirmed that hocks very rarely fuse themselves and she needed remedial shoeing (wedged egg bars). The difference in her since we swapped practices has been immense. She can't be ridden and is now a field ornament but a sound, happy one.

However she has very small feet (she is a QH) with little growth and she is now losing shoes as her feet at nail sick being done every 4wks. She is lame without shoes (barefoot and hoofboots are previous tried and failed attempts to keep her comfortable) and can't get shoes on, this in turn is affecting her hocks. So for now she is lame and lame = pain. She's on danolin and vet is back out to reassess next week but if she can't be pain free then I have to put her above my wants and let her go.

Like it's been said before it's better too soon as even a second too late. I guess that's why I have trouble comprehending the advice to let a horse with a degenerative disease continue as is for an unspecified length of time.

Sorry for the novel, wasn't intending to write this much. I hope I haven't spoke out of turn and it's not been my intention to upset or contradict anyone. It's just my thoughts on the posts/threads I've read about this situation and felt it similar to my own. I too posted repeatedly on a different forum about mum's mare's lameness and vets lack of specific diagnosis and prognosis; just hoping someone would say they had something similar and they fixed it by "X". I think I would have gone mad if it wasn't for my new vet practice. Would a second (or third) opinion be of any help to you?

I hope you manage to reach a decision that you can find peace with soon.
 
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