When is it ok to call it quits?

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Arniebear

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Hi i havent posted on here for quite some time but just after some advice if anyone else has every been in this situation before?

Horse in question is an 11 yr old warmblood originally brought as a 4.5 year old to event. 6 months into ownership and he damaged his first tendon, had surgery and with a careful rehab came back to event again round a few 90s before he damaged his second tendon, surgery again. I made the decision there and then that he wouldnt event again, dressage and hack was fine. Year out again to recover. Whilst out on his year out he required emergency surgery to remove a cyst from his throat that would have rendered him unable to breath. Came back into work again and managed a few dressage tests, then a pelvis issue was found, treated and again competed and hacked lightly. This year the pelvis issue has escalated where it has locked reoccurringly in a short amount of time. The latest being i managed to ride him 5 x before it locked again resulting in lameness. He is currently not being ridden as hes not comfortable he is booked in to see Ken skinner again to have his pelvis reassessed.

Im not stupid i know the pelvis issue is most likely due to a primary issue within the legs somewhere. He isn't insured and even if he was none of his legs are covered due to previous surgeries. Therefore i would be footing the bill for investigation work.

I have thrown everything i have at him for the last 6 years, he means THE absolute world to me but what else can i do? My heart says dont give up because its him but i know i cant get into any more debt over him. I'm really struggling to come to terms with it all. I feel like i'm giving up on him, but how much more can i put him through? What are the chances this further leg issue (could be suspensories, hocks, tendons) cant be fixed anyway? I wont put him under another full GA, so surgery is out of the question.

We have been through hell and back so many times, he always has and always will be more than just a horse to me and i feel like i have massively let him down :(

Am i wrong to decide not to investigate and just retire him?
Im still paying off his throat surgery and my other horse kindly ran up a large bill his insurers are refusing to pay so financially i just dont have anything spare to throw at investigations for him which makes me feel even worse :(

Anyone else called it quits due to too many issues? I wont pts unless he cant manage day to day and i have the space to retire him at home or i potentially have an option of a big field with friends.

I just dont know if im making the right or wrong decision, i dont think Ken skinner will be able to do much other than make him more comfortable.

I just want to rewind time to those happy first 6 months of ownership when it was all going to plan :(
 
yes, I retired my coloured small hunter aged 7 when his insurance money ran out, he was still lame and no real diagnosis other than it "might" be his stifle or could be his pelvis in combination with arthritis of the spine.
I couldnt afford the on going treatment for a horse that wasnt sound enough to ride, so I retired him to my mums field where he lives out and is happy. though I don't think i'll put him through too many more winters as that is when he is at his worst, he is now 9, I suspect he won't make 12.
 
It does sound as though he is unlikely to stand up to much more work with his recurring issues. In the old days before we had all the diagnostic tools that are now available it was very common to turn a horse away for a year and reassess after that. Is he sound enough to retire to the field and would he be happy doing that?
 
I fixed mine twice, but when he did something very dangerous and I knew he was broken again. I didnt even bother with investigations. I made sure he was comfortable and off he went to retire. Sometimes they just dont hold up to work.
 
conniegirl said:
yes, I retired my coloured small hunter aged 7 when his insurance money ran out, he was still lame and no real diagnosis other than it "might" be his stifle or could be his pelvis in combination with arthritis of the spine.
I couldnt afford the on going treatment for a horse that wasnt sound enough to ride, so I retired him to my mums field where he lives out and is happy. though I don't think i'll put him through too many more winters as that is when he is at his worst, he is now 9, I suspect he won't make 12.
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Sorry to hear that, but its nice to know im not the only one who has thought/done this. I'm just not sure what else i can do for him?


eggs said:
It does sound as though he is unlikely to stand up to much more work with his recurring issues. In the old days before we had all the diagnostic tools that are now available it was very common to turn a horse away for a year and reassess after that. Is he sound enough to retire to the field and would he be happy doing that?
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He's had a year out previously after his second tendon injury, the first he had 9 months. Atm i would be happy enough to retire him to a field he is sound enough to mooch about. He thrives on work and human interaction so i dont think it would be fair on him to leave him at home he's a very jealous type when he sees me handling/riding my other one but if i could find a retirement field (possibly where he went last time if they have space) then he would be much happier as that's a herd environment and they are out 24/7 365 days a year
 
eggs said:
It does sound as though he is unlikely to stand up to much more work with his recurring issues. In the old days before we had all the diagnostic tools that are now available it was very common to turn a horse away for a year and reassess after that. Is he sound enough to retire to the field and would he be happy doing that?
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agree, it's not clear whether he's going to be field sound at the moment ?
unfortunately sometimes there are these horses where they just don't seem able to cope with life. I don't think it's wrong to say enough is enough but I wouldn't personally retire to the field unless I was certain that the horse would have a good quality of life. he's a young horse, if he is even in low grade pain he could go on for many years being a bit miserable.
 
Leo Walker said:
I fixed mine twice, but when he did something very dangerous and I knew he was broken again. I didnt even bother with investigations. I made sure he was comfortable and off he went to retire. Sometimes they just dont hold up to work.
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He's not dangerous never has been, he tries his heart out for me everytime even though its quite clear (now) that his body just cant do it sometimes.
Unfortunately i think all these issues relate to a serious injury he suffered as a 2 year old where he got his head stuck in a metal gate frame, the thrashing about to free himself (which was unsuccessful) probably caused a fair amount of internal damage which was left untreated as the serious head injury was the primary concern back then, i brought him off his breeder so i know his full history. When you put all the leg injuries/pelvis issue together with the accident at 2 yrs old it starts to add up sadly. So i agree some horses just cant hold up to it. Such a shame as he has some impressive breeding and is something else under saddle, i wont ever sit on a horse like him again.... i cant afford one!!
 
milliepops said:
agree, it's not clear whether he's going to be field sound at the moment ?
unfortunately sometimes there are these horses where they just don't seem able to cope with life. I don't think it's wrong to say enough is enough but I wouldn't personally retire to the field unless I was certain that the horse would have a good quality of life. he's a young horse, if he is even in low grade pain he could go on for many years being a bit miserable.
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Luckily for me he has a huge personality so its very evident when hes not himself and in pain, atm he is still his cheeky idiotic self so id be more than happy to retire to a field once seen by the chiro. Previously when the chiro has treated him his foreleg lameness goes away which is why ive then tried again to bring him back into work as he is sound, until the pelvis locks again. I'm not saying he will last 10+ years retired but until he is struggling day to day i dont think i have to make the final decision just yet :(
 
Arniebear said:
He's not dangerous never has been, he tries his heart out for me everytime even though its quite clear (now) that his body just cant do it sometimes.
Unfortunately i think all these issues relate to a serious injury he suffered as a 2 year old where he got his head stuck in a metal gate frame, the thrashing about to free himself (which was unsuccessful) probably caused a fair amount of internal damage which was left untreated as the serious head injury was the primary concern back then, i brought him off his breeder so i know his full history. When you put all the leg injuries/pelvis issue together with the accident at 2 yrs old it starts to add up sadly. So i agree some horses just cant hold up to it. Such a shame as he has some impressive breeding and is something else under saddle, i wont ever sit on a horse like him again.... i cant afford one!!
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It sounds like the gate incident caused a lot of damage which he's grown up compensating for in lots of ways, all of which are now exhausted. Personally, I wouldn't be throwing any money money at him, but retire to the field if sound enough?
 
Sorry you're having these issues. He sounds as if he has a systemic problem like ESPA. Depending on how you feel about him and your finances I would either turn away for a year if field sound, or PTS.

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Turn him away for a year, he may come right on his own with some rest. If he doesn't and he is happy in the field then retire him fully.
 
Arniebear said:
Sorry to hear that, but its nice to know im not the only one who has thought/done this. I'm just not sure what else i can do for him?
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I did everything I could afford to do and put myself in quite a bit of debt to do so, you shouldn't bankrupt yourself over one horse no matter how much you love him. hence the reason mine is turned away in my mothers field until such time as he is unsound in the field and then he will be PTS.

He is having a brilliant time currently turned out with a couple of rescue horses, Lenny is such a big character and super bold that having him constantly in pockets and keen to be handled seems to have helped the rescues with thier confidence around people.
He has also previously been in with a couple of coloured colt foals who were abandoned at a very very young age ( pre weaning age) and he gently taught them to speak horse and some horsey manners.
He is also a very pretty field ornament so still useful.
 
Arniebear said:
Am i wrong to decide not to investigate and just retire him?
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No of course not. So long as he is comfortable in retirement he will love it! If he is not comfortable you need to treat him until he is (which could just be painkillers or whatever rather than full investigation and finding the issues per se) or PTS for his own welfare. I had a horse I bred who was an absolute delight until she was 6 or 7 when she turned into a practically unrideable witch. I couldn't get to the root of the problem and the professional I asked to school her in case it was somehow me (although that seemed unlikely as I am very experienced and had broken and brought her on myself successfully from a 3 yr old until it went wrong) agreed that there wasn't an obvious schooling solution. I was short of time in any event and concluded that my time and money was better spent on a horse which didn't have her problems, so I retired her at about 8. She was happy as larry just turned out as a companion (which she was very useful as) until she died a few years ago at 25. Life is too short. Put your time, money, hopes and aspirations into something more rewarding.
 
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