When to throw in the towel

[Bubbles74]

Hi. Just wondering if anyone has been through this before or has any guidance. I am on the verge of retiring my lovely 6 year old gelding. He has surgery on both front coffin joints for OCD lesions. He has coffin joint arthritis. He recovered from surgery, back to work and went lame in the hind end. Then he needed steroid injections into the hocks. Now his ulcers are back despite careful management. At this point I have a horse that will need joint injections in all four limbs once to twice a year, and as per vet will need daily dosage of ulcer meds to keep them away. This is extremely expensive to keep him going under saddle, and I just can't see how it is feasible for us. I have maxed out insurance on two claims so far to try and get him right. It's a shame because at present he is sound under saddle, but very angry and acting out due to ulcers.

I'd like to just retire him to a field in hopes that constant forage/no work keep his tummy happy. I don't feel that having him pts is reasonable at this point given that he is sound to live out.

Am I wrong to call it quits on all this treatment and just see how he goes in the field. I will treat the ulcers one last time as the insurance allows one last course of treatment.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

After you have finished the treatment paid for by your insurance, I can reccommend trying Aloe Vera juice to keep the ulcers away.

 

[Bubbles74]

After you have finished the treatment paid for by your insurance, I can reccommend trying Aloe Vera juice to keep the ulcers away.

Thank you, we plan to give a small feed daily to get aloe and a joint supplement into him, even when he is retired.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

I'm sorry you are having to retire such a young horse, it's so hard but if you suspect his grumpiness is down to ulcers again try the Ronfields ULC30ex Plus. I rarely recommend natural remedies but this stuff really worked on one of mine when he started to get very girthy and rather to handy with his back feet when I groomed his tummy. Back to normal within a few weeks and he's been fine every since.

 

[SusieT]

Yes, I agree with with you, in a 6 year old who wont stand up to any work I would retire to the field if field sound. It might be worth trying him in a year to see if things have settled down as time is often wonderful at settling aches and pains even when we know there is an underlying cause and he may be able to do light work - constant forage and a chilled life will help the ulcers too but its good you have one more round of treatment left on the insurance- sorry to here it, it's very annoying when this happens.

 

[windand rain]

Given that you have the will to retire him why not turn him away for a year and try again to slowly bring him back into work. Lots of horses benefit from this and come back fully into work forever. Aloe juice dr green and time may well be what he needs. If it doesnt work then Maybe retire or PTS after giving it a go. Make sure you let him down properly so he loses weight in winter ready to gain again in spring or you will be micromanaging when what he needs is to go back to nature as much as possible

 

[Bubbles74]

Given that you have the will to retire him why not turn him away for a year and try again to slowly bring him back into work. Lots of horses benefit from this and come back fully into work forever. Aloe juice dr green and time may well be what he needs. If it doesnt work then Maybe retire or PTS after giving it a go. Make sure you let him down properly so he loses weight in winter ready to gain again in spring or you will be micromanaging when what he needs is to go back to nature as much as possible

Definitely open to seeing how he is in a year. To make it all more complicated we have a brand new (Human) baby at home so life is just chaotic 😂

 

[Goldenstar]

Turn him away but with a plan in place to keep him really slim ,keep on top of the foot trimming and be meticulous about the foot balance .
give him a year or even longer and then start again from the beginning and slowly see where you get .
that gives you plenty of time when the human baby arrives then see how you go .

 

[dixie]

Definitely approve of you turning him away. I did the same with a 7 yr old. He came sound after a year off. I never jumped him much but he had quite an active life for a few years.
The ulcers complicates things and I’ve also had good results with Ron Fields products.

 

[Theocat]

Turning away should help with the ulcers as well. I'd certainly be giving him a year off at this point, and you can always revisit if he looks as though he has improved.

 

[Fransurrey]

You may well find that if he's retired, the ulcers resolve anyway. My mare always had gut trouble, but since retiring her in January this year, she's shown no signs at all, even when moving onto new grass. I think hers were secondary to problems in the pelvic area.

 

[Bubbles74]

You may well find that if he's retired, the ulcers resolve anyway. My mare always had gut trouble, but since retiring her in January this year, she's shown no signs at all, even when moving onto new grass. I think hers were secondary to problems in the pelvic area.

That is what I'm hoping for. I'd love for him to be field sound with a happy tummy. If we manage any ridden work down the line it's a bonus