"Wits end" continued...

RichardRider

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Finally got the vet I wanted. There have been sales and ANOTHER vacation here, so I had to wait since I wanted this particular vet. Well, I also have three broken ribs as well so needed to be somewhat healed to trot the horse...I forgot that part...

He said it wasn't worth xrays and said it was largely just due(Incarna's being lame,) to arthritis. He's not for nerve blocks but does have a treatment that apparently, injected or even a 'drip-drip' something or other over 30 minutes, should relieve much swelling and could give me a year or two or maybe evven more pleasure riding without Incarna suffering...He'll be back this week for the treatment.

Once up the drive and departed, putting Incarna back in his field, he took off like he was a five year old galloping, trotting, and changing leads, no sweat. He's something else, because he was lame when trotting him in front of the vet!

I'm seeing double; haven't eaten a thing yet...Hope this doesn't sound too goofy...rr(more when I know exactly what he's giving him...Can't remember for the life of me....I'M TOO HUNGRY)...rr
 
How on earth did you get three broken ribs! Ouch :(

If its arthritis then ask your Vet about an injection of Osphos, its fairly new but the good thing about it is that it is into the muscle and will treat the whole horse.
 
Drip drip over half an hour is probably tildren. It causes problems if given quicker.

I can't get over how lackadaisical about diagnosing before treating it seems many vets on France are (from posts I read on here). He doesn't really know for sure why Incarna is lame, but he's going to give him Tildren? I hope it goes well and helps, Richard.
 
How on earth did you get three broken ribs! Ouch :(

If its arthritis then ask your Vet about an injection of Osphos, its fairly new but the good thing about it is that it is into the muscle and will treat the whole horse.

I believe that's what he was proposing...How did I break the ribs; falling off a horse(what else?)

cheers...rr
 
Drip drip over half an hour is probably tildren. It causes problems if given quicker.

I can't get over how lackadaisical about diagnosing before treating it seems many vets on France are (from posts I read on here). He doesn't really know for sure why Incarna is lame, but he's going to give him Tildren? I hope it goes well and helps, Richard.

No, he said we could(of course,) do x-rays, and with a 20yr old horse, find all sorts of things. But, now that you mention it, maybe you're right about lackadaisical side...In his defence, he does know me from the club, where his son competes and knows I don't, that I'm 64, and just ride for pleasure...He did school me in pointing out swollen places above the hoof and pasturn(fr?) indicating arthritis. The route that he suggested will cost from 350-500 Euros, which I'm fully willing to spend to be able to hack out and do a little flatwork. He and I both thought that spending more than that for a horse of Incarna's age would not be worth it.

Before buying another horse I'd like to see if which ever treatment he shows up with works...I find it hard to believe he's in that much pain when I see him tearing up the pasture, full bore, changing leads and enjoying himself.

Will let you all know how he does. Wish I knew how to post videos. I've shot a couple of him galloping around. Would be nice, if he improves, to be able to put up one showing a marked improvement when trotting in a few weeks...fingers crossed...rr
 
Why can't he just have a bit of bute Richard? It would be an awful lot less expensive. I get the point about not doing diagnostics on a horse of his age.
 
.I find it hard to believe he's in that much pain when I see him tearing up the pasture, full bore, changing leads and enjoying himself.

TELL me about it. I have a 7yo - nice horse - who is 2/10ths lame after 2 days work. He's had bute/rest/ the usual. Latest x-ray of stifle show a change - but not clear what sort or why it affects him in the way it does (it's below the joint.) Latest bloody suggestion - from the consultant - is to shoot him! I'll be having (more) words with vet today!
 
I know exactly where RR is coming from regarding the vets over here, it is almost impossible to get a proper diagnosis in my region, there is only 1 equine vet for over 100km's, the rest are good with sheep, one of my horses has a minor infection that needed a jab so they sent a tiny new young vet who took one look at my big PRE, panicked , upset him and said she couldn't do it and i needed the older vet but he was away.......gah
Richard, my PRE has a dodgy hock, probably due to too many piaffes when younger, i had the really good vet go over him thoroughly and do xrays etc and we agreed that we were limited in what we could change etc, i found Turmeric helped a lot but the vet also recommended i add a measure of Devils Claw which i did about 3 months ago, the difference in him has been amazing, i use the root which i order from Hilton Herbs France but some prefer powder, i understand it is a controversial plant, some think it causes stomach issues, some don't , i did a lot of research myself and am happy i chose to try it, most importantly is that it has excellent results on arthritis . Just a thought for you. xxxx
 
Thank you guys!

Yes, ycbm, I did have him on Bute but if you count two packets a day at 3.50euros per, thats 49 euros per week, 200 per month... and will exceed vet's quote in 3 months, plus I thought extended Bute wasn't good for kidneys and digestive track??? I tried giving him just the evening before our hacking out and a double ration early the same day but it wasn't as effective as everyday...

Shady, one of the vets that came(and didn't do an xray,) and said basically the same thing was IRISH, lol, and he(more of a friend of a friend and our kids went to the same catholic private school,) said he couldn't write me a bill since the cabinet he works for does only TBs(and IS EXCELLENT,) and the lowest rate he could charge, even for his coming by I didn't even want to know about...To be fair, after 30 years, my wife being French and our speaking only French at home with our son(who has an accent when he speaks English, lol,) I AM HAPPY that vet's don't "throw in the works" just to pad my bill, as MANY people do here when dealing with Anglophones and CERTAINLY AMERICANS...

Brucea, spoke to me at length in a couple of pms regarding "devils paw," and I did find it, but it's basically as expensive as Bute if I buy it at horsey pharmacie...Will try finding it with your supplier...

I could just imagine the vet who said, "lets see, I think you should bring him in and leave him so we can do a proper analysis, etc..." Maybe I give off a very "poor and penny less owner" image, lol...cheers...Where are you located in France?...rr
 
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I can't get over how lackadaisical about diagnosing before treating it seems many vets on France are (from posts I read on here). He doesn't really know for sure why Incarna is lame, but he's going to give him Tildren? I hope it goes well and helps, Richard.

What she said. I'm surprised you waited for this particular vet as he sounds as drippy as all the others. There's a vet close to me that is similar, he's made a few horses a lot worse as he has misdiagnosed because he didn't think xrays or nerve blocks were worth it.
 
I'm in the Aveyron Richard, dept 12, right in the middle of sanglier country, very, very rustic ! my local vets treat mainly farm animals and prefer to just hand me over the drugs i ask for and never come out to me, what i find interesting here is that the vets assume i don't want to spend money on investigating a problem too thoroughly and you are right in the regard that they will almost talk you out of doing it!!
I actually rode my horse to the vets once, 10 km's away, just for his tetanus jab!
France is a very weird place indeed sometimes :D
i do very much hope your horse improves RR , XX
 
Thank you guys!

Yes, ycbm, I did have him on Bute but if you count two packets a day at 3.50euros per, thats 49 euros per week, 200 per month... and will exceed vet's quote in 3 months, plus I thought extended Bute wasn't good for kidneys and digestive track??? I tried giving him just the evening before our hacking out and a double ration early the same day but it wasn't as effective as everyday...

Shady, one of the vets that came(and didn't do an xray,) and said basically the same thing was IRISH, lol, and he(more of a friend of a friend and our kids went to the same catholic private school,) said he couldn't write me a bill since the cabinet he works for does only TBs(and IS EXCELLENT,) and the lowest rate he could charge, even for his coming by I didn't even want to know about...To be fair, after 30 years, my wife being French and our speaking only French at home with our son(who has an accent when he speaks English, lol,) I AM HAPPY that vet's don't "throw in the works" just to pad my bill, as MANY people do here when dealing with Anglophones and CERTAINLY AMERICANS...

Brucea, spoke to me at length in a couple of pms regarding "devils paw," and I did find it, but it's basically as expensive as Bute if I buy it at horsey pharmacie...Will try finding it with your supplier...

I could just imagine the vet who said, "lets see, I think you should bring him in and leave him so we can do a proper analysis, etc..." Maybe I give off a very "poor and penny less owner" image, lol...cheers...Where are you located in France?...rr

Abler.com sell bute much cheaper.
 
if you are in orne not too far from normandie you could take him to the centre de pathologie du cheval nr deauville, we are close to there, they have horses from all over the world which have failed to be diagnosed elsewhere.

the vet i used in that area is a legend in his own lifetime and not averse to homeopathie and is a consultant there, if you pm i can give you his last known tele no. he lives nr st lo might even visit you, i don`t know.

you can go messing around in circles for ages i`ve come to the conclusion its best to go to the top.
 
if you are in orne not too far from normandie you could take him to the centre de pathologie du cheval nr deauville, we are close to there, they have horses from all over the world which have failed to be diagnosed elsewhere.

the vet i used in that area is a legend in his own lifetime and not averse to homeopathie and is a consultant there, if you pm i can give you his last known tele no. he lives nr st lo might even visit you, i don`t know.

you can go messing around in circles for ages i`ve come to the conclusion its best to go to the top.

Well, that is assuming that you have the financial ability to go there...trisatar

ycmb...Thanks I will check it out...super!

Shady, what a story, 10 miles for a jab! Here, they give me the syringe at the office and I do it, then stick the label on my reg-paper for the horse... We live walking distance from the "Haras du Pin," but we have sanglier as well here...rr(cut the tip of my finger off building something today and having a hard time typing)
 
Well, that is assuming that you have the financial ability to go there...trisatar

ycmb...Thanks I will check it out...super!

Shady, what a story, 10 miles for a jab! Here, they give me the syringe at the office and I do it, then stick the label on my reg-paper for the horse... We live walking distance from the "Haras du Pin," but we have sanglier as well here...rr(cut the tip of my finger off building something today and having a hard time typing)

I'm beginning to worry about you RR , you keep damaging yourself! i've got a bit of a needle phobia and just couldn't see myself trying to jab my poor horse, i like the ride too, horsey gets a croissant when we get there and i get a tarte citron :D

If you do end up going down the bute route do research the Devil's Claw as well, in the long run it could be better for your horse, long term use of bute is not massively kind in my opinion tho others may disagree. i literally give my boy one table spoon a day in a tiny feed and he is so much happier and more supple .

Lucky you RR to live near HdP ! XXXX
 
Tildren could work if arthritis which I think you said it was in previous post. Just make sure he injects an anti-spasmodic before doing the IV as Tildren can cause colic. Three treatments of Tildren over an 18 month period gave my boy a new lease of life and allowed him to be ridden and compete. He wasn't suitable for retirement.

Unfortunately I did say goodbye a couple of weeks ago but at least his last couple of years were pain free and happy.
 
Nicnac, will check out the Tildren as well but am waiting to see which of the two programs the vet is going to put him on. He didn't get back to me today, and tomorrow's Friday of a four day bank holiday weekend, so look's like we talking next week...

Shady, I found the Devils Claw, but in leafy tea looking form, just about as expensive as the Bute is/was(am going to try ycbm's bute address though.) As far as me hurting myself, it's funny. I have a pretty complete woodshop with all sorts of machines and it's always with a cutter or simple little hand saw(or completely smashing my thumb trying to nail something, stretched out at the top of a ladder,) that I hurt myself...Haven't stuck myself with a seringe yet though...

Well get back to you all when vet "reappears..." cheers...rr
 
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