Wobblers - what would you do?

[Scarlet1]

I have an amazing 13 yr old gelding who has recently been diagnosed with wobblers.
He has always had a very big movement which we put down to his breeding (Sandro hit). However one morning in the summer he came in from the field crippled. We X-rayed and he had a bone chip on his stifle due to a kick, so we thought it was done to that. Box rest and then given sign off as being sound. He then collapsed in his stable and struggled to get up. Back to vets full X-rays and woke up. And he had compression in several areas on his neck but I can’t remember what vertebrae (grade 2-3). Steroid injections but very little improvement. Certainly couldn’t get on him.
So we decided to give him the month enjoying the sun and would put him to sleep. However, he appears to have improved substantially. And is very happy. You can clearly still see his gait isn’t right though.
My problem is I now have a new horse and having 3 horses at livery is financially crippling me. We are 2 months in and I can’t justify the cost, but I feel awful for having a happy horse pts.
If I’m honest it would be easier if he deteriorated. The vets are vague and won’t say pts which doesn’t help. What would you do? What have you done with a wobbler of a similar grade?

 

[ycbm]

I put mine down. There is a serious risk that yours will lie down and be unable to get up again. That, to me, was unthinkable so I PTS an otherwise bright and happy horse. Broke my heart but it was the right thing to do.
.

 

[Snowfilly]

I would PTS immediately. The risk of him going down and being unable to get up is high, the risk of him getting suddenly worse and causing an accident is high. He’s happy now, don’t let it end in disaster.

Do your livery yard know his diagnosis? Having their staff handle a wobbler could be an insurance risk - a local yard refused to deal with one because of this, and a lot of farriers won’t handle them either.

 

[Pinkvboots]

Honestly don't feel guilty about it his potentially an accident waiting to happen and remember horses are very good at hiding things its in there nature, I know it's a horrible decision but really for the best he could seriously injure somebody.

I've had a horse fall on me and I can assure you it's not nice I was lucky the horse just fell on my leg, had he fell on my body I might not be here the doctor in the hospital actually said this to me as well.

 

[SadKen]

If he was mine I’d give him exactly what he wanted for 24 hours then let him go with a full tum. It is hard if they are bright and happy but the diagnosis is for deterioration and it’s better to let him go in a calm controlled manner than face the potential awfulness of a sudden issue, and extrication thereafter. Something I tell myself when I look back on having my mare pts - her death was as easy as it gets, and I’m glad I made the decision to do what I did when I did it.

If you weren’t feeling on the fence about this I’d be surprised, but it’s always harder when they’re yours rather than making a logical remote decision on the internet. Thinking of you.

 

[View]

Sorry to hear you are facing this, but honestly, I'd let him go peacefully now or tomorrow at the latest (to let anybody to whom he is important say goodbye to him). Before he ended up down and terrified because he can't get up, before he falls and traps someone. Don't feel guilty - letting him go peacefully would be a kindness.

 

[Scarlet1]

Thank you all. When faced with this - being told what I already know helps!

Yes of course the livery yard know! They are happy with the situation and spoke directly with the vet.

 

[Hormonal Filly]

Sorry to read this and you’re going through it. Probably genetic sadly.

My gelding had arthritis grade 4 (out of 4) at C6-C7 at the age of 9.. and steroids did help but only for a couple months. He had spinal cord compression but I didn’t have a CT scan done so can’t say how much. He just couldn’t bend his neck well and cantered weird. He was also very quiet. Even on 2-4 bute a day he wasn’t perfect. He had summer in the field, he only got worse and he was put to sleep before winter.

The specialist said it would only get worse and it was the right decision. ?

He was my horse of a lifetime.. miss him terribly but I couldn’t let him get any worse. Thinking of you OP x

 

[Scarlet1]

@Hormonal Filly im so sorry to hear about your gelding. It’s heart breaking.
My boy is literally one in a million and so it’s hard accepting we’ve reached the end of the road. Before winter really hits. I always said if I had a wobbler it’s an easy decision, and it hasn’t been as clear cut.

 

[mariew]

How very sad. Honestly if you can be strong then PTS is probably kinder for both of you.

 

[hock]

As someone whos heart was thoroughly broken by a wobbler, it sounds like its time to say goodnight. The horse in my avatar was my wobbler boy and moved like a million dollars. Ive had a very sad learning curve and I no longer look at these huge moving dressage horses in the same way. They love a borderline wobbler abroad on the continent ive heard quoted on more than one occasion from people that I trust. I did go to Nationals this year and saw the super 4 year winner (MSJ) and it gave me some hope the tide is turning.
It makes me sad to look back at this huge moving boy i had put to sleep and knowing he moved like that because like a spider on LSD he hadn't got a clue where his legs were.

 

[Scarlet1]

@hock our vet said the same thing to us. His opinion was that some of the top horses were likely wobblers hence their movement.

 

[Laurac13]

I have a retired wobbler I look after myself to be fair he has been right as rain since his retirement over a year ago the only thing is that he sweats on one side of his neck and drools a little from his mouth on the same side when he eats sometimes. He’s not had a problem getting up ever though. If he did I would definitely pts very sorry you are in this situation ?. My vet said wobblers horses can make great show jumpers as they don’t know where their legs are so clear fences by a huge amount -scary people would show jump them ? good luck with your decision it’s not easy x

 

[Red-1]

My Jay had great movement, until he has a bit of time off. He became a wobbler then, I think because his muscles relaxed.

I too thought it would be PTS at the time, but the vet wanted to try steroids. They did make an improvement, we had the summer gentle hacking and another year in retirement, but one day it was obvious that the time had come. It was a very windy day and he was struggling to walk a straight line.

At that time, he could still lunge sound, get up and down. I thought the staggering sideways in the strong wind was not compatible with a happy life so he went next day.

 

[hock]

@hock our vet said the same thing to us. His opinion was that some of the top horses were likely wobblers hence their movement.

I think he was being very diplomatic with saying some. I remember my dad (now passed away) years ago when totilas first came on the scene saying his movememt was very suspicious and unnatural and me rolling my eyes and thinking you just dont understand. Well maybe I didnt understand.

I didnt have my orange pony for very long (less than 3 months i think) but what made it easier was knowing I did everything for him and having him pts within minutes of the vet telling me how bad he was (newmarket). I dread to think how much worse it is when you've owned the horse so much longer. Im so very sorry you're in this position x

 

[hock]

My Jay had great movement, until he has a bit of time off. He became a wobbler then, I think because his muscles relaxed.

I too thought it would be PTS at the time, but the vet wanted to try steroids. They did make an improvement, we had the summer gentle hacking and another year in retirement, but one day it was obvious that the time had come. It was a very windy day and he was struggling to walk a straight line.

At that time, he could still lunge sound, get up and down. I thought the staggering sideways in the strong wind was not compatible with a happy life so he went next day.

Yes the fitter and stronger the core the better the less symptomatic. Im very sorry you went through this!

 

[jessykai]

I had an older horse that went suddenly ataxic. He was 17.2hh and the vet advised that he should not be in a stable, but if he had to go in a stable then no one was to enter the stable with him as if he went down it would be disastrous. (So to just open the door and put headcollar on from outside etc)

He was then turned out 24/7 as after the acute attack he only displayed mild ataxia, but was not ridden again. My plan had been to give him one last summer and then pts before winter as I didn’t think it would be fair to expect him to cope with slippy mud etc.
unfortunately after a month, he became very unstable in the space of a few hours and he was pts that day. It was to the point that the knacker man watched him walking over and told us to stop and that he would come to him and we’d take fencing down to remove him after.

If I had to do it again, I would have pts sooner.

 

[SEL]

I am sorry you're faced with this. I'd probably PTS while he is happy and comfortable, especially if his gait is still not quite right. He could well go downhill fast when winter really hits.

Don't feel guilty. I'm not one for PTS at the drop of a hat but wobblers is tricky to manage and they can go downhill quickly as @jessykai has said above.

 

[Sossigpoker]

I had mine PTS within 2 weeks of diagnosis. Yours has already gone down,.and he will.go down again. I've had a friend have their horse fall on them and she was badly injured (broken shoulder, ribs , collar bone and ribs ). So I would PTS sooner rather than later.
You don't want to find him on the floor one day , or falling over on someone.