Old wounds, lameness and the future

Skye94

Skye94

Most accident prone horse owner
Jan 6, 2006
546
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Near Aberdeen - Laurencekirk
So most of you know that my girly had her big accident in February. She still has a wound but it's getting better week by week. This horse is the most accident prone girl I've ever had. Just wanting some opinions and thoughts on her as a "whole"...

In November she caught equine herpes and got uveitis as a result, very poorly for 2.5 weeks but pulled through.

She has become not sound, but it's more of a not flexing the hock kinda lame rather than a "wounded leg lame" or a "hip lame". She hasn't been lame the whole time she had her wound, which is quite impressive!

She has a very weak immune system (due to her herpes), gets all the colds and things going around and now she has confirmed cellulitis which the vet says she will always have in her system and will always flare up when she's a bit under the weather. This doesn't help her wound at all, as it makes it weepy and not heal quick.

When she was on box rest for her wound she bashed her head off the bar above her stable and now has two huge splints on her forehead. This has caused her to start having "moments" where she shakes her head to the side for a second then flaps her lips for a while.

I'm struggling to see a light at the end of the tunnel for her, I want her to come back into work and we have started to long rein but the last time she just blew her brains. She's a fiery girl. When she was 1yr 8months she was taken out of racing due to a broken tibia, I'm not sure how this was mended, but her leg does an awful lot of clicking and I worry that it's early arthritis :( she's only 5, poor girl.

Sorry for the long post folks, just feeling a bit down :(
 
I'm going through this at the moment with Rubic. Slightly different kettle of fish as she is older and has different issues/injuries from yours but the same sort of questions need asked. I've recently been able to take a very logical approach to it so I'll write it out in the hope it'll help. Sometimes you need to take a step back and forget how attached you are to her because,not only is it upsetting, I think it can cloud your judgement.

My first thought is: is she in pain. Rubic has had a few ups and downs since her injury and a few days/weeks here and there when she has been sore. You then have to look at whether it is temporary or long term, does it have a solution or not? So far Rubic has been sore but it has always been temporary and/or I've found a solution. So we have plodded on. She is (well apart from right now) lame on a small circle in trot but appears happy to mooch round the field and offers trot to the gate to greet me. Without a doubt, if Rubic was going to be in long-term pain which could not be dealt with reasonably I would PTS

Which brings me on to my second question: how is her quality of life? Rubic is a field ornament I wouldn't stable her again (except temporarily depending on circumstance). If she is capable of doing what she loves best (eating grass) comfortably then all is well in that respect but if she struggled in the field then I've decided that would also spell the end.

Then you have the cost and your happiness (and it is not at all selfish to think like this): can you afford to look after a horse that potentially may not be capable of what you want and are you happy to do so? It's highly unlikely Rubic will be ridden again. I can afford to keep her at grass happily but I've decided that should she need ongoing vet treatment for an issue (say arthritis) that also decreased her quality of life or if the vet treatment was expensive then, for me, that would also mean PTS as financially it would be daft and no fun for either of us. I cannot ride Rubic and while I have her I can't afford a horse I can ride or to have frequent lessons etc, right now I'm ok with that sacrifice but I think that I wasn't I'd have PTS. At the end of the day it is a lot of money to be paying out for not quite what I want and if I'm not happy I'm only going to resent her and feel very negative about things which isn't nice for either of us. I've ruled out selling her or loaning her as a companion. With current issues I won't be able to breed her. We can't really do anything else!

It's all about setting your limits and considering the many options - what do you think is acceptable to you both?

Sorry to ramble on but it is something that us praying on my mind today.
 
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Your situation sounds horrible :(
I think with my girl it's the unknown that makes me unsure. I want to start getting her back into work but I worry it will make her more lame. She happily gallops around the field, rears, bucks, farts and bullies her field pal, albeit sometimes with a very odd looking canter!

She is lame but not hopping, I think she is only in pain when her leg swells up and is brick hard. She then has to have danilon and the vet comes out for injectable antibiotics since the sachets have no affect on her anymore.

Her quality of life is ok, just now. She normally lives in at night during winter but I fear this may not be possible with her cellulitis. If she does have to live out during winter, will she be ok? Happy? Keep condition? Who knows.

I don't want her to be a field ornament at 5yo, waiting till she gets more stiff and the decision is made very abruptly. So sad, she has her whole life and yet she is plagued by bad luck.
 
No help at all from me because Joe was older, but he was plagued from age 14 onwards - a real creaking gatepost. After a very short spell of ownership he went lame. Diagnosed with djd. Then a long course of treatment. In between which he developed a sinus infection. Lost some teeth. Hospitalised for a week. Lame again. Had colic twice and we thought it was curtains for him. Developed cellulitis twice. Had several weird mystery mud fever like leg infections. Lost more teeth. Had injections for arthritis. Damaged suspensory ligament. Box rest followed by walking in hand. All right as rain and then pop! Damaged it again. Damaged opposing leg. Finally damaged suspensory to a fatal degree and fetlock dropped, it was no good carrying on and we pts.
But, believe it or not, inbetween all his accidents / illnesses he gave OH some of the best rides of his life and filled our lives with so much. Plus we learnt loads about the horses anatomy!!!! Lol
At the end of his life the insurance had just about excluded every body part. Did I mention all the frequent abscesses?!!! But you know, you can't wrap them in cotton wool and whenever possible he led a normal life. And in the end we just learnt to take it day to day - which I guess is all we can ever do. Crossing bridges when we meet them.
My ramble probably hasn't helped but I would just see what happens. And of course, it does depend what you want out of a horse. OH originally bought J to do a little bit of everything on, hacking, schooling and jumping but had to settle for limited plodding! There is so much to think about with these lovely creatures, they fill our lives with lots of dilemas!!
 
Bad news,
Lil has been lame for a 2 weeks or so. I got the vet to her tonight for jabs and a lameness check. I was expecting the vet to say "she's just lacking muscle and she will be fine with work", but no.. Lil is never to be sound again. She has suspected stifle cysts.

She is having xrays on her stifles and her hocks to confirm but the prognosis is not good :(

Gutted, my 5yo girl is retired :(
 
Skye94 said:
Bad news,
Lil has been lame for a 2 weeks or so. I got the vet to her tonight for jabs and a lameness check. I was expecting the vet to say "she's just lacking muscle and she will be fine with work", but no.. Lil is never to be sound again. She has suspected stifle cysts.

She is having xrays on her stifles and her hocks to confirm but the prognosis is not good :(

Gutted, my 5yo girl is retired :(
Click to expand...

I'm sorry to hear that. I'm here if you want to chat.
 
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So sorry to read this - it's so sad and such bad luck for such a young horse to have had so many problems. I have no advice but do feel for you. x
 
Anyone had this diagnoses before?
She still has a wound on her leg and this may be a bit doom and gloom but I have accepted that Lil won't work again.
Now personally I can't see why I would put her through a surgery as she has had so many issues. Is this bad?
I'm really intrigued by what the X-rays will show, as we are doing stifles and hocks.
I can find lots of articles on surgery for this but not many articles that tell you the truth and what options are and what outcomes come from the options?

Any ideas?
You guys are so nice, you all make me smile.
 
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Long term, she will get arthritic and get worse but just now she has adjusted her gait to suit the bone and is quite happy. I just have to manage her and if she gets sore then I'll make a decision.
 
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