Result of vet visit
Vet arrived and we rounded up the free range Shetlands before dealing with Janne. She was quiet anf fine in her stable and vet used hoof testers just to check there was no problem in her hooves. He did notice that when he released her foot she would only put her toe down unless she had to lower her heels (like when he picked up the next leg). I also pointed out that she tends to stand with her butt against the wall and her back legs in her shavings banks and rests each leg, changing frequently and often not putting the resting foot on the floor and then dabbing with her toe before finally resting it. All a bit ominous.
Then I attempted to trot her up so he could see if there had been any improvement and there hasn't been any. However, the main problem was that she was so fresh that both myself and the vet were dragged up over the muck heap and down the other side, across the yard, up the yard, down the yard, round the corner, into the barn, out of the barn.....you get the picture. We got her back to her stable by both holding a side of her head collar and fighting every step of the way.
There was so much said that it's hard to remember it all. Firstly, he won't risk nerve blocks given how she was behaving and he was very understanding about how she'd been. In fact he said he would have been worried if she hadn't shown that sort of behaviour after so much box rest. I have to get the fizz out of her, but can't turn her out because of susceptibility to mud fever, so I've to turn her out in the indoor or outdoor arena. After 7 days of this, I have to start riding her. I've to give her bute the day before I ride and then work through any behavioural issues. He's given me the bute so that we can be sure that she isn't acting up through pain. If she's perfect on bute we know it was pain and if she's still broncing we know it's behavioural. Once the fizz is out or there's been any changes, I've to get her booked in to the horspital for further investigations. This all sounds a bit strange, but given what it may be it won't do any more damage than the current pathology will and we really need to get a proper diagnosis, which we can't get if she's being a problem.
He also said that for the first 7 days I've to work her free in the arena and get her listening to ME!! She used to be so good, but the last few weeks have seen a marked deterioration in her submissiveness - she's been challenging me so that needs sorted.
He's also wondering if the thickened suspensory branches are due to an old injury and are a bit of a red herring and that the puffiness in the fetlock is a minor field strain (it's not tender or hot). He looked at her hoo haa and said she's had at least one foal (knew that) and he wondered if she had had an injury which put her out of work previously and so she was put in foal. Would make sense. The lameness could be mechanical and not painful, in which case she will still be able to do what I want to do - light hacking and light schooling.
The bottom line is that we can't get much further until we sort her head out, but vet is worried about my safety, given the broncing she did. He also feels that the broncing is the biggest indicator that something was definitely wrong, but again, it could have been a tweaked back which has now resolved. Basically he doesn't know and has said as much and to be honest, I'm not surprised.
So, one week free schooling and some sort of controlled turn out, then back in the saddle for me (the new saddle which just arrived after she went lame) All in all, a very confusing and incomplete picture, but DSLD remains one of the possibilities.
