My boys vet visit

MrA

MrA

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Feb 8, 2012
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If anyone's interested lol.

Vet came out today because my horse hasn't been quite right behind. He trotted up sound, flexion test done on both hinds, again trotted up sound.

So then we lunged in the school. Vet could see he is definatley dragging both his hind legs, neither worse than the other and the outside is worse whichever way he is going.

Vet not sure what is wrong, my boy may have the end of a virus which is making him lethargic. Or he may have some damage higher up than his hocks.

Bringing him back into work for a week, if still bad/ gets worse next week pony will need blood tests and a Bute trial to see if its a pain problem.

Quick question, what if any of this can I claim for in insurance if it comes to it?

Thanks for reading, any advice massively appreciated :)
 
Of course we are interested. Anyone with a horse off colour is a worrying time.
Is he stiff behind on both reins? I know when the cob is in season she used to look stiff behind and she did when had a virus. That knocked her off her hooves cos was in season as well poor love.
If took bloods now you could rule the virus in or out? If its a virus you don't want to be working at all.

Insurance, pass depends if ongoing.
 
No idea on insurance sorry.
I hope he's soon feeling better though, worrying for you that the vet couldn't pick up anything immediately obvious ((Hugs)) and yes of course we're interested.
 
I would call your insurer, explain the situation and ask for a claim form.

Then if he needs further attention from the vet ask the vet's view about whether a claim is justified. The thing is that you can't just think about getting your money back: if you claim for a condition affecting both his hind legs your insurer might exclude them from future claims (I know, it's a racket) and you would need to weigh up that possibility.

That's my understanding, anyway. There are some quite insurance savvy people on here, I would change the title of your thread to make it clear that you want advice on insurance!

PS to do that, go to your original post, click Edit, and click Go Advanced, then you can edit the original title. Flipo's mum taught me how to do that!
 
If you read the small print in your insurance, you are obliged to inform the insurance company of every vets visit. I would call them to discuss the situation and see if a claim is valid. I certainly think that it would be, although you will have to accept that if the problem turns out to be in the hocks, these would be excluded from your insurance in the future.

I hope that your horse recovers and there are no further problems.
 
I can't see why you can't claim off it should the need arise but some others may know better.

I agree with Jane that you will need to assess if both hinds would be excluded etc so it may be worth waiting until you have a further diagnosis (of course all cost dependent).

I'm sorry you're going through this though, I always find it incredibly stressful when you're not sure quite where it's coming from. Interesting point that he trotted up sound and flexion test was good (that's positive) so am I right it's more circle related or does he drag when you're riding on the straight anyway (Sorry I'm not sure on history here). Could it be pelvis related at all? To be fair I haven't a clue so completely unhelpful but of course we're interested and I'm hoping it's a wee little virus that he'll soon be over!
 
Thankyou I have read all your replies, very helpful. I will change title thread in a bit thanks.

And I will reply properly ASAP.

Just wanted to quickly add that I changed my horses insurance the day before he went sore to a new company and there is a 14day period where no injuries like this are covered I think, just to complicate things. I think today is about day 12
 
Then you won't be insured.

At this stage you do not know if its a problem or a virus, if the vet felt bit could be why didn't they take bloods?

If the pelvis is tilted or dropped that would show up more on a circle, possibly reluctance to trot and canter-just thinking back to when the cob had a tilt.

If its leg related perhaps the foot is out of balance and its farrier you need to talk to as well?My insurance states I must have a registered farrier, not sure if you are shod or trimmer. But mine changed a clause that now says registered farrier.
 
Hopefully it eases off and doesn't need further investigation. My friend's mare is going through something similar just now, she has to give her until monday and if there is no improvement then she's to go to the vet's surgery for tests. I'd speak to your vet about what NF has said, perhaps ask if a visit from an equine physio would be worth while?

From the sounds of things, I don't think you'll be covered by your insurance for this. Hopefully it'll just be a case of a bit of rest and bringing him back into work slowly solving the problem (in which case an insurance claim would probably be pointless by the time you pay your excess) :wink:
 
After what I went through with Shadow, I really urge you to go for the blood tests, asap.. it's really not worth the worry, and it's a lot worse not knowing if it is. I will never know what ailed Shadow, and it really worries me not knowing :frown:
Leaving it a week might be too late to identify the type of virus as may have run it's course. It took Shadow 8 weeks to make a full recovery, and even now, I'm watching him like a hawk.
 
I think I would hang fire with the insurance for now, wait and see what transpires. If you report it now you will be within the 14 day exclusion any way and wont be covered.

Don't worry too much about the small print on the insurance. I would take it from the date you get a diagnosis and you haven't got one yet.

This is what gets me about insurance, it can be such a con, that's why I don't have it, I save up a nest egg instead and just have third party cover in case some one gets kicked or whatever.

I had insurance once and discovered my tack was only covered if it was stolen from a locked building, fat lot of good that is, what about when you are at shows etc:rolleyes: I have it covered on my car contents insurance now instead, it works out a lot cheaper.

Another thing is the 'pre existing condition' thing. Most illnesses mine have had can crop up again i.e Evie has mild seasonal COPD, the ventapulmin costs an arm and a leg but it would not be covered as she has had it more than once.

I hope Ale gets better soon, it is frustrating when you are unsure what is going on. Especially when you only have the one horse to ride and money is tight:frown:
 
Thankyou everyone for all the replies. Sadly you are all saying different things, not very helpful at all :p I'm joking obviously thankyou for all the advice.

Im going to leave off telling my insurers for now, as you say Tina I haven't actually got a diagnoses yet.

The only reason the vet didn't do bloods was as my boy has not shown any signs of being ill. He has been his total usual self minus the sore movement. No temperature, no mucus, in fact yesterday was the first time he has been lazy in a while and he was galloping round the field with his buddies half an hour before the vet arrived

Fingers crossed he just tweaked something and needed a couple of weeks off, hard to say but perhaps he has always dragged his back legs?? A lady at the yard said her horse does and no reason for it. He was deffo worse last week, was reluctant to pick up his feet and stiff. I worked him yest in walk and trot so will see how he is moving today :/
 
Tina2011 said:
Don't worry too much about the small print on the insurance. I would take it from the date you get a diagnosis and you haven't got one yet.
Click to expand...

When you make a claim, the insurance will ask your vet to verify the date to which they were first notified of the condition. This could be via phone or a call out. If you don't inform your insurance at the same time as you call your vet, the insurance can turn around and say that you were not following their Terms and Conditions and therefore your claim is not valid.

I always think that it's best to get a good relationship with your vet and discuss any insurance implications at each visit. Insurance companies will try and get out of paying as much as they can so if you want to use insurance to your advantage, you need to understand how to work the system to your advantage.
 
If he is galloping around the field there can't be much wrong from his point of view. Maybe he has pulled something, knocked something.
If you pull a muscle its a painful.

Its interesting how we all say different things. But you know your horse best, your seeing him, and so you will know what the best thing to do is. :smile:
 
Ale said:
Fingers crossed he just tweaked something and needed a couple of weeks off, hard to say but perhaps he has always dragged his back legs?? A lady at the yard said her horse does and no reason for it. He was deffo worse last week, was reluctant to pick up his feet and stiff. I worked him yest in walk and trot so will see how he is moving today :/
Click to expand...

From this (and the fact he is galloping around the field) I'd be really tempted to get a qualified equine physio out.

I just felt something was off with Rubic. Got physio out and after 3 visits Rubic is brilliant again. She had tweaked a hind leg at some point and it had gone up through her bum and back making her stiff, she was also very tense through the shoulder and neck and had a tendency to trip. She wasn't happy with a farrier holding hr feet up for any great length of time etc.

I've been given stretches to do and Rubic is still going well after nearly a month since the physio ended, most of her problems have disappeared too.

Mine is fully qualified and works in partnership with the vets, sends them her reports etc. I'd consider speaking to your vet to see if he thinks this may be a viable option. If it works it will likely be cheaper than the investigative work of a vet.
 
Mary Poppins said:
When you make a claim, the insurance will ask your vet to verify the date to which they were first notified of the condition. This could be via phone or a call out. If you don't inform your insurance at the same time as you call your vet, the insurance can turn around and say that you were not following their Terms and Conditions and therefore your claim is not valid.

I always think that it's best to get a good relationship with your vet and discuss any insurance implications at each visit. Insurance companies will try and get out of paying as much as they can so if you want to use insurance to your advantage, you need to understand how to work the system to your advantage.
Click to expand...


Agreed:smile:
 
Rubic said:
From this (and the fact he is galloping around the field) I'd be really tempted to get a qualified equine physio out.
Click to expand...

I'd definitely cover this avenue too...it's amazing how they still gallop around but can just have an underlying issue that needs tweaking.

Becca's pelvis was only a tiny bit out, in fact I was expecting it to be far worse as she was unable to cross her back legs over. Straight away afterwards she could do it no problem.

I'm a firm believer in stretches too...
 
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