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- Thread starter Horsey person23
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This is the same horse you said is prone to tripping, isn't it? That, plus thin dropped soles and his age would make me strongly suspect metabolic issues and in particular PPID. Speak to your vet and get a blood test done for PPID because there is medication - Prascend - that helps most horses a lot. I suspect you don't have a lot of grass anyway, but monitor his intake of it and keep him on a low sugar low starch diet. I'd also talk to your farrier and see if he can fit a more supportive shoe that will protect the sole along with pads and possibly putty underneath them. I wouldn't give up riding him but I would be careful of the surfaces and ground conditions - try to keep him off stoney or rough hard ground. The reason he may not enjoy school work is that it might make his feet ache with the turns involved and the upward pressure of the surface if it's deep.
I wouldn’t go straight to retirement. I think it’s a good idea to run a metabolic panel and see what that throws up, and I’d look into hoof boots if you don’t want to shoe, just to protect the foot when you ride.
How old are you? Because to be brutally honest Jake needs medical investigation and if you can't pay for it your parents need to have this explained to them. They're keeping 3 horses for you, I find it hard to believe they can't afford a blood test and treatment if needed but if funds are tight then sell one of the horses because it's never wise to have so many that welfare is compromised. If they won't listen to you then get someone involved who they will listen to.
I don’t quite understand, you pay for farrier but not for a blood test. They are not the cheepest thing but not horrendous and you have a responsibility to provide care for your horses. If you can’t do that then sadly you can’t have the horse. It seems clear that the horse needs to see a vet so you must provide that. That said I have no idea what a dropped sole is.
1. There most certainly is something that can be done for thin and dropped soles. My IR/Cushings horse, who lives with residual founder issues, is living proof but the farrier has to know what they are doing and use the correct materials; including shoes that are of some sort of composite materia, rather than steel or aluminum.
2. I‘m pretty sure AJ, you are still under 18? That’s why you sadly had to stop participating on another forum
. These issues with Jake are becoming worse because your parents seem to never want to spend money on health issues.
Jake could easily be fixed, so-to-speak, if they would invest in his health.
I may have suggested in the past, that you show these posts from experienced horse owners to your parents so they not only u derstand the seriousness of Jake’s issues but that he can get better if he is attended to sooner than later. “Later” may end up with him going down and staying down, if he doesn’t get the medical attention he has needed for months.
2. I‘m pretty sure AJ, you are still under 18? That’s why you sadly had to stop participating on another forum
. These issues with Jake are becoming worse because your parents seem to never want to spend money on health issues.Jake could easily be fixed, so-to-speak, if they would invest in his health.
I may have suggested in the past, that you show these posts from experienced horse owners to your parents so they not only u derstand the seriousness of Jake’s issues but that he can get better if he is attended to sooner than later. “Later” may end up with him going down and staying down, if he doesn’t get the medical attention he has needed for months.
Realistically I don't think you can expect his old owner or a vet to help you out with costs or treatment, but maybe if you're very lucky they'll talk to your parents and explain the situation. I have to say I'd be wary of talking to his old owner though, it's likely to upset them knowing there's a problem that isn't being dealt with and even if they want to they may not be in a position to help or have him back - people usually sell for a reason.
He's still not hers now though and it's completely unreasonable to ask her to contribute or expect her to have him back now there's a problem. If you wan to ask anyone to talk to your parents ask your farrier, at least he's seen Jake. For any professional time is money, it's a bit of a cheek to ask your farrier to talk to your parents but it's really unfair to ask a vet who hasn't even seen him to.
This would be an option, but it wouldn't be more than a sticking plaster that does nothing to solve the underlying problem. Given the price of good hoof boots and pads I think the money would be better spent on an ACTH test.
Personally I wouldn't be rushing to get the vet out right now. Is the horse lame? Have you noticed any problems? Do you think the horse is struggling?
The farrier may have noticed that your horse has dropped soles, but I would want to know more about the farriers opinion on this first. It would be very rare to find a 20 year old horse with perfect feet and farriers often make these throwaway comments which are often just observations and not indicative of any real issues. You say that the farrier said that the horse may be prone to lameness in future - well that doesn't mean that he is lame right now. Nor does it mean that he needs to see a vet right now. I'm not sure exactly what you would achieve by calling the vet out? If the farrier felt the horse was in pain he would have told you.
As your parents have horses I suspect that they are keeping an eye on your horse, and if in fact they felt there was a need they would call the vet themselves. As a parent of a teenage son who keeps reptiles, I keep an eye on the health of his animals and would always intervene if necessary. However, he often panics and thinks there is an issue where there isn't one. On more than one occasion he has got himself into a real state by taking advice from the internet when in fact there was nothing wrong.
The farrier may have noticed that your horse has dropped soles, but I would want to know more about the farriers opinion on this first. It would be very rare to find a 20 year old horse with perfect feet and farriers often make these throwaway comments which are often just observations and not indicative of any real issues. You say that the farrier said that the horse may be prone to lameness in future - well that doesn't mean that he is lame right now. Nor does it mean that he needs to see a vet right now. I'm not sure exactly what you would achieve by calling the vet out? If the farrier felt the horse was in pain he would have told you.
As your parents have horses I suspect that they are keeping an eye on your horse, and if in fact they felt there was a need they would call the vet themselves. As a parent of a teenage son who keeps reptiles, I keep an eye on the health of his animals and would always intervene if necessary. However, he often panics and thinks there is an issue where there isn't one. On more than one occasion he has got himself into a real state by taking advice from the internet when in fact there was nothing wrong.
I'm not entirely sure what you are getting a blood test for? What are you going to ask the vet to check for? If you think your horse may have PPID then take a step back and look at the whole picture. A quick google search will tell you the main symptoms. Does he have a thick coat that doesn't shed? Is he more thirsty than normal? Does he have poor immune response? Has he ever had laminitis? While I agree that foot pain may be one symptom of PPID, I really wouldn't be calling the vet due to one comment that the farrier made about dropped soles, especially since he said himself that there was nothing that could be done about it and from what I can tell, there isn't anything to indicate that your horse is in any pain. Asking a vet to come out and run bloods will quickly run up big bills. While I wouldn't hesitate to do this if I felt there was an issue, in your case I am not convinced there is.
@Mary Poppins she's said before that the horse is tripping when ridden, the soles are not only dropped but thin, and he's 20 years old. That, for me, would be enough to make an acth test worthwhile, particularly if you add in hoof wall separation which can come from low level laminitis.
Lots of horses trip when ridden and there could be multiple causes for this. As for the hoof issues, I think that the farrier is the person to make recommendations on any treatment and he is not recommending anything. In my opinion, yes it is worth keeping an eye on and making further enquiries when the farrier comes back but I don't see this as requiring a vet to come as a priority on Monday morning.
I think there are some general issues that require some attention here based on what the op has been posting. I think those issues need to be addressed with there family who appear to be looking after the horse. I hope that the op takes on board the comments and discusses them with there family for the welfare of there horses.
Im reading between the lines that this poster maybe in another country to most of us. My question would be does the horse have annual booster vaccinations and teeth checks. Are they due anytime soon, in which case combine the vet visit and ask veterinary advice for your concerns and mention the farrier comments on the feet at the same time. Get the vet to check the feet and to do a trot up and flexion tests.
The vet can then provide feedback.
Im reading between the lines that this poster maybe in another country to most of us. My question would be does the horse have annual booster vaccinations and teeth checks. Are they due anytime soon, in which case combine the vet visit and ask veterinary advice for your concerns and mention the farrier comments on the feet at the same time. Get the vet to check the feet and to do a trot up and flexion tests.
The vet can then provide feedback.
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