Ok, so as most of you know Ellie went to the vets for nerve blocks as she keeps going lame on her hinds, first was one hind then box rested for two weeks on bute, turned back out fine then brought back into ridden work and lame again but on the other hind. Shakes her head in discomfort when going into trot. Dog lame after going on a walk hack for 45mins.
Anyway vet has said that after investigation and foot x rays her front feet are worse then to be expected. She has a large amount of rotaion on both front feet and lots of little nodules (like ski ramps?) all the way down the pedal bone on both feet. remarked that the farrier has been doing a grand job and is probably the only reason she is still here. She is barefoot and they said she has very thin soles but they are unsure as to shoes or keep her barefoot as they assume the putting shoes on would make her chronically lame for at least a week and although the shoes would help protect the act of putting them on may cause a problem.
Secondly the reason she has hind limb lameness - they x-rayed her hocks and she has very signigificant arthiritis in both hocks. They could medicate these but have suggested not to as any steroids in them would probably cause laminitis in her and her front feet are as such that if she ever gets laminitis again it would have to be treated very aggressively and quickly as she could run into significant problems quickly.:cry:
Vet has said she will never be 100% sound and has advised to keep her on bute long term upping and downing it as needed.
ridden wise vet has said she can do lead rein and off lead rein walk and trot. Canter on soft surfaces and extremely small jumps (think tiny tiny) but be prepared for her to get more lame if she overdoes it. Vet has said she would not be able to do for example pony club camp.
Oh and tests for both cushings and IR was negative for both ponies but vet did say that her laminitis had gone a bit far for things like peroglide even if she had come up positive.
I will be shoeing Harvey though on thursday as now i know there is no laminitis or lgl on him i can be pretty sure it is just footiness to do with location and terrain so he can have some more protection at least for the short term.
I have not ruled out boots for Ellie but it does look complicated to fit them as i assume she will not have normal shaped feet really. (and she has tiny feet as she's only a fine 12.2hh)
Not sure how i feel about it all - I have always said i would not be happy having a riding horse that is on long term bute as it means they are in constant pain but on the other hand she does not look ready to give up. If i put her to sleep now i would feel like it was too early as she is fairly happy in herself (although i suspect she would act happy even if she wasn't because she is just that type) but on the other hand i would not give her to anyone else as a companion as i can't imagine very laminitic arthiritic ponies are much sought after and even if they were as a companion she probably wouldn't get the care she needs.
Although she was given to me I am in contact with her old owner who also would not see her passed on but likewise can not have her back so in the event i asked her to i think ellie would probably be pts.
Any ideas/help appreciated! Is long term bute fair bearing in mind she is lame in 4 legs?
She is currently covered by insurance so am happy to explore all avenues although vet gave the impression they think given the diagnosis that to much exploration would be expensive and a little bit pointless if they can't treat what they find.
I haven't told my 10yr old son yet..........
He has often spoke about driving her but would that cause more strain then riding? I assume that would be a no-go due to hocks?
Anyway vet has said that after investigation and foot x rays her front feet are worse then to be expected. She has a large amount of rotaion on both front feet and lots of little nodules (like ski ramps?) all the way down the pedal bone on both feet. remarked that the farrier has been doing a grand job and is probably the only reason she is still here. She is barefoot and they said she has very thin soles but they are unsure as to shoes or keep her barefoot as they assume the putting shoes on would make her chronically lame for at least a week and although the shoes would help protect the act of putting them on may cause a problem.
Secondly the reason she has hind limb lameness - they x-rayed her hocks and she has very signigificant arthiritis in both hocks. They could medicate these but have suggested not to as any steroids in them would probably cause laminitis in her and her front feet are as such that if she ever gets laminitis again it would have to be treated very aggressively and quickly as she could run into significant problems quickly.:cry:
Vet has said she will never be 100% sound and has advised to keep her on bute long term upping and downing it as needed.
ridden wise vet has said she can do lead rein and off lead rein walk and trot. Canter on soft surfaces and extremely small jumps (think tiny tiny) but be prepared for her to get more lame if she overdoes it. Vet has said she would not be able to do for example pony club camp.
Oh and tests for both cushings and IR was negative for both ponies but vet did say that her laminitis had gone a bit far for things like peroglide even if she had come up positive.
I will be shoeing Harvey though on thursday as now i know there is no laminitis or lgl on him i can be pretty sure it is just footiness to do with location and terrain so he can have some more protection at least for the short term.
I have not ruled out boots for Ellie but it does look complicated to fit them as i assume she will not have normal shaped feet really. (and she has tiny feet as she's only a fine 12.2hh)
Not sure how i feel about it all - I have always said i would not be happy having a riding horse that is on long term bute as it means they are in constant pain but on the other hand she does not look ready to give up. If i put her to sleep now i would feel like it was too early as she is fairly happy in herself (although i suspect she would act happy even if she wasn't because she is just that type) but on the other hand i would not give her to anyone else as a companion as i can't imagine very laminitic arthiritic ponies are much sought after and even if they were as a companion she probably wouldn't get the care she needs.
Although she was given to me I am in contact with her old owner who also would not see her passed on but likewise can not have her back so in the event i asked her to i think ellie would probably be pts.
Any ideas/help appreciated! Is long term bute fair bearing in mind she is lame in 4 legs?
She is currently covered by insurance so am happy to explore all avenues although vet gave the impression they think given the diagnosis that to much exploration would be expensive and a little bit pointless if they can't treat what they find.
I haven't told my 10yr old son yet..........
He has often spoke about driving her but would that cause more strain then riding? I assume that would be a no-go due to hocks?