Shetland has arthritis but his mobility varies from day-to-day

Did you get any further with this op?
I just wondered if maybe it’s not the arthritis that’s causing this as generally I don’t think you’d get that much variation of symptoms overnight and back.
I have with laminitis though. Crippled one day, sound the next, or even sometimes a few hours later.
You say that he/she (sorry I can’t scroll back up and look!) has cushings. I wonder if meds could possibly need tweaking slightly?
Hi. thanks for your post. I think you have hit the nail on the head! For the past few weeks my pony has been sound. No sign of inflammation or bruising on his hooves. Even the farrier has noticed the improvement. I haven't given my pony any bute during that time. I am now convinced that his mobility problems were mainly due to laminitis. I never fully agreed with the vet's diagnosis of arthritis in his left knee. She did the "flex" test when he had bad lami & was very dismissive when I pointed out that his inability to trot away was likely to be due to sore feet rather than a painful joint. It seems my instinct may have been (is) correct. Yes he has cushing's & his Prascend dose seems to be about right at the moment. Assuming the endocrine-related lami is under control then his most recent bout of lami (summer & autumn 2019) would have been grass-induced. I am determined to prevent the onset of lami this year so he will live on soaked hay this spring & summer & only graze on the area that my bigger pony has previously grazed right down. He will be grumpy :)
 
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If your vet asked you to trot up a pony with bad laminitis then you urgently need a new vet!
 
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Yes he has cushing's & his Prascend dose seems to be about right at the moment.
What are you basing that on? sometimes the first sign that it is not fully controlled can be laminitis even when everything else visually seems ok, so I would get bloods re-checked asap to see, even if they are within limits now you may need to do a couple of tests during the seasonal rise (end July-end Dec) next year as some do need their meds increasing during this time to maintain good control.
 
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I signed up to cushingcare and got the free voucher to test mine but I also read that they do retest offers for confirmed cases
 
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