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Mrs Hoo
New Member
27 Posts |
 Posted - 23 Feb 2017 : 09:38:03 AM
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| Hi Ziadomira Your mares sound lovely and clearly have very individual characters! It's interesting that you have similar problems. My old mare was Old English/ Courthouse breeding and would let anyone do anything to her she was wonderful at confusing the Arab hating people! Her only quirk was that she used to lie down in the trailer and refuse to get up if she was comfy, annoying but hilarious too. I let my heart rule my head with Roxy and deep down I knew she was too young/nice etc to sit in the field and now I have to do the right thing for her. |
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Ziadomira
Platinum Member
England
1635 Posts |
Posted - 23 Feb 2017 : 4:19:32 PM
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| Hope all goes well whatever you decide. Peculiar until I read your post I have only known of one horse that always sat down in the trailer. She was a very big girl and when they loaded her she stood still until the engine started and they would hear a bang and she was sat down all comfy in the straw!! |
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kizzandra
Bronze Member
Scotland
73 Posts |
Posted - 28 Feb 2017 : 12:52:31 PM
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| Hi Mrs Hoo. Your girl looks lovely. Having read your post, have you considered gastric ulcers or hind gut acidosis as a cause of the farrier issue? If she was fine before then it would seem that this is a behavioural change. Reluctance to lift hind legs for the farrier was the first sign my mare displayed and she was subsequently diagnosed with squamous ulcers. I now know that this is a common symptom. The stress when stabled may have contributed as could the move to her new home and the change in diet and routine. Feel free to PM me if you'd like, the farrier's head touching her belly sounds just like it could be gut related xx |
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faymouse
Silver Member
United Kingdom
412 Posts |
Posted - 28 Feb 2017 : 6:09:05 PM
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I think an awful lot of mares dont like to be touched anywhere around the belly area at the best of time. Then a man comes along smelling of male and with the scent of other male horses on his clothing and has his head in a delicate area... its more than a lady can cope with!
She is the most beautiful girl btw and I dont blame her at all |
Edited by - faymouse on 28 Feb 2017 6:11:41 PM |
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Mrs Hoo
New Member
27 Posts |
Posted - 28 Feb 2017 : 8:27:14 PM
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| Thank you Kizzandra for the suggestion and I will run it past my vet. I had heard of gastric ulcers mostly in stabled horses with limited access to food causing them stress but she has always had ad lib hay/grazing and not been stabled for long periods of time. Stress could have been a factor at her previous home when she was kept on her own for the last 2 years though and as you say she has had a huge change in her routine so worth asking the question! Your mare looks lovely too and very sweet xx |
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Mrs Hoo
New Member
27 Posts |
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kizzandra
Bronze Member
Scotland
73 Posts |
Posted - 01 Mar 2017 : 10:43:16 AM
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| Yes, lots of people associate ulcers with limited turnout/lack of fibre/long periods with no food. But there are lots and lots of different reasons. My mare hates being out when there is no grass and won't eat hay in the field so for her, being in most of the day with ad lib hay is a much better option. Grass changes throughout the year eg frost, heavy rain, warmer weather etc all change the sugars and can upset the hind gut. Even the type of grass which the horse is grazing, whether it's been fertilised or topped all contribute. Adding yeasacc to feed can help support. If you think it's related to her seasons, adding Agnus Castus can help to even out the hormones. |
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Mrs Hoo
New Member
27 Posts |
Posted - 01 Mar 2017 : 11:52:33 AM
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| Thanks for the tips! I have to restrict my little pony and trickle feed her with double netting hay also she has a low starch chaff feed with a vitamin supplement and this seems to work well also I am constantly checking the weather forecast and conditions of the grass as I've previously had a pony with Cushings disease that had bouts of Laminitis and was very sensitive to changes in sugar levels. Roxy has the same basic feed larger amount and as much hay as she wants as she has access to the field shelter where I keep a large Heston bale of good quality hay that she can eat as and when she wants. She has a healthy appetite and seems happy enough being groomed all over so it's a mystery. When I had her vetted she passed her flexion test where the vet held each leg up for about 3/4 mins and didn't show any reaction to that also he checked her back. I'll see what she's like when she comes into season again and wear a hard hat! xx |
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Mrs Hoo
New Member
27 Posts |
Posted - 01 Sep 2017 : 12:39:44 PM
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Hello everyone Sorry its been a while since I've been on here but I've been too upset to tell you all about my devastating news. As you know Roxy was having major issues with the farrier doing her hind feet in particular and had started to be aggressive towards even the sight of him let alone him trying to do her feet! This was very out of character as she was the sweetest mare to deal with on a day to day basis. On the last occasion I gave her some Sedalin and hoped that we could get her feet trimmed before I had booked her into the Clinic to have tests done. The farrier managed to do her fronts with no problems but she was starting to show worrying signs, ears back, tail swishing then grinding her teeth! I told him to leave her back feet until she had been seen at the Clinic and as he was about to leave she flew at him and bit him on the arm. I sent her to the Vets for extensive head to foot tests as it was obvious that something was badly wrong. She was perfectly well behaved with the horse transporter who is amazing and really experienced ( David at DMA ) and within an hour of her being there the Vet had done the walk and trot up,back up, no problems, lunged her at walk and trot, then trotted her on a tight circle and noticed that she looked lame so X-rayed her feet, all fine, so X-rayed her hocks and discovered that she had a condition called Osteochondritis Dissecans in both hocks. It is a degenerative disease and she had got some bone chips starting to break away and float around the joints hence why it was only certain movements, farrier pulling her feet forwards under her belly etc that made it show up. There was an option of surgery with lengthy box rest etc but with no guarantees of anything more than a fair prognosis also as it was thought to possibly be hereditary and been going on for some time so even though I took the precautions of having a 2 stage pre purchase vetting I didn't have X-rays done. A harsh lesson learned!! After a long and difficult conversation with the Vet we decided that along with her aggression now towards the farrier and only the fair prognosis with no guarantees that the surgery would ensure a pain free outcome we had her put to sleep there and then as she was already sedated so not distressed and blissfully unaware of what was happening. This was on the 10th May and its taken me until now to tell you all. It was truly heartbreaking. I really want to thank you all so much for listening and PLEASE listen to your horses when they are trying to tell you that they are unhappy.
She was insured with Petplan and they did cover some of the Vets costs but not her loss as she was considered to not be in a life threatening position to have her put to sleep immediately! No amount of money will bring her back but it is a warning to us all to check your policy as without the compensation I cannot buy another horse. My little pony now has a loan companion 8hh mini Shetland to keep her company as she too had to deal with losing another friend.
Thank you all again xx
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Ziadomira
Platinum Member
England
1635 Posts |
Posted - 01 Sep 2017 : 4:40:11 PM
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| So sorry to read of your loss. I think you were very wise to let her go then as she may have suffered a long time without you realising how much pain she was in. I have heard of a pony that had bone splinters in his hock, in his case after being kicked and he had to be sent to Langford for surgery; however he was very young and fit and had no other problems. Sadly since I last posted we have lost Fern, she had experienced breathing problems for years and her heart started to fail so we had to make the same decision you made. |
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cmj
Silver Member
France
383 Posts |
Posted - 01 Sep 2017 : 6:17:11 PM
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| Sorry for your bad luck and sad loss. OCD is a horrible thing, I know it is quite prevalent in warmbloods but didnīt know it happened in Arabs. |
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Mrs Hoo
New Member
27 Posts |
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Mrs Hoo
New Member
27 Posts |
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Goldenmane
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
4964 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2017 : 09:09:50 AM
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| Oh how sad for you and your little pony. You did everything you could and definately made the right decision.X |
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New Horse Advice/help please?
