My Horse is Sore

[Tommy_Lover]

Okay i have a major problem and i need help, i have this quarter horse mare 16 years old. I have owned her for 6 years now, the first summer we had her. (We bought her in May) she showed soreness in her front quarters. We of course paid no annention. Well over the years of just using her as a family trail horse, where we only rode lightly and maybe a couple trails a year. So of course she was just a pet, well now we have lost our land and must board. And these past 2 couples years her sorness has gotten worse in the winter, and now all year around. We had a vet out, and it turns out she has many problems in her legs and hooves. But the vet wants to try all of these things to try to help her, but admitted there isn't anything we can do, she will just countiune to get worse. And in the end she will have to be put down. Well i feel like i should put her down before she gets in more pain...what do you think? I can't keep her through for now she is unridable and my daughter would like to do more than trails. But i can't trust any rescue places for what if they just sold her for meat?
Any advice would be very helpful!

[TBLover]

This just could be athrities or oslets, you could soak her feet in water wil idom salt in it ,,,we used it on my tw when he was sore it workd.

[Jenhen01]

i wouldnt put her down. you havent even tried anything yet. u havent given her a chance yet. who knows it could just be arthritist.(i didnt spell that right) and if it is NOT treat-able then i can see why u would consider puttin her down and taking her out of her misery.

[stormyBarrelRacer]

ok this is kinda a long shot but have u gotten her a massage no I'm not kidding! My horse gets them when she feels sore and my massage theropists thing tells me exactly where she's sore its only 40 bucks for her to get 1 its worth a try

[walkinthewalk]

You are not saying what the vet said her "many hoof and leg problems" are.

Very crucial in knowing which way to go if you want to try and keep the horse (as opposed to putting her down).

There are hollistic and herbal things that will work on some issues.

Sometimes traditional medicine (injections) is only right way.

Sometimes a combination of BOTH of the above work.

Your finances will play a huge part in what path you take as any of the above routes don't come cheap.

If I didn't have four horses (two are 20+ and one of those 20 year olds has EMS), for sure I would not need my part time job.

There is no black and white answer to your question. It is a decision only you can make and you have to weigh everything carefully.

I.e; costs, how comfortable the horse will be. Are you willing to take the extra time out of your day to attend to her special needs, because where you have her boarded either won't or may charge you extra money for her "nursing home" care.

But for starters, I would get another vet's opinion and FOR SURE I would hunt down a good equine chiropractor. It's possible your horse could be helped with an adjustment and a massage. There also may be simple things the chiropractor can teach you to do on a daily or weekly basis, in terms of massage NOT adjustments, that will make your horse feel better.

I have had to put three horses down in my life. One to cancer at age 29, one to horrible arthritis at age 27, and my precious 3 year old fell in the rain in our "golf course" pasture and shattered his leg beyond hope of repair. It is gut-wrenching and tearful, no matter what the reason.

Good luck on your decision. If you have the funds, or can cut corners somehow, someway, try to keep the mare going as long as "the light is in her eyes". When hope fades from a horse's eyes --- it's time:(

[Elana55]

I agree that you should thoroughly understand the reason your horse is sore (arthritis, navicular disease, untreated founder, or any other number of lameness issues). I would also get a second opinion and I would thoroughly evaluate the financial issue as well as the possible outcome.

Some lameness can be managed, even tho the animal may continue to deteriorate. Managed lamenss can add useful years to a horse's life. Other lameness cannot be managed or is very expensive to manage and the outcome results in something less than satisfactory. You need to understand what this horse has wrong and what you can manage and what you can afford to manage.

If the horse is going to be in pain and that pain cannot be managed there is little point in prolinging suffering. If the pain can be managed but the horse cannot be used and is a glorified pasture ornamanet that you cannot afford, then you need to consider that (and only you know that answer).

If the pain can be managed at great expense and you cannot afford it, then that also needs to be considered and, again. only you know your limits.

The bottom line is sometimes the bottom line. Putting a horse down is a very emotionally charged issue. I have had horses for 40 years and I have had to put my share down. We had a knacker at the time who was very good and very humane (horses went for animal food in this case). The decision to put a horse down is not to be taken lightly and you will need to think about this in the above contexts.

The issue is often one of money. A horse is a very large animal that can have very severe problems and can be very expensive to keep and to treat. No one would want to see an animal in insufferable pain either.

Try to set the emotional issue of this aside. Then, carefully consider your choices and make the choice that is in the best interest of both you and the horse for either the short run or the long run.

[alishaw84]

HI,

I was reading what you posted and I was gonna tell you something that might help. A few years ago my boy friends cousin had a really old horse named jo-jo and he kept laying down in the winter time and after laying down on the cold ground he didn't want to get up we would pull and tug for hours trying to get him to get up. And someone had metioned maybe it was arthirites, he went and had a check up and it came back that it was a severe case of arthirties. The vet had recommended during the winter putting one of those horse blankets on him and keeping him in the stalls and putting a light cover of hay on the ground so his body temp wouldn't go elevate lower than what it was suppose to. But he told my boy friends cousin that if it was just a mild case it could be slowed down to where it wouldn't bother him.