Update: pedal fracture Horse folks, WWYD in this situation?

[GalloFino]

I rescue, on a private scale, animals in a location where there is no end to the stream of maimed, mangey, starved, etc that need help. With that being the case, we have to look at things realistically in terms of how much money we can put into one individual animal, in situations where many more could be saved for the same amount of money. I'm just stating this to make clear that I understand the whole weighing of treatment costs versus euthanasia costs that can occur.

That being said, I wouldn't feel like I was being fair to the animal if I didn't have an accurate diagnosis of what the problem was before beginning to weigh those costs. And, as well, an accurate diagnosis ensures that the animal is being taken care of appropriately during whatever amount of time it is they have left to keep them as comfortable as possible. In this case, maybe the horse should be on stall rest...maybe it should be wrapped or booted...maybe the leg can improve and the horse should be kept on the slim side as that will put less stress on the leg as it heals, so fattening isn't appropriate...etc.

I'd get an x-ray to know exactly what I was dealing with and I'd get it as soon as possible to ensure that I wasn't unwittingly making life more difficult for the animal.

And in this particular case, I'd also take down the horses' tattoes and do some research to find out racing history (which will include details about injuries on the track and when they happened), past owners, etc.

Regarding the behavior issue...you're at the end of the "honeymoon" period that generally occurs when an animal moves to a new home/owner and it's entirely possible that the horse is just beginning to feel more settled in and starting to let it all hang out as it were.

Good luck and I hope this turns out okay for you.

 

[piecemaker]

I look at it this way would you want to live like that ? Had to make the choice a few years ago with our retired prison horse. But I know I would not

want to live in pain the rest of my life why would I expect an animal to have to. It is never easy to decide to put anything down BUT sometimes you

have to. Sorry you are going through this

piecemaker

 

[welsummerchicks]

That added information does not change my mind. Without an xray, it is a guess. A good guess or a bad guess - that depends on opinion, but it's still a guess.

You asked WWYD, I'm answering your question.

If I had a lame horse, I'd treat it. I am not a rescue overwhelmed with too many horses and having to decide which ones don't get veterinary care. If I take on an animal, and it has a problem, I treat it.

And the first thing I would do, is get xrays. I work with a leg man on this, not someone who gives shots. If the horse was as lame as the one in your description, I would transport the horse immediately to his veterinary clinic, as soon as I saw the symptoms.

From the information given, I don't know what the injury is, when it happened, etc. Without diagnostics, I have seen people's, even vet's, assumptions about lamenesses proven wrong, again and again and again. So I don't assume, I prove.

The fact that you saw him walk a few steps, might not have shown the lameness fully the first time. So he may have been severely lame on that occasion too. Sometimes the first few steps are more lame, sometimes they show less lameness. Or the two times, he could have had two completely unrelated problems - the earlier one causing mild lameness, the later one causing severe lameness.

By the description this could be just about anything, and occured at any time. There is no proof of anything, way too many assumptions being made.

The fact that they were taken off the track 'due to injuries' may or may not have anything to do with this problem. There is no proof of when this injury happened. None. On the track or in the pasture are guesses, not facts.

Too, even a through the body pedal bone fracture can heal. See info below. In a great many cases, fractures need something other than running around in a pasture, in order to heal. For all I know, all the past things have done is aggravate a treatable injury.

No matter how nice a pasture is, it can have some sharp hardware in it. All ground is constantly in motion and has things surfacing - broken off sharp rocks, spikes, old farming hardware. No matter who was taking care of the horse, it can step on a rock or a fence spike that just worked its way up out of the ground.

Horses VERY OFTEN get aggressive toward other horses, especially at feeding time, because they are lame, OR NOT. A lot of this behavior is just normal for a group of three horses. Aggression at other horses is easy to resolve with a few dollars worth of cheap electric string fencing, a few fence boards, etc.

I'd not euthenize over that, or add that to the other factors when making a decision. I also would not assume that the horse I had longer, and was more attached to, was a 'victim' and the new horse was the 'bad' one. Equine herd behavior is much, much more complicated than that.

Xrays need not be at all expensive. And with a free animal, if I spend money to get it sound, I don't see that as a problem. A vet can bring a portable machine, and no transport of the horse is needed. This particular problem would probably require two views. And I've paid 125 bucks, sometimes less, to have that done.

It costs money to have the animal euthenized and disposed of, too - more than xrays. You asked wwyd, in this situation, I would not euthenize an animal without an xray of this injury and a discussion with the vet whether euthenasia was necessary or not. And if there was treatment that offered more than a 40% chance of relieving pain and improving quality of life, I would go ahead with it.

Pedal bone fractures, even non-wing fractures, heal very well, the plate I mentioned is extremely successful. Even if it IS a pedal bone fracture, treatment and a full return to soundness and usefulness is very likely. One report on thirty cases of pedal bone fracture, all but one, and that one had a number of additional problems, were returned to the same level of soundness they had before the fracture.

Those are very good odds. In the soundness race, that puts my little race horse at 1 to 30 odds on the board. If he has a keratoma or other problems, with proper treatment, also looks very, very good.

 

[dreamcatcherarabians]

What would I do in this situation? Well, there are a few different options that I'd consider.

1) Xrays and treatment if the prognosis justified the expense
2) Euthanasia
3) Sell to the kill buyer
4) Throw him out in his own small pasture and give him til summer to heal on his own


You say you've had the horse for 2 weeks now and his behaviour is going down hill. It also sounds as if you didn't particularly want these horses to begin with. With that said, I'd still toss out options 3 & 4, I couldn't be hard enough to let the horse stand and suffer in a pasture and I sure enough couldn't sell him to the local kill buyer for a quick trip to Mexico. So that leaves 1 & 2. IF I could afford to spend the money on the x-rays and maybe an ultrasound to find out exactly what was wrong, I'd probably at least go that far. Then, once you have a hardcore diagnosis and prognosis, you could determine if you wanted to spend more money on this injury. If not, you can always euthanize and end his pain. Or, if you just can't justify spending anymore $$$$ on this horse, you can go straight to euthanization. Kavorkian had the right idea and gave his patients a dignified ending and helped them let go of this life in the same way we choose to help our animals end their suffering and pain. So I'd take being called that as a compliment.


<<<Dons flame retardent suit!

 

[EweSheep]

Quote:
That sounds good! It really boils down if the OP has the money to pay for vet expenses.

 

[welsummerchicks]

I seriously, seriously doubt this requires an ultrasound - just an xray, that's all.

Xrays are a little different these days. On a good digital xray, you get a lot of information.

We have a horse that fractured a bone in its ankle one year ago. 100% sound today. No surgery - shoeing and restricted activity, some medicine for a few weeks, gradually returning to normal exercise. Cost me under 500 dollars to do everything - xrays, medicine, special shoes.

Fractures are not 'shoot the horse' any more. I would even say the majority are treatable and even return to previous soundness. Again, 'it depends', where it is, what it is, every fracture is unique and different, but these days, the word 'fracture' is no death sentence.