So, yeah, bad news. I probably shouldn't be posting when I'm so down and discouraged, but I'll do it anyway.
Doc came out today. He checked on Ace's leg, and asked me how old he was. At the PPE with my old vet, as well as when he got his teeth floated, I was told he was 10-12. I didn't think that was the case, as it was the first time he'd had his teeth done in three years, so I moved that estimate up to 15 to avoid disappointment.
Apparently, my horse is 25, "give or take."
I trust this vet's opinion very much, and he said that Old Vet probably made the guess based on his appearance as well. He told me that Ace has horrible arthritis, which I guessed, and decreased range of flexion in both front feet. He asked me if I knew this in the PPE, and I said yes, Old Vet told me that it was probably calcifications from a birth defect or riding on hard ground or both. She asked if I wanted x-rays at that point, but told me that because he passed the flex test, it wasn't exactly necessary. I was getting a free horse, so I didn't get the x-rays and just figured he wouldn't be able to jump--big deal anyway, as I ride western unless I'm showing English pleasure.
Based on all of this, Doc said that there was no way my horse was under 20 at the very very youngest. He was horrified that BOTH of the vets I was using (same clinic) never told me any of this. He also said that a year out of a tissue injury was about as sound as they were going to be--Ace is eleven months out, and he's still lame. I was instructed to gradually increase his work, as long as he's not head-bobbing lame, and see how it goes. I know he was just trying to avoid telling me that my horse probably wasn't going to be any more sound.
I know I shouldn't be so mad and hurt. I'm going to college in a few years anyway, and now I can justify putting him out in pasture and letting him sit while I do that. I guess I'm mad that I got my hopes up, and thought my horse and I were going to have a long time with each other. Maybe we will, but not nearly as long as I had hoped.
Now I don't even know what I'm going to do if he doesn't get any better. He's uncomfortable, I know that much. Is it kind to let him be so chronically miserable?
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4 comments:
Man, that sucks. :(
However, depending on who did his teeth, he still could be as young as first thought--just with bad legs. We had a whole section in our equine class dedicated to aging and teeth, and if your horse dentist was just a smidgen educated, there's a big different in the teeth between When my paint was brought to the New Bolton center, he foundered lightly when he was there, and they immediately took X-rays. When they took me into the room to look at them, they said they looked like the feet of a racehorse who'd been under heavy work for years! Eek. And he was four at the time, just-turned. With proper management/supplements, he's doing fine with no unsoundness.
With that being said, have you tried any supplements for arthritis? It's done some amazing things for horses--a lot of horses who event/jump have arthritis at young ages and compete on supplements until they're much older--and you're not even jumping! If he's still lame lightly, I'd definitely give it a try for a month--you can order just a month's supply at smartpak. There's some amazing stuff out there.
Good luck!
Er. I'm dumb. *between a 10-12 horse and a 20-25 year old one.
Tell me about it.
I wasn't very clear last night because I was just so boggled, but the vet who "diagnosed" him as a 10-12 year old is straight out of vet school. Her boss from the same clinic came out when Ace hurt himself to do the treatment, and she looked at his teeth and also said in his twenty's. I must've had a weird look on my face when she said that, because she asked what the other vet had said. I told her, and then she sort of backpedaled and said that oh, yeah, he could be that young, because he doesn't look old. I didn't really think much about it until yesterday, and my current vet said he's got a lot of clients who were also told different ages by this particular vet. He said with the way his teeth are, and the level of arthritis, combined with how hard to keep weight on he is, and several other things that were a big question mark about him were all contributed by his age. Basically, the confirmation of how old he is has sort of become the missing piece in the puzzle.
I actually DID have Ace on Legend shots this past summer, and I really didn't feel a difference and they were so pricey I switched him to supplements. He's on the SmartPak equivalent of Recovery EQ HA, but the SmartFlex III Ultra has some extra glucosamine. I'm feeding LMF senior as well, which also has some glucosamine. I asked the vet about the supplements and if I should get something with a little more of a bang, but he said what I was doing was alright for the horse. I feel a little bit of a change from when he was on no kind of maintenance when I first got him and from the Legend, but not enough to make a huge impact.
Unfortunately it's not some kind of run-of-the-mill arthritis affecting him--he has a pretty gnarly sesamoid from an old fracture. In his LF, both of the sesamoids are shattered, and it should have rendered surgery (but, now that I think of it, when he did that little number surgery probably WASN'T an option at the time), but instead it was left to its own devices. It's got a lot of cartilage buildup, and add that to a hell of a case of arthritis and it's just not lookin' good. Apparently he failed the flex test on both front feet to give you an idea--he was even very slightly off at the trot on his "good" foot. Of course, back when I had the PPE, the old vet told me he had PASSED the flex test.
That being said, I'm going to call his office first thing Monday morning and see if there's something else I can give him. I've been doing liniment on his ankle and massaging it every night to help combat the cold, but that was when I still thought his major problem was the soft tissue. I have Surpass, but I'm not comfortable using that long term--I'm really only doing it when he's super sore. I just hope I can find something to help the poor guy. :-(
My TB was a 'free' horse who also came with and old injury, only he didn't pass his exam (...because he got his exam after we brought him home. We did a lot wrong.) I know how you feel--that welling hope when all of a sudden you're faced with a wall that seems insurmountable.
Hopefully the vet will come up with something good... if he's got nothing, I'd still try sniffing around the internet--sometimes people can have amazing success with little-known techniques.
/It's such a shame so many horses get beat up and thrown out before they land with good owners.
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