Sad news

[rockin r]

My Mare Dreamer dislocated her hip 19 months ago. She had the surgery to remove the ball and after several months of TLC and therapy at home, she is doing great! She does have a limp when she walks, but when she GALLOPS you would never know it. I hope the same can be done for your guy....Remember that these minis are not working horses as in Riding, Barrel Racing, ect...he should do okay. Good Luck...Theresa

 

[Dairygirl]

I've never had this happend to one of my horses so I can't give advice but I just wanted to wish you the best of luck with your little one.

 

[Joanne]

Reading these replies from people sharing their stories of their own horses is just wonderful!

You have given options that make me realize I certainly would think through euthanizing if I were in a similar situation.

What a wonderful forum to learn from !

 

[Marty]

Sure I remember you.

I'm really sorry to hear about your horse.

What I would do is get another opinion as fast as I could and be sure to use an Equine Vet, not a small animal vet that "sometimes" does horses on occasion. That is key. I would want X rays and no guess work before making such a decision.

If this horse can live a pain free good quality of life where I could manage his pain, I would not put him down. But if the quality of life would refect a life of pain, I would consider euthinasia.

 

[Watcheye]

My thoughts are with you. I hope everything turns out alright.

 

[shelly]

I'm sending lots of prayers and positive thoughts for your little guy!!!!! Hope you find better news with the second opinion!

ray

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[Julie/Azariah]

Hi Becky... I might be your neighbor :O)

I live about 15 min from where you got your boy.

Certainly get another opinion, but these guys can heal amazingly well if given the chance. Even if surgery is not an option for you, if he is not telling you it is time to let him go, then allow him to try and heal.

I have a friend who has lots of Chincoteague Ponies. One of them came in from the field on three legs, front leg hanging. He had broken his shoulder. She was told to put him down, but instead put him on complete stall rest for a while, then hand walking. That pony made a FULL recovery. Didn't even have a limp, was ridden sound!

So, unless you see him obviously suffering, and can continue to take care of him. Give him a chance to continue to bless folks with his warmth and love.

If you need someone to vent to... I am here. My heart goes out to you as it is so difficult to watch them and wonder.

My prayers go up for you and your boy!

 

[Katiean]

If he is happy and in no pain, why would you have to put him down? Couldn't you keep him as a companion or pasture ornament? Is there any other option? It sounds like this is a heartbreaking situation and you will be in my thoughts. What a sad situation for you.

He can't walk, so I guess in reality he's not completely happy. I meant more that he is still himself and eating and drinking and everything.

I don't know as long as I am breathing I am happy. Maybe he is too. He may take more work to take care of but, maybe he is happy and wants to stay with you.

 

[tagalong]

We had a mare dislocate her hip overnight in her stall... with no signs of a struggle or that she had even been down.

She was in agony and could not walk forward with a great deal of help... she could only do a slow turn over the haunches using her good leg as the pivot point. This same mare was one who fought against all shots and had done so all her life - she even fought the vet and I when we sedated her for X-Rays.

The X-rays showed that the ball had come out of the socket - and then moved behind her pelvis and hooked through it.

Even under lots of pain meds, she was still suffering... only nibbling at food... unable to move forward or backward... and not easily medicated.

For her, the kindest solution was euthanasia. But from the reports of others here, you can see that is not the ONLY solution...

I am hoping that everything works out in the best way for your little guy...

 

[Connie P]

Saying lots of prayers for you and your precious horse.

ray

 

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

I hope to be able to see you and Fever this weekend, and give you a hug in person! Sending healing vibes to Fever, and to you too! Lots of experiences here, sounds like there is a chance, he will tell you when he's done fighting. Let me know if you need suggestions for vets, or help with anything!

Hugs,

Kim

 

[Mini Three]

I am the owner of the filly Lori at Eagles Ring Farm is referring to. I rarely chime in about anything...Addy is the horse that fractured her pelvis and dislocated hip secondary to the fracture. We were overwhelmed with the diagnosis. We opted to give Addy a chance and have her let us know if and when she had enough. Of course she will never be the same, but if her quality of life as our pet/family member was comfortable I believe she deserves the opportunity to heal. Initially, we medicated her for pain and inflammation with homeopathics. The banamine was not going to be an option long term, but have not continued with any meds for some time. As it stands right now we are about 5+ months into her stall rest. The vet said put her in a stall for 6months at the end of that time take her out, whatever you have is what you have. I have been hand walking her throughout the last 2 1/2 months. Her spirit is strong and her body has followed. Now when we hand walk she bucks and kicks and trying to run. Is in no obvious pain. Has eaten throughout this healing process. At this point, we are hopefully that if she is not fragile, she will be able to live a "limpy" but quality life. We will not be selfish, if other complications occur or further injury we will do what is best for her. Best of Luck with your decision. My prayers are with you.

 

[luvsminis]

So sorry to hear about Fever. I can't imagine having to put one down. But, giving him a chance is worth it. Our friends had brought a puppy to us, said it had been hit by a car, and wanted my husband to put it down for them. It was unconscious and limp as a rag. However, after examining the little fella, I found the wounds were not consistent with being hit by a car, the wounds were more like something had grabbed it and drug it a long distance, and quite possibly it was in shock. I had to do some fast talking to keep them from putting it down. I kept working with it and after two hours it began to move about some, but not it's back legs. After four hours it was standing. After four days, it was running and jumping onto the couch. I guess I'm telling you this because I'm not sure that just putting an animal down without giving it a chance is always a good thing for it, even though that is what most of us have always believed. That we are doing it for the sake of the animal. I will pray for the both of you, and good luck in the decision you make. I hope I don't have to go through that. My little gelding got away from me today with his cart attached. He ended up flipping it and landed on his side. I couldn't hardly move for fear he had hurt himself. He is new at driving, and he got spooked. He had been coming along so good too. Thank goodness no one was in the cart. I put him up for a bit in his stall, we bent the cart back into it's proper position, and hooked him up again. He did great this time. But, that was a heavy lesson learned! The trainer had told me we would have good days, bad days........this was one of the bad ones. Partly my fault, I knew to stand in front of him while hitching, but didn't. Like I said, heavy lesson learned! I know you don't know me, but give Fever a hug for me, and good luck with your decision.

 

[Sunny]

I remember you, too, RAPFrosty!

Already, the sad news about Fever's injury the vet's recommendation has done some good! Well, for me, anyway. When I read your first post, I thought how terribly sad this was, but then read story after story about horses who have survived similar injuries and surgeries. I had no idea!!! I've known of horses over the years that were simply put down after this type of injury, and maybe in those cases it was indeed the right thing to do, but I've learned now from you and the others here that a broken femur is not an automatic death sentence.

Thank you for sharing your news, and thanks to everyone who shared their good news. I've definitely learned something very valuable here today! My best wishes to you and Fever. I hope you can save him and that he'll live a long and happy life!

 

[shorthorsemom]

Best wishes to your and your boy Fever... I never met you, but I have met Fever a bunch of times when I have visited at Kim's Crayonbox and he is such a sweet boy. (I have Cash and Chips and Happy here at my place and am friends with Kim).

Hugs and prayers to you in your difficult time and decision making. Take your cues from the heart and from Fever, he will tell you all you need to know about what to do and when it is time.

Take care

 

[Debby - LB]

[SIZE=14pt]I remember you too and I'm so sorry to hear this about your sweet boy. Please don't think his quality of life is over, if You have the time and love to give him you don't have to put him down. [/SIZE]

I went through the same thing and learned it is quite common in minis.

A Lot of people on here helped me make my decision but Stacy and Ann were the best at sharing what they had went through and I think Barbie was going through it with her Filly about the same time I was. My Glory is alive today because they cared enough to help me, so listen to everyone's stories for the tips you'll need. Here's an Old post of mine about [SIZE=14pt]My Glory[/SIZE]

 

[RAPfrosty]

I would just like to give a huge thank you to everyone who has sent good wishes or shared their stories with me! You have no idea how much better all of this is making me feel and how much hope it has given me. We are getting xrays done to see if we can figure out exactly what's wrong and then we are either going to go from there medically or just give him some time and see how it goes. For those of you who have been through this, were your horses walking at all? Fever doesn't walk, just sort of pivots around on his bad leg. He has hobbled a step or two a few times but really tries to avoid it. Are there any tips for things I can do to get him walking or to stimulate the leg? Thank you all so much again! I will be sure to keep everyone updated

.

 

[REO]

I would not try to make him walk or try to manipulate his leg. Not until the X-ray and see what the vet says and what the recommended treatment is. You don't want to cause him more pain on accident.

Has the vet said to put him on any kind of pain meds or anything? I would just make him as comfortable as you can until after the X-rays etc.

Thanks for the update! {{{hugs}}} to you both!

 

[Barbie]

Dawn's surgery didn't hold as there was nothing much in a new 16 lb foal to hold a plate. We found this out at about a week. I rushed to the hospital asking for options other than the obvious one. I was told that there was a chance that the bone would fuse. Recuperation time would be increased to 90+ days in confinement (4' x 4') corner of mom's stall. She had to be lifted out to nurse every few hours then put right back in her stall. Mom was so good. I had a camera on her and I can't tell you the number of times I caught her running around her small stall and bucking. She graduated to staying out with mom in the stall and then to a very small pen I made in the grass. It was such a happy day the first time I saw her running and bucking. About a year and a half I had her x-rayed one last time and the bone had totally fused. Yes, that leg is a couple of inches shorter, but Dawn does not know. I placed her with a friend of mine who had bought a mare from me - they were always best buddies. She is doing great - I would definitely do it again.

Good luck - it will be a long road, but these little horses are pretty resilient.

If you would like, send me your e-mail address and I'll send you some progression pictures. Edited to add here is a link with a couple of pictures of her post-op http://www.miniaturehorsetalk.com/index.ph...260&hl=dawn

Barbie

 

[Getitia]

For those of you who have been through this, were your horses walking at all? Fever doesn't walk, just sort of pivots around on his bad leg. He has hobbled a step or two a few times but really tries to avoid it

As each situation is different - In the case of our mare - for the first 2 to 3 weeks, the pain was bad (she was on low level dose of bute) and she did not want to move and would not walk - nor would she put any weight at all on the injured leg - it just dangled down. Sometimes she would prop herself up beside the stall wall for support. We did everything possible to discourage her from moving around and we made the stall smaller as well. We had considered slinging her from the ceiling using a belly band. We moved her food and water containers over to her so she wouldn't even be required to move to eat or drink.

It was recommended that she be kept as quiet as possible and not be encouraged to move to give the injury time to heal - everyone was still in doubt that it would heal. She really did not start to hobble easily around in her stall at all for about 6 weeks and even then she did not put weight on the injured leg. She was on total and complete stall rest for 3 months. Since she did not have surgery, I believe in this mare's situation, her early care, stall rest and the careful intervention is what has allowed her to be alive, mobile and pain free today 3 years after her injury

Hope this helps