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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 721
 
Location: The Great West | how do I tell my son that I have to put down his 3yo Pride and joy? We had been gone and it got really cold and when we came home she was really lame. Made a vet appointment for her and it warmed up in the meantime and she improved but still wasn't 100%. X-rays showed navicular, the vet said "give me two weeks", he's doing some homework on a new drug, but I still wonder if it's worth it. She's 3 with 60ish rides on her and doing really well but green. There's no need for a second openion, the vet I usevis highly respected and it's very obvious on X-ray, even an untrained eye can see it. |
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 Undercover Amish Mafia Member
Posts: 9992
  
Location: Kansas | Is she able to have special shoes to be sound? |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 721
Location: The Great West | We never discussed it. The vets brother is a farrier and they work together but this mare is still way too green for my son to ride and where she's showing this early she probably won't be able to handle the rides to get her finished enough for him. |
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 Good Grief!
Posts: 6343
Location: Cap'n Joan Rotgut.....alberta | navicular is very managable, its not the death sentence it used to be imo
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  Twin Sister to Queen Boobie
Posts: 13315
Location: East Tennessee but who knows?! | Why exactly are they saying the horse has navicular? What is it that they're seeing? I have heard many times that xrays arent necessarily a good indicator. I've had several vets say they have seen clean xrays that are three legged lame and horses with holes in their bones that were completely sound. I would at least try a different angle, some pads.I've seen show horses with navicular that are shod special and are sound and they stand up to a lot of arena time. Also, you don't always have to work one really hard to get them good and broke. |
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 Playing the Waiting Game
Posts: 2304
| IF you decide to put her down I would be totally honest with the son... THEY are way too smart and I feel would resent you when they figured out what happend to his pony. AND he will find out some time... I have always been honest with anything with my boys and humane deaths are a part of that.
I'd tell the boy that pony is hurting all the time and as a responsible horse owner sometimes they need to be put down. End of story... Don't put human emotions on the animal... WE are intelligent humans that are able to make these decisions. JMHO |
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 Swiffer PIcker Upper
Posts: 4015
Location: Four Corners Colorado | I agree with being honest. I have a 4 yr old and 10 yr nephews who stay with me. We have had horses put down and one was their horse and butchered or put down farm animals. They understand and have for years that death is the part of life. One of our sows had piglets and one got stuck we had to put her down and then butchered her. My nephews where here and watched and helped handing us what we needed and looked after the baby pigs. When I put down their mare my nephews said their goodbyes before the vet came and they wanted to see after it was done so I let them. The youngest looked at the body and says shes not there anymore she has her wings and she is running now. We all cried and hugged. It is better for them to understand. My nephews know and will tell you dead is dead and you don't come back. I think that is important. |
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 Living within my means
Posts: 5128
Location: Randolph, Utah | Navicular isn't a death sentence. I had one diagnosed this summer special shoes, shoer checked X-rays and comes every 6 weeks, and he gets some medicine daily. I can't remember the name but I believe it's a blood thinner. This horse is dead sound and hasn't taken a lame step since putting the shoes on him.
Did your vet not give you any option on how how manage it? Putting down seems a little extreme to me. |
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 Potato Soup Queen
Location: Alabama | You're not seriously believing you need to put a 3 yr. old down due to navicular are you? I've never heard such a thing in all my life. What responsible Vet would ever say that to anyone? Navicular is NOT a death sentence by any stretch and I know adult horses competing for years with navicular and special shoeing that do well for many many years.
NO drug is going to work......get a better farrier and a second opinion. |
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 A Barrel Of Monkeys
Posts: 12972
Location: Texas | Farrierlady - 2014-11-26 3:24 PM You're not seriously believing you need to put a 3 yr. old down due to navicular are you? I've never heard such a thing in all my life. What responsible Vet would ever say that to anyone? Navicular is NOT a death sentence by any stretch and I know adult horses competing for years with navicular and special shoeing that do well for many many years.
NO drug is going to work......get a better farrier and a second opinion.
Wholeheartedly agree. You need another opinion. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 721
Location: The Great West | There are already large holes in her navicular bones, when I took her over on a good day she was #2 lame and probably a 4-5 when it was really cold. Even with special shoeing is it worth my time or fair to her to finish her when she's already so uncomfortable during cold spells? |
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 That's White "Man" to You
Posts: 5515
| de-nerve the horse and enjoy it for another 10-15 years. |
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 BHW Resident Surgeon
Posts: 25352
Location: Bastrop, Texas | Rather than euthanize the horse, why don't you just find a home where someone is willing to spend some money on a good farrier? "Navicular" is such a wastebasket term anyway. The best remedy to begin with is a farrier who can do a nice, balanced trim.....for starters. That's what I would do, particularly on a 3 year old.
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 Angel in a Sorrel Coat
Posts: 16030
Location: In a happy place | suzy2qtee - 2014-11-26 2:25 PM IF you decide to put her down I would be totally honest with the son... THEY are way too smart and I feel would resent you when they figured out what happend to his pony. AND he will find out some time... I have always been honest with anything with my boys and humane deaths are a part of that.
I'd tell the boy that pony is hurting all the time and as a responsible horse owner sometimes they need to be put down. End of story... Don't put human emotions on the animal... WE are intelligent humans that are able to make these decisions. JMHO
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 Sock eating dog owner
Posts: 4557
Location: Where the pavement ends and the West begins Utah | I too have had reputable vets tell me my horse had navicular with x-rays no less but I went and had a third opinion. The third time gave me the truth with a full 3D. X ray the culprit turned out to be an abcess. The vet was the best vet in Utah state.Right off the bat he asked the horses age when I told him five years old he immediate said the horse does't' have Navicular cause he ain't OLD enough! Get a second opinion!! |
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Sock eating dog owner
Posts: 4557
Location: Where the pavement ends and the West begins Utah | I too have had reputable vets tell me my horse had navicular with x-rays no less but I went and had a third opinion. The third time gave me the truth with a full 3D. X ray the culprit turned out to be an abcess. The vet was the best vet in Utah state.Right off the bat he asked the horses age when I told him five years old he immediate said the horse does't' have Navicular cause he ain't OLD enough! Get a second opinion!! |
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 Expert
Posts: 5293
| The drug your vet is looking into is probably Tildren. Or the new approved American version of it. It made my grade 3 lame horse absolutely sound! |
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 Northern Chocolate Queen
Posts: 16576
Location: ND | There's no way I'd even consider putting a three year old down from navicular off of only one vets opinion. Navicular is so over diagnosed by vets. There a lot of perfectly sound horses with ugly navicular bones. The key is a great trimmer or farrier. |
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 Expert
Posts: 4121
Location: SE Louisiana | Farrierlady - 2014-11-26 3:24 PM
You're not seriously believing you need to put a 3 yr. old down due to navicular are you? I've never heard such a thing in all my life. What responsible Vet would ever say that to anyone? Navicular is NOT a death sentence by any stretch and I know adult horses competing for years with navicular and special shoeing that do well for many many years.
NO drug is going to work......get a better farrier and a second opinion.
Hear here!!! FL and I don"t often agree but here we DO!! Get an opinion from another (large animal) vet.. I never heard of a horse so young with such a problem. (except from a vet that was too lazy to do his/her job.)
Edited by komet. 2014-11-26 10:10 PM
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Expert
Posts: 4121
Location: SE Louisiana | Black Horse - 2014-11-26 3:37 PM
There are already large holes in her navicular bones, when I took her over on a good day she was #2 lame and probably a 4-5 when it was really cold. Even with special shoeing is it worth my time or fair to her to finish her when she's already so uncomfortable during cold spells?
Those holes were caused by a bad abscess... they don't come any other way... You missed that? |
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