At 14:34:49 on 11.10.09, vesophie wrote:
hi horse vet! my 25yr old fell mare has now got just enough wieght on for winter (her ribs are just covered) she is rugged as needed and gets three feeds of speedi beet grass nuts and cool mix with pink powder added as concentrated dose 3 scoops and no bute at 20 ml a day, she cant eat chop but is fine with hay. my main reason for contacting you is she has severe arthritis in her hocks and fetloks and is now showing signs of it in her fronts as she is falling over alot and tripping! she is in a field 24/7 with my other mare and soon a 18 month old gelding would it be really fair to keep her out for winter or bring her into a yarded system what i have been offered at another yard,she would have a big building to wander around with the others still overnight and through the worst weather then can go out into a feild during the day on good days, she is semi retiered as she takes my 4 year old daughter to the hunt meets and hacks once a week or bareback round the feild and was going to try and give her this as her last winter then proberly put her down next summer as by then her arthritis will proberly be in all four legs and it wouldn't be fair! sorry for the essay but i want a different vets opinion as mine doesn't seem to be interested all she says is" bute up and carry on" can i please have yur honest opinion thankyou! x

At 22:59:06 on 10.11.09, HorseVet wrote:
Hi. There could be reasons why the weight isn't going on - teeth don't sound too clever if she can't eat chop. Unfortunately having teeth done regularly doesn't mean they've been done properly especially if power tools have been used or vets have done them. I've had good reports back for a homeopathic formula I've made up for arthritis so that is manageable. I'd keep away from bute if possible to preserve liver and kidneys etc as long as possible. My main worry is the weight issue although I can't see ribs in the picture. If you're in the south of England I'd be happy to take a look and advise if you think it necessary as it's not easy to tell much from a small picture and brief description. Best wishes HorseVet.
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