So, now knowing that he is leased and that his owner may not be the brightest bulb, do you get to continue to pay board and otherwise support this unrideable, potentially dangerous horse that won’t be seeing a vet? You really can’t get back on this horse until you know what the problem is and you can fix it, if it is even fixable. The chances that the problem is indeed fixable decrease with each day that he goes undiagnosed.
If you can’t have the vet out and pay the bill yourself, you need to look into terminating this lease, unless you’re okay with leasing a potentially very dangerous and quite unrideable horse.
I don’t understand the terms of your lease, but I gather the owner has retained the right to make all vet decisions? I am sorry to sound harsh, but I would tell the owner thank you very much, here is your horse back. There are just too many red flags pointing to a serious physical problem – the rearing, the falling, the trouble with straightness and the right lead, etc etc. It is also possible that he is having some type of mini seizure. I had a dog that was epileptic and his seizures did not start out like ones you see on TV in humans. He would fall and bump into things, and be in a weird stunned daze for a minute or two. Ultimately that progressed into full blown, thrashing around seizures. But I think it is more likely that he has EPM, wobblers, or possibly something like a spinal problem that is causing him pain. So many of the things you are describing though, sound neurological to me.
Also, I think you need to consider what your options are in terms of terminating the lease if a serious condition is confirmed. Treatment for any of these conditions is not inexpensive. I am really sorry you are dealing with this, and sincerely hope your horse gets better, poor guy.
i am with jaclkie blue on this one – matey you a re 18 sorry i looked
– look i think you new to horses and your barn owner or the owner of the horse perhaps is the barn owner that does lessons ands hes an old lesson horse
now iam going to say soemthing — if she / he ahs leased you a horse
thats is unfit for the job in hand and you get hurt cause belive me so far you have been lucky – there is something seriuosly worng with the horse do not use him no more – you are paying for a horse to use therfore wasting your money – on somehting thats going to be off rather than on
the yard owner is playing a sleek game with you — you might like the horse fine groom him see to him but dont pay for him
it will be your expense at the end - she has no concern for you – no concern for the horse – all shes interested in is THE DOSH THAT TOUCHES THE PALM OF HER HAND ---- who pays when you get seriuosly hurt becuase beleive me ahorse like that you cant insure as hes unpredictable
id suggest it being epm. try walking him or have someone else walk him in tight circles both directions and see how well he keeps his balance. also watch and see if he crosses his hind legs or acts like they get tangled. maybe borrow another horse and do the same thing and compare how your horse turns/steps. if it looks kinda off balance or tangled then i would have the vet test for epm. my horse fell twice for no real reason and thats what it turned out to be. good luck. keep us updated.
Have you tried a horse chiropractor?
I would go with bloodwork for EPM and xrays if you are able, but a chiropractor really isn’t a ‘vet’ in many people’s thoughts.
It might be a place to start :0
best of luck with the lease, stay off until you find out what is going on
Definitely get out of that lease!! Please, if you terminate the lease, do so in writing and review the problems, the times you requested a vet to be called and the refusal to do so, as well as the incident where you were injured and she still refused to have the vet out. You did an excellent job of summing up the problme. Send the letter so that she has to sign for it. That way, if she releases the horse to another unsuspecting person and/or if somone else gets injured, you can provide them a copy of the letter which for them would be proof that she knew of the problem. You can always verbally express to her that you would be interested in reinstating the lease if the horse’s problem is diagnosed and addressed. It’s a crummy situation to be in if you really like the horse but you can only have a horse fall on you so many times -eventually you are going to be hurt badly.
I echo JackieBlue…are you supposed to keep paying for a horse that the owner refuses to have cared for properly??
I would get out of the lease. I know you’ve had him for 3 years, but this could be a huge problem & you could be spending money yet never riding the horse.
Get the vet, or get out of the lease!
It does sound like he could have EPM. I’ve gone through it with several friends and it can be heartbreaking. AND, if it is EPM, the longer you wait to start treatment, the greater the liklihood of permanent neurological damage.
If the owner won’t get the vet our right away, I’d suggest you get that lease agreement to a lawyer. Your safety has to be the priority here and that horse is NOT safe to ride.
Good luck.
SD
This is NOT a safe situation and you are very correct to be concerned.
This is sadly one of those times where human safety MUST come first.
DO NOT RIDE THIS HORSE. Falling down multiple times is a serious issue and one that can get you killed or badly injured.
I would suggest that you have whoever signed the lease agreement call the owner and state that if a full veterinary workup isn’t going to be scheduled the lease needs to be terminated immediately because there is a new or undisclosed risk that is unacceptable. You may need to back that up with a certified letter. Then…return the horse if you are boarding it; if you leased it from the location in which it is normally kept, notify the barn manager that you have contacted the owner and are terminating the lease for new safety concerns and will no longer be paying, and stop paying.
I’m sorry to be harsh, and I’m sorry you’re in such a difficult situation, but this is simply too dangerous to ignore. The horse needs to be seen and fixed if possible, and if not you need OUT of this lease pronto.
look matey you have your whole life in front of you— and a worthy one
i know you have the horse a few years dont know how old he is but-
the owner is expecting you to pay for all costs —
if you have proven for the last3 years you can manage and budget for ahorse then time s up on this one–
stop paying for him --can still see him but he probably needs health check and more likely retirement as a good old boy he is
now if you liek to you you proven you can budget for one
so could possiable get one of your own as the moeny you spent and have spent and the money you will spent to get this horse rigght
is money that could be spent on smething – you like but as your own horse
go see if you can buy one – and spend all your dosh on self and own horse rather than somelses that dont care tuppence for you or the horse
my concern is one day you might not get up –
i would not turn him on in pasture he could fall and get seriously injured out there, i would limit his turn out to the indoor until the vet comes. or no turn out at all, i just wouldnt risk letting my horse fall over backwards and killing himself
Any luck on the vet situation?
I’m stunned. This poor girl has leased a horse that has fallen like this at least TWICE, but the owner won’t call a vet out? Does the OWNER understand her legal position there? :eek:
More importantly, Spazabian, your own parents should be clearly made aware of this whole situation if they don’t already know the details of what has happened with the falls…if I were your mom I’d be MUCH more concerned about YOUR safety! You have been VERY lucky so far not to be hurt anymore than you have been. Horses falling like that is absolutely NOT part of riding activity and your safety should always come :yes: .
I agree with several posters here…get a DIFFERENT vet out if you can (I’m a bit suspicious of the other vet never finding any problem…to be fair to that vet, however, one of the HARDEST things to diagnose is something that is intermittent, so perhaps the vet really can’t see what’s wrong. Do be aware, tho, that what many here are saying is that what you describe often is a symptom of EPM).
So, from the viewpoint of your not owning but LEASING this horse, I’d suggest that either a clear vetting be done to find out the problem, or get out of that lease and lease a new horse. It’s TOO dangerous to just go on for you, and the HORSE needs some help!
Oh, also—you mentioned that your horse and at least one other have fallen in the same spot only in the indoor arena…has the BO or BM investigated that area of the arena? I gotta say, I’d be nervous as a cat if I were the BO/BM and I had my clients’ horses falling in my arena! Lawsuit city…:yes:
oops…lost part of my sentence here:
your safety should always come first
sorry.
Horses hate falling down - they will do whatever it takes to stay up. Haven’t we all seen them give valient struggles to stay upright when they stumble or slip. I have never heard of a horse falling down like that because of navicular disease. This doesn’t sound like a pain issue - the horse would refuse or buck or rear or spin or anything but fall. This sure sounds neurological to me. The vet presentation I saw on horse emergencies at the Horse Expo said that a vet must get involved when the horse is falling because once a horse goes down, it is obviously really difficult to treat. He said that if a horse stays down 24 hrs. the chances of recovery are very slim. The first concern is the OP’s safety of course, but the horse could be in serious trouble.
I would not wait to call the vet, I would call your vet right away. Sounds to me like he could have EPM. Get the vet out and have him checked ASAP.
[QUOTE=MGA828;2168853]
I would not wait to call the vet, I would call your vet right away. Sounds to me like he could have EPM. Get the vet out and have him checked ASAP.[/QUOTE]
Did you even read the thread??:eek: The horse doesn’t belong to her, he’s on a lease…:rolleyes:
How is your horse doing?
Has he been shaking his head or tilting it slightly?
You could start by trying to determine if he has an ear infection that makes him feel off balanced.
It could be sore stiffles.
There is a small possibility it could be how you ride. You may be pulling him off balance, pulling his head in and urging him on too much and bringing him to his knees.
I have seen that a few times :o
Maybe arthritis.
I’d say that the horse is not healthy enough to be leased, terminate it.
If you are personally concerned about the horse call a vet and you pay for it.
Horse could be suffering from…a pinched spinal cord, a pinched nerve, vitamin E defecient, EPM, all of which have simuliar symptoms.
Eventually you will be suffering from your own hopital bill if you continue riding this horse.
Right before my sister’s horse was diagnosed with EPM, she (flipped head over heels) on my trainer while cantering. Before that, she too had had problems with missing leads and cross-cantering. Now, after treatment, she is like a whole different horse. I have also seen a horse that went from just sort of looking “old” and loosing weight to walking in circles, tilting his head, unable to swallow, and unable to stand upright without leaning on something. That horse also had EPM and has also made a complete recovery - he actually had two leads now, where as for all of his life (horse was 24 when he got sick) he had been “one-sided”. He had proabably been infected all that time, but until he got really sick, no one knew anything was wrong with him nuerologically. This horse needs to see a vet ASAP. Whatever the owner decides, do NOT get back on the horse. My trainer was exceptionally lucky that she didn’t sustain any major injuries when my sister’s horse fell on her.
