A day of vets and chocolate

Tonto on his way back to the field,
feeling woolly headed from sedation

Sofie's insurance is coming to an and - so I thought I would get one last vet check on her policy before her leggies are written off.

At the same time I got Pete from Liphook out to give Tonto a veteran MOT.

Frustratingly, like busses the vets all arrived at the same time - so I didn't get the opportunity to focus my mind on either horse. As Mr T was heavily sedated I stayed with Sofie and her vet Mary for most of the visit.

Mary was very kind and remembered Sof from her visit back in March. She commented on what a sweet horse she was. We did a lamness check and unfortunately Sofie is still lame, slightly better than in March but not much and worse on her right leg (the one with a split in the hoof). Sof seemed fairly sound on a straight line, but not good on a circle. We didn't nerve block to take a further inspection, but didn't really need to as even I could see she is lame. Sofie was also foot sore on the hard ground which made the assessment difficult. Mary suggested three courses of action:

1. another MRI
2. wait 4 months and take another look in February
3. trial walking and see how she goes

The preference was another 4 months then see - which was sort of my plan anyway. Riding in the winter is miserable and I can't separate her from Tonto at any rate.

We had a discussion about my ambitions with Sofie, and Mary seemed optimistic that as a light hack she might be alright. She did suggest I could always give her bute to ride - but I have never felt very comfortable with that approach. Mary seemed happy for me to do the straightness training thing - though I am fairly sure she was just humouring me at this point.

Pete agreed that Tonto is looking better. He suggested adding a bit more protein into his diet and keeping him on one bute a day for the legs. Pete was running late that day so not in the most amicable of moods which was a bit frustrating. He also didn't get to do a full assessment of Tonto, because Tonto immediately ran off and we decided better to sedate. I figured an impatient vet and a stressed Tonto were not a great mix. Unfortunately my distraction with Sofie meant that I forgot to ask Pete to check out Tontos gentleman parts. I'm really annoyed at myself for this as I would like them to be checked out as they continue to cause him problems.



consolation chocolate

So by the end of the day I was feeling a bit deflated. The visits have probably cost me £500 to tell me things I already know! I probably won't ask the vets to come and see Sofie again - its just a waste of money really. I still hope to send her to Rockely Farm, but am not sure how to separate her from Tonto to achieve this.

I also know I am being stupid. Sofie, most likely, will never be truly sound. I should just hand her back to her owners and walk away - or see if I can get her a retirement home. But the thought of loosing them both is too much. Plus if I got rid of Sofie I could never justify getting another horse. There goes my dreams of cross country and drag hunting.

Deflated, I went home and had a feast of chocolate brownies, chocolate gue pots and a glass of wine in front of the fire. It didn't really make me feel much better but it was worth a try.