need help with my little mare

[Zelda]

I am new here and this is my first attempt at this.

I am hoping some one out there can help me with my miniature mare. She is 10 years old

she started to get stiff and I called the vet out and he ran blood work and told me to start her on cosiquin which I did. Her hooves immediatly started to get very thick and blocky and she started to get what looked like some kind of dry patched below the band. I took her off that and kept her feet trimmed. We ran the routine course of action trying various treatments. She improved but was not cured. He sent the blood work results to penn state and I still have no good diagnosis. She has been pretty stable until this spring when the whole thing has flared up again, this time her chestnuts and ergots seem to be growing at a rapid rate along with the stiffness and hoof dryness. It is not cushings--it is not founder it is not laminitis. Her hooves still have a good angle and are not out of shape at all and have no rings or dips. I am at a loss here. I just want to make her comfortable. Anyone that has has this similar situation, I would appreciate any feed back, I am thinking we are missing something simple. The blood work did show an elevation in her protien levels. We keep her on a low protien feed and limit her pasture time but she is not responding like she has in the past.

I am getting a little discouraged. I am hoping someone out there has had a similar experiance and can give me some guidance.

Thanks

 

[Sandy S.]

DID HE CHECK FOR DIABETES?

THEY HAVE NOW FOUND HORSES TO BE DIABETIC. WE FOUGHT FOR YEARS WITH A MORGAN MARE WITH HER FEET AND FOUND OUT ABOUT 5 YEARS AGO SHE WAS DIABETIC ABOUT THE SAME TIME THEY WERE FINDING OUT THAT HORSES COULD BE DIABETIC, OUR EQUINE VET WENT TO A SEMINAR AND TESTED HER AND HER RESULTS WERE POSITIVE. LOW CARB DIET, NO TREATS AT ALL, NO GRASS AT ALL, JUST GRASS HAY AND A LOW CARB FEED IS WHAT SHE HAS BEEN ON FOR 5 YEARS. SHE IS NOW 19.

 

[Marty]

1. What part of the country are you in?

2. Are you sure she is 10 years old?

3. Can you post a picture?

 

[targetsmom]

Was she checked for Lyme Disease? That can manifest in lots of different ways - from behavior issues to general stiffness and specific leg lameness.

 

[sundancer]

I would check for Lyme too. Lyme will not come back on a routine blood test. You have to specify the blood to be tested for Lyme. You maybe surprised! Good luck I hope you figure out whats bothering your mare. If they could only talk!

Julie