Good article, Karen. We must remember that we know the horses the best. Last August, a new vet came by to give vaccinations. He took one look at my Stella who has Cushings and had laminitis at the time and said "this horse must be put down" I said that she was not ready and that I wanted some special blood tests for her Cushings. He said that he would do the tests but that she should not be alive by the time they were done.
He also said that she had no sole and her coffin bone could be viewed from the bottom of the foot. I had him do x rays and she had lots of sole and though there was some rotation, the coffin bone was no where near the sole. I had been experimenting with her diet as she needed a very low carb intake and was trying all sorts of combinations. To make a long story short, within a week or two I hit on the right combination, she recovered and has been sound ever since. She bosses the other horses around, and is happy. He came back to check on Bibi recently and said "Wow your old mare looks good. When he left, he said "You have taught me a lesson, thanks." I know she has a life threatening disease but you must know your horses and take it one step at a time. Ann ps I rode Bibi yesterday for the first time. We walked around the small ring we have and she does not seem to have much stop or turn but was relaxed and happy.
