# Pony foal with deformed legs *slightly disturbing*



## mbender (Jul 22, 2009)

How come his feet are so long? Could you get a pic of his feet? And pick up his foot and take pics? Its nice that the shelter/rescue wants to save him but I see nothing but problems with this poor guy. If they are willing to put $$ into him then maybe he has a chance but hopefully his life won't be full of pain. All we can do is try right?
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## horseloverd2 (Jan 23, 2009)

Oh poor little thing  I say don't put him to sleep if he can walk and isn't in too much pain. If he's happy, I don't see a reason to put him down. Him being so small has some advantage- I can't imagine trying to keep him alive if he was much bigger.


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## HowClever (Feb 16, 2010)

He seems to have a lot of dwarf characteristics.

If that is the case it would explain legs like that. I can't see him ever being comfortable. Maybe it will sound heartless, but I think putting him to sleep would be the best thing for him.

I hope the right thing is done, whatever that may be.


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## damnedEvans (Jan 23, 2010)

@ mbender : I will take photos tomorrow. I will have new photos this evening from another volunteer. I had things to do today so I couldn't go to see the pony. 
@ horseloverd2 : Yes, being so small has some advantages. If his legs are really deformed from birth he has some slightly chances to recover because he is so young and small. But we will see. 
@ HowClever : Yes he seems to be dwarf but I'm not to knowledgeable about how dwarf ponies are born. His both parents seems to be Shetlands so he should be a Shetland too but he seems so small that I doubt it. We have another pony that was born from two Shetlands and he is very small, like a Mini. So it may be possible. 

I think that we will wait to hear the vet's and farrier's opinions and see the x-rays. From what I know they will try to do whatever is possible for the pony and put him to sleep only if all the things will fail to help this poor thing. 

I don't see how this pony will have a good life even if his condition will improve. But that's me, I don't like to see horses that are crippled from such a young age.

Thank you all for the opinions.


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

Best of luck. I would hate to see him PTS, but if it progresses to the point of acute pain, it would be best. Right now, I see no need to put him down.

Another example of a complication that can arouse from breeding. You can put thousands of dollars and much blood, sweat, and tears into finding two perfect horses, but the doubt is always there.


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## ilovemyPhillip (Apr 4, 2009)

He even looks sad.
I don't want to be Debbie Downer, but I think he should be pts. His quality of life probably won't be great after the shelter puts in all the $$, he might die in the process.. Or he has underlying problems we can't see.
Can he be put on any medication for pain?
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## damnedEvans (Jan 23, 2010)

@ equiniphile : I'm sure that he can live with this condition but I'm not sure if he will have some kind of quality of life as crippled as he is. It is possible from what I see to think that his legs will straighten up. But how much nobody can know. The road to recovery will be long so I'm not sure if it's correct for the little pony. He could be in pain now, or he can be in pain in the future as he grows up. 

@ ilovemyPhillip : He can be put on Phenylbutazone (Bute) but I'm not sure if it's advisable because he is so young. We will ask the vet. Anyway to keep him on pain meds it's not an alternative because of the adverse reactions.


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## ItzKayley (Jun 8, 2011)

Poor thing...
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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

Poor animal... I wonder what vet and farrier will say (but I'm afraid putting him to sleep will be a way to go eventually).


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## MHFoundation Quarters (Feb 23, 2011)

That poor baby  

I'm inclined to think that euth might be the kindest thing to do for the little guy. 

I don't envy you DE, but what you do for all of those horses is very admirable. I have great respect for the work you do.


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## damnedEvans (Jan 23, 2010)

@ *kitten_Val* : One of the things that I hate is that our vets rarely advice euthanasia. They seems to have a morbid curiosity to try a lot of things to see if it works rather than think at the horse's suffering. Sometimes it could be better this way but from what I've seen we end with the animals PTS in the end. So I doubt that the vet will say to euthanize the pony. But if I will see that this seems to be the better solution I will try to advice them to do it. 

And we don't really have a lot of vets that are specialized on horses so we have to choose between 2-3 vets. 

@ *MHFoundation Quarters* : I always have a lot of critical cases like this one. It became something common. It's sad to see all this horses suffering. The worst part is when you don't have the power to take what you think is the proper choice. But anyhow, that's life. I try to help them as much as possible by doing their treatments and give them all the attention that they deserve. 

Thank you for the support.


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## damnedEvans (Jan 23, 2010)

*some news*

I took new photos yesterday but hadn't time to post them. The foal is starting to eat almost normally. He had a tough time adjusting with drinking milk from the bowl because he was used to his mother. Now he accepts the milk (special formula for foals), some tiny bits of carrots, grass and tiny bits of alfalfa. He has slightly dehydrated and weak yesterday. Today seemed to be happier. 

From what I've researched he has indeed dwarf characteristics as HowClever suggested. So I am actually pretty sure that he was born with dwarfism so this is the cause of his malformations. I am pretty sure now that we can't do a thing for him but the BO is decided to keep him one more month and treat him. She wants to do the xrays witch I think that it's a great decision just to see how his legs are. The problem seems to be with his ligaments and not bones so is possible that the x-rays will not show a thing. After that she wants to put him on some calcium and vitamins and keep him suspended in a harness. Our doctor told her that it'a a great idea because he doesn't have a better plan. 

Besides of that we have to treat his wound from the casts. He has some horrible rub wound on the legs. 
The farrier said that he can't trim him because his hooves are very soft so the living tissue is to close so he doesn't really have what to trim. 

That's all for now. From what I've read a dwarf pony doesn't live to much :-(. But it's better this way than having a though and long life. Anyway I'm really reserved about the result in this case. I don't think that it's something treatable so what the BO decided is not to great for the pony. The BO understands that this is probably a case of euthanasia but she wants to try a treatment and then if it doesn't work she wants to put him down. 

P.S. : His name is Arthur aka Donut

























We clipped him just to see his veins better for possible IV fluid administration. He looks like a beautiful tiny horse now.


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## Calmwaters (Aug 24, 2011)

Oh poor babys its heart breaking to see the little guy like that.


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

It is a heart-breaking story, definitely. My thoughts on a foal with such a severe deformity is that he should be euthanized. As cold as it may sound, I think that the funds would be better spent on cases where rehab and rehoming is feasible.


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## Allison Finch (Oct 21, 2009)

I'm of the opinion that this treatment is cruel and is causing him to have a sad life. I hope they consider PTS. I Keep thinking of all the money that will be poured into him that could be better used to improve the life of an animal not doomed to such an poor existence.


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## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

Poor little ******. Human's value life a bit too much, we hesitate to put down a clearly pained animal because of the hurt it will cause us, not so much because of our pity for the animal. Once an animal has been pts, it has no idea, it feels no regret for a life 'wasted'. So why must humans find it so difficult to let go?


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## Sunny (Mar 26, 2010)

Honestly, my first thought when I saw the pictures was, "Why is this horse still alive?"

I just can't imagine him ever being pain free.
Poor little guy.

I wish everyone working with the little man the best of luck.
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## damnedEvans (Jan 23, 2010)

We got in touch with a vet from Hungary that treated another of our horses. He said that he need detailed x-rays and after this he will put a proper diagnosis and will recommend a way of treatment if it's possible. If he thinks that the pony doesn't stand a chance he will recommend euthanasia. If he thinks that something is possible we will send the pony to Budapest at the clinic. 
Now the pony is to a clinic for x-rays. Wish him luck. 

And as I said I still think that he should be put to sleep but the BO is the one that take the decisions. 

Thank you for the replies, really appreciate them.


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## Prinella (Jul 12, 2011)

Poor boy hopefully the BO does the right thing
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## mbender (Jul 22, 2009)

Well good luck Donut. I hope there is a treatment that won't be too painful. And if not being PTS is the next best treatment and that little guy can run in ever greener pastures.
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## MysticL (Sep 5, 2011)

Sometimes it's a case of having to be cruel to be kind. You have to ask yourself "what kind of life will he lead?" and "what complications will he face further down the road?" and also he can't speak and tell you if he is in pain. 

People can be rather selfish sometimes in our desire to "help" animals but i personally dont see this as helping anyone.

I know a case of a race horse who I will not name on this forum who was born with his legs skew...his owners forced them straight over time in splints, knowing full well that he had a weakness and still pushed him to run. They knew one day he would break. Sadly I was there the day he broke his leg clean in half and fell on the track and the vets had to shoot him to put him out of his severe pain. His life ended in pain, suffering and confusion. why? because man is greedy and selfish. It angered me to see an animal like that break because MAN had interfered. 

The vets may enjoy the challenge of fixing this little fellow, but he is the one suffering in the long run. He looks pained and uncomfortable and just not normal in general. If i had the final say I would rather put him to sleep. I had to euthanise 4 new born kittens a week ago because someone had forced their eyes open and they were blind. Their condition was close to death after being abondoned as well. Did i want to eunthanise them? no. Did it break my heart? Yes. Would I have liked to try knowing they would have a life of difficulty and that chances are they would have died a slower and more painful death? No.

Sorry, things like this really get me down. Euthanasia is not easy for anyone, but I think sometimes it is us who keep them alive to save ourselves the emotional heartache.


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

subbing.

poor donut. He is adorable but those legs! Putting him down would be something I would do. I would do it sooner than later honestly. Especially if the barn gets easily attached to their horsey members


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

subbing. Fingers crossed that there _is_ a treatment out there for little Doughnut, but if not- I dearly hope that both this vet and BO can see past clouded vision and see his suffering, and make the decision to end his suffering.

I did want to note, however, that there are many dwarfs (generally minimal dwarfs, but in some cases, others too) who live pain free, enjoyable lives. We own a 13 year old cremello dwarf, who is a fairly severe case. He can't canter, but he thinks he's the king of the world- and with a careful diet and exercise plan, he stays pain free and very mobile for his age (he's in his senior years for a dwarf) and severity.

Ofcourse, that doesn't really apply to little Doughnut...I'm not sure how he could ever be pain free. Still, it's something to remember.

Also, the reason he seems so small is probably a characteristic of his dwarfism. Almost all dwarves are under 22 inches tall, with extremely short/deformed legs.


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