# little filly with deformed leg



## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

dixon said:


> I need advise on this little girl that is at a horse dealer Yearling colt
> I have rescued horses in the past but I don't know much about this type of issue. what are the chances she will stay at least pasture sound as she gets older? to me I don't see it straightening so is surgery a option? Is this a congenital thing? Any chance she could be used for packing when she is older?


If she was mine, I'd have either done surgery right away or had her put down. She could "maybe" be a pasture pet as is, but useful for anything? Doubtful. :-(


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I'd say the odds that she'll be pasture sound for at least 10 years are pretty good, so long as her owner stays on top of her farrier visits and doesn't let her feet get bad....but I may be wrong and she may never be sound.

As it is from what I can see in the picture, I wouldn't ever want to try riding her or using her for any type of work because I really don't believe she'd hold up to it. There is really no way to tell what might have caused it, whether she inherited it or maybe suffered an injury as a foal.

I wouldn't want to bring her home, even for only $5 because she'd cost so much in the long run with vet bills and special care and she might never be good for anything more than turning grass into poop. You can visit basically any auction and find horses more liable to live a sound and useful life for less than a tank of gas.


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## dixon (Feb 16, 2014)

If I buy her your saying its too late for surgery? I don't want to get her just to find out I have to put her down I just feel bad for the little girl her future isn't looking all that great as it stands right now


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## dixon (Feb 16, 2014)

yes your probably right about being better off going to a auction and getting one that would at least be a sound buddy for another horse


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Only a vet could tell you if surgery would help.

Personally, I wouldn't want to pay $500+ for a full exam and consult with an orthopedic specialist on a $5 horse, regardless of the outcome of the exam. However, I wouldn't judge you badly if you were willing to do so.

My only thing is....you could feed 5 horses for a month with that kind of money. In situations like this, my practicality tends to over-rule my heart.


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## dixon (Feb 16, 2014)

As much as I hate it I suppose its not practical for me to help her but just saying that makes me angry at myself but I know could probably do better with the same money and help more then one horse with it and maybe get a donkey or horse I can use to pack with. Good thing I didn't go visit her no way I could of said no then  I feel guilty WAY to easy!


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## FGRanch (Feb 9, 2008)

dixon said:


> As much as I hate it I supposedly not practical for me to help her but just saying that makes me angry at myself but I know could probably do better with the same money and help more then one horse with it and maybe get a donkey or horse I can use to pack with. Good thing I didn't go visit her no way I could of said no then  I feel guilty WAY to easy!


Bless you. As hard as it is, she is best to be put down IMO. I do think surgery could have helped if it been done a lot sooner but they waited to long. It's a shame, poor girl.


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## Elana (Jan 28, 2011)

If I had the funds I might give it a go. If putting the horse down is the answer then it will still be the same answer after investigation IF the rest of her seems worth it. 

I would not take it too far. And you have to have the means to get her to a vet, get it xrayed and so forth, and all the rest to SEE if there is an answer. 

BTW the answer would have to be riding and using sound, NOT pasture sound. IMO a horse that is only an ornament should be put down as inexpensively and humanely as possible. Horses are too expensive and they are livestock. Harsh I know.. but that is me.


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## Tryst (Feb 8, 2012)

The fact that all of her hooves appear long and overgrown is a good indication that corrective trimming that might have helped her is not being done. It costs the same to keep a sound horse as a lame one (or less to keep the sound one). If you have the funds I guess go for it, but this, sadly, looks like a huge money pit to me with an unknown outcome as to her longevity.


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## Amba1027 (Jun 26, 2009)

Honestly, if I were in the area, I would take her. I'm not of the mind that if they can't be used for something, there's no reason to keep them alive. If she could live happily and comfortably as I pasture puff I would give her a chance to do that. And if she wouldn't be comfortable long-term, I would buy her and have her put down to save her from ending up in the hands of someone who would try to ride her. I know not many feel this way, but that is what I would do.


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## dixon (Feb 16, 2014)

I was thinking about her all night and I keep thinking if I don't help her what chance will she have? I really don't mind having a horse I cant ride as long as he or she is comfortable. At the same time I am not rich years ago I would have taken her without thinking even if it resulted in having to put her down in the end but now I just don't have the space and resources for a horse I can't use at least for light packing. There is a part of me that thinks I am being selfish and I should save her because a life is a life. I am having a hard time with this


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## CandyCanes (Jul 1, 2013)

Off topic, but what on EARTH is a filly colt? That's what it says in the advert... Maybe its a new gender of horse


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

CandyCanes said:


> Off topic, but what on EARTH is a filly colt? That's what it says in the advert... Maybe its a new gender of horse


I suspect the owner came from OK, TX, AR, LA originally. Around here, young horses are all colts, regardless of sex. A filly colt is a young, female horse. It K I L L S me when I hear that. :twisted:


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

Nuts, I'm such an enabler:?

If you have a spare $400 and you are so inclined, then I would say take her - $100 for a basic opinion from the vet; if the vet opinion is guarded and "let's see" you've got $300 to invest in some xrays and a farrier; if the opinion is not good then you've got $200 to have her euthanized. Either way you're doing a kindness to the filly.


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## CandyCanes (Jul 1, 2013)

Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> I suspect the owner came from OK, TX, AR, LA originally. Around here, young horses are all colts, regardless of sex. A filly colt is a young, female horse. It K I L L S me when I hear that. :twisted:


OK....That makes more sense than my slightly sci-fi idea...


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## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

Honestly, I have seen WP horses standing in a show line up with worse buck knees!!


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## SlideStop (Dec 28, 2011)

If I had the money I'd buy her and have her PTS. There are many other perfectly fine, useful, healthy horses out there that need homes. I couldn't see wasting resources on a horse when the resources could go to a more productive member of the horse world.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Chopsticks (Mar 11, 2012)

Wow this is such an emotional topic and I can see both sides...more horses could be saved with the money spent on this one (possibly hopeless but who knows) damaged filly....but a horse life is still a life and not everything is based on utility. I wish we had all the money and resources to save them all but we don't. Dixon, I empathize with you completely and understand your feelings for this filly, and should you decide to go for it, I applaud you. But if you decide to put your kind heart elsewhere, I also applaud you. You are a good person to be so kind and we need more people like you out there looking out for the souls with no voices.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

It's unfortunate, but with the economy the way it is today and the state of most folks finances, we need to maximize the "bang for the buck" most of the time. So, I would only recommend spending on a sound, using horse, not a pasture puff. Unless, you have the kind of income that can support that kind of thing, in which case.....go for it!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

^^That's my thinking exactly.

Granted, I've got half a dozen "pasture puffs" at my house...but they are horses that have been with us for years and years and earned the right to live out their lives here and be peacefully laid to rest on my property.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

smrobs said:


> ^^That's my thinking exactly.
> 
> Granted, I've got half a dozen "pasture puffs" at my house...but they are horses that have been with us for years and years and earned the right to live out their lives here and be peacefully laid to rest on my property.


Exactly that. I have a couple forever and aye horses too, but I've had them since they were foals and they've earned their spots. It's a pity the breeder didn't do the responsible thing and put the filly down, if they didn't want to do surgery and all that. Turfing off your breeding mistakes just p*sses me off no end. You bred it, now deal with it.


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## GotaDunQH (Feb 13, 2011)

greentree said:


> Honestly, I have seen WP horses standing in a show line up with worse buck knees!!


Huh???? Halter horses is more like it....I've shown against enough of them that had shaky leg "syndrome" in the front wheels....from buck knees. Haven't seen too many WP horses do that.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

poor little thing. They should have euthed her a long time ago . Her leg is probably worse due to the lack of hoof care . I have a gelding who is now 6 (?) i think, he is a pasture pet he should have been put down and never brought to me, has a deformed pastern joint . 
That little horse was most likely to sent the auction for a killer buyer rate by the breeder


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## ArabianGirl27 (Aug 5, 2012)

I applaud you on thinking about her. I think there needs to be more people in this world who would buy a horse that they could never ride, just to save her. I think that's amazing. As far as it goes, I can't tell you anything because I've never had experience with problems to this extent and don't know much about the costs or the possibility of surgery. But I wanted to let you know that I'm glad that there are people who care so much and would be willing to take a horse like this.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

She has such a sweet face and soft eye that it's hard not to fall for her.


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## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

Can you afford a pasture pet? If yes, go for it.

I rescued an older horse who lived a few more years with me. I cried for days when she died. Do I regret it? No. Would I do it again? Probably if I had the funds to do so (which I don't right now)...

I looked at a 2 yr old mare with worse legs than that. Both front legs were over at the knee and turned out. It looked bad. Not only that, she was lame, and bucked off her owner for riding her! Obviously I passed. The owner wanted a few thousand for a lame horse.

I have 2 pasture puffs right now. One is only rideable as a walk-trot horse, and the other is retired. Both have wonderful personalities, they just have crappy genetics or bad luck. My walk-trot horse probably had birth trauma or something happen early on. Either way, it is not the horse's fault. 

You may want to read up on contracted tendons in foals. For some it is treatable, but she may be too old for it to work at this point.


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## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

I would at least check her out with a vet. She may be sound as a pack horse if there is anything to slightly straighten the leg. Horses are tough and this filly deserves a chance. (If i had the funds for another horse i would grab her).


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

Doubtful that she will stay sound for very long.
That leg should have been splinted the monument she hit the ground. 
You can spend thousands on having vets prod and poke her but she is as she is. 

I have seen very experienced equine vets try to save foals with twisted legs because they were valuable racehorses, rarely does it ever work.


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

Poor thing ): The ****ty part about this is how the owners are looking to get rid of her for "That's right, $5". Do they not owe it to her to see this through? Who knows what kind of a home she could end up in... ):

OP, you're a great person for even considering this. Is it something you're still thinking about? Poor little 'filly colt' )8


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## Chopsticks (Mar 11, 2012)

Foxhunter said:


> Doubtful that she will stay sound for very long.
> That leg should have been splinted the monument she hit the ground.
> You can spend thousands on having vets prod and poke her but she is as she is.
> 
> I have seen very experienced equine vets try to save foals with twisted legs because they were valuable racehorses, rarely does it ever work.


Sure, but they were trying to save them for racing, I assume..or just breeding stock? There is a big difference between trying to keep a horse sound for light work and trying to keep a horse sound for racing. But if you're just saying for breeding than yes, I see your point.


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Don't know if this has already been said but sometimes animals/people with born defects do fine with those defects because that is all they know and their bodies have adapted. Wouldn't barrel race her but she very well could be "sound" (or her version of) as is. There will also be added wear and tear on her body due to things not working quite the way they should.


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