This is Milly, A lovely, gentle pony. She was left in our field with all the other horses. I knew straight away that she was ill. She was just standing there with that sad look on her face, as in the photo opposite.
I tried to get her to walk but she had trouble. Me & my son, Lee, managed to get her to the end of the field where the stable is & stable her. It took over an hour to get her in the stable, she was in pain. I called the vet & she came straight out fearing it was laminitis. http://www.laminitis.org/ This is a wonderful website to learn about laminitis.
I have never come across laminitis before, so I wasn't sure. The vet did a test & said she had chronic laminitis. It was heart breaking to see her rocking back & forth on all her hooves, she couldn't stand properly & her legs were wide apart. The vet said it is through the pain that they rock like this. I went & bought bags of shavings & piled it high to 16 inches & it covered every part of the stable. She was put on Bute (Horse pain killer) twice a day & hay that had to be soaked for 12 hours. I had to buy her a bag of Hi-Fi Lite to put the bute in & she was OK to eat this without putting weight on.
I had to make up my mind there & then to keep her. I was told I was silly to take Milly on by everyone. The cost will be great, they all said, but the only other way forMilly, was to be put to sleep & I couldn't do that. The vet said there was a 50/50 chance that she can pull through this with the right care. What would you have done?
The people who allowed Milly to get into this state allowed her to eat to much. She was very over weight & her crest was very thick. The size of her neck was huge for such a small pony as you can see in the second photo. Her hooves had not been trimmed & needed doing badly. The farrier came out to do them a week later & also the vet came to sedate her to make it easier for her & the pain. The vet said she needed to lose a lot of weight which would help her with the laminitis.
There was a change in Milly's face, it wasn't drawn any more & her eyes were bright. She could stand like a normal horse & she was jumping around like a baby. We couldn't wait to let her out, but at the same time I was nervous of doing so.
6 months Milly was in the stable & she got better & better each week. We started to see the true Milly, She started to put her head through the gate on the stable & shout out to the other horse & they used to come & stand by the stable for hours watching her. Paris took over, she would stand nearly all day with her head resting on the gate watching over Milly. It was hard work trying to put a head collar on her & even harder to lead her. She would buck & bite us. It was obvious she had no training at all.
Me & Lee went & brought around 50 electric post, electric fencing, electric box & a car battery. It cost a small fortune, but worth it. We set it all up for her to have a small paddock with the stable. The field the others were in was massive & there was no way she could run with them.
The vet came out to check her once again & said that she was able to come out of the stable. We were over the moon & excited for Milly. The vet checked her paddock & said it was fine for her. It was full of nettles which would do her good & not much grass. That was in October 2010.
When the time came again for the farrier, we called the vet to sedate her again, but the vet didn't turn up & the farrier said he would try & see how she goes, well she was amazing, Lee was holding her & she didn't fight at all. But within a week the laminitis was back. Milly was back in the stable on shavings & back on Bute. The vet said it would be to do with the trimming. This could happen each time. That knocked me. Every 6 weeks we have the farrier & she would have to have her hooves trimmed to help her not get the laminitis back. Milly was in the stable this time for 8 weeks & then was allowed back in her paddock. The vet gave me Bute for when she has her hooves trimmed next time & told me to keep her in the stable for 3 days on Bute after the trim & see how she goes. Well it did the trick.
I called the vet out a few months ago to have X rays for her front hooves, again she had to be sedated & within a few seconds her head hit the floor. I was not happy at all. The vet said she would be OK. I was worried she had gave her to much of the drug. Milly was standing with her back legs but her front legs have gave way & I was holding her head up, but she was to heavy to hold. I kept rubbing her to get up to stand up & in the end she did. I placed her head down slowly & stayed with her while the vet took the X rays in the stable. It didn't take long, but it took over an hour to get her to come around out of the sedation. I kept grooming her & that helped her a lot. The vet said to place my finger into her ear & that made her jump, it did help to bring her out of it.
The X rays arrived a week later. I gave them to the farrier & he was pleased. She was doing well. There is only a slight rotation in one of her hooves. We know it is something we will have to always be on guard for as it can happen again at any time.
The last time she had her hooves trimmed, she was OK, she didn't need to go into the stable but I did give her Bute. I asked the vet if we could try it without the Bute next time & see how we go & she thought that was a good idea. It as been quite a while now since she last a bout of laminitis.
Milly has had a bad time of it, bless her. She bounces back each time getting stronger & stronger. With a huge weight loss she is coming on great (photos 4 & 5)
The vet came out to give them all their tetanus injections & Milly had hers done & at the same time had her teeth checked. I thought now she is doing well, she will be up to date with everything. She had to have her teeth filed down & again she had to be sedated. But this time she didn't have to much of the drug. Everything went great, but the next day she had a big lump on her neck from the injection & a very large lump under her neck & she wasn't eating. I called the vet & she said it is more them likely a piece of tooth. She had a loose tooth & some must of fell off. It took another 2 weeks to get her back to being herself again, having her teeth filed really took it out of her. But now she is eating so much better, where before she would drop food out of her mouth while eating.
The vet said she is around 4 & half years old when she checked her teeth.
Milly thinks that she is one of the big horses, she try's to bully them, apart from Paris, but can get away with it with Ollie.
We have now had her chipped & got her a passport. Milly is part Dartmoor. http://www.dpht.co.uk/index.php
Now Milly doesn't mind having her head collar put on & will lead beautifully & loves to be groomed all over. We haven't tried her in an horse box yet, so that might be fun!!!
Milly is truly a big part of the family now & very much loved.
If you can help for us, please donate, it doesn't matter how small the donation, it will be put to good use.
