Distressed pony

[Jonzjob]

Thank you for the explanation Jackie. That would explain why the back feet seem OK. I can't see the reason being too much lush grass here though. The only lush stuff here is what the council throws lots of water at. The norm for fields with horses in is lots of what you see in the photo and they have to be fed  by the owners. Too warm and dry for the coverted 'English lawn'.

I will let you know what happens and thank you for the support. Christine, if you e-mail me I will reply to give you my e-mail address for your contact to be able to contact me (I think that's what I mean [8-)]?)

[Jacqui Too]

[quote user="Jonzjob"]

Thank you for the explanation Jackie. That would explain why the back feet seem OK. I can't see the reason being too much lush grass here though. The only lush stuff here is what the council throws lots of water at. The norm for fields with horses in is lots of what you see in the photo and they have to be fed  by the owners. Too warm and dry for the coverted 'English lawn'.

I will let you know what happens and thank you for the support. Christine, if you e-mail me I will reply to give you my e-mail address for your contact to be able to contact me (I think that's what I mean [8-)]?)

[/quote]

Laminitis is only one of the possible causes of this poor pony's condition, but IMHO it is the most likely. As I said I think this pony is quite old he/she might not always have lived in the surroundings that you now find it. Once a horse/pony has had Laminitis its feet are likely to be distorted for life either from the pedal bone rotating so it protrudes through the soles or by dropping within the hoof it's self, both these scenarios can be from mild to excessive.

Causes of laminitis are many including stress, giving birth, drug induced and the most probable in this case shock to the digestive system from overeating rich food. Although there may not look like good grazing where he is now it could still have been the original cause.

This pony will require extensive veterinary care and specialist foot treatment for the rest of it's life, this is likely to be very expensive involving many x rays and trimmings from a specialist farrier and would probably not be carried out by it's present owner who let it get in this state in the first place.

If this pony were in UK it would be taken in to the care of the RSPCA or similar organization, accessed by vets as to whether he could be saved and have an acceptable quality of life after treatment and if not would be put out of it's misery.

I do hope there are organizations in France that will take on this pony as treatment might be prohibitive for an individual. 

A very sad and upsetting case.

 

[Geordie girl]

Any news on the pony jonzjob?

[Jonzjob]

No news yet GG. Sorry it's taken a while to reply, but what with the osteo and the dentist it's bin a busy day, but I had hoped to hear from the rescue/help people.

Any news from your end please Christine?????

[Christine Animal]

No John, not yet.  They made my thread on that forum invisible only to be seen by the "elite" of the forum as they were frightened someone might see it and the pony would be in danger.  So I can't even see my own thread!  I shall pm the girl who said she lived nearby and was going to try to go this week to see if there is any news.  I'll of course let you know if there is.

So the Ligue pour la Protection du Cheval didn't answer you?

 

[Jonzjob]

Good grief Christine, why oh why would anyone try to hurt this poor pony any more??? Can yo pm me with the link to this forum you speak of. I will try and see if I can move them, even if I have to TRY (?) to do it in French... My written French leaves a LOT to be desired!

Nothing from the Ligue as yet and I am surprised by that.

[Christine Animal]

Often when cases of neglect are reported about dogs, the dogs suddenly disappear as the owners don't want trouble, so I suppose that's what they mean about the pony.  I already gave the link to the forum with the *** .[:)]

P.S.  I have just sent her a pm.

[Jonzjob]

 We  have just had a walk along the riverl to where the pony's kept. It is still there. It was at the very back of the field behind a lump in the ground so we could not see the feet at all, but I wouldn't think anything has changed.

I still haven't heard from the horse people (not sure what alse to call them?).

[Jacqui Too]

Hi John

How distressing for you and the pony, I really feel helpless to offer any advice as I know nothing about how to deal with this in France. Although this pony is in considerable discomfort if he has to move far or at any speed, if he is able to stand still and have his food brought to him, so he would not be forced to search for it, that would be some sort of short term solution. I know that this might sound cruel but he is not at deaths door and if he has food and water very near that is the best thing until a professional can assess what to do next.

Maybe if it is possible to talk to a vet, they will know where you can report animal abuse.

Lets hope the wheels that have been put in motion will turn up something soon

[cooperlola]

I'm sure you've tried this, JJ, but will your maire do nothing about it?  I ask because within two weeks of my bringing my ponies over, the maire came round to say that somebody had complained that they did not have enough grass (they are confined to a tiny paddock in the spring as both get laminitis if I don't watch out.)  Also, when I found a stray cat who had mange (I had three young kittens at the time and couldn't keep her myself), she helped me re-home her.  Around here, the maire is responsible for animal welfare at least initially.

[Jonzjob]

I think that if I don't hear from the horse people soon I will contact our vets and ask what they have to say?

Coops, the pony is in a field at the Western edge of Carcasonne and we live about 10 K NE so our maire would be nothing to do with that area. I have no idea as to who the maire would be for that commune?

If I have heard nothing by early next week I will try the vet... I would hate to upset the apple cart by getting too many people involved from different angles.

From our previous experiences the French are not the best comunicators in the world!!![:'(]

[cooperlola]

This may help, JJ.  The contact info' is at the bottom of the page:

http://www.aude.pref.gouv.fr/services/dsv/index.asp#animaux

[JSA Aude]

Hi, sorry have only just noticed your post - don't know if this is any help but my vet is also the Blue Cross vet in our area (Carcassonne) and speaks a 'little' english.  Dr. Mondo - surgery is 173 av.F Roosevelt (road from big Leclerc across roundabout towards Carcassonne central). tel: 04 68 25 42 36. 

[Christine Animal]

We'll all be distressed soon!  The girl on the horse forum hasn't answered my pm.  I've just sent another!

JSA, that's a good one !  

 

[Pauline]

Hi

I dont live in France yet as still trying to sell uk house but log onto the forum regularly, being a animal lover I always check the animal section out and it broke my heart to see the little pony, I just wanted to say how lovely it is to have so many people who care about this poor little chap and I hope the situation gets sorted out soon, so sorry I cant do anything to help but I can see I will be adopting far to many animals once we arrive in France.

Pauline [:(]

[Jonzjob]

I had put another reply on earlier, but I don't know where it went. Finger trouble by me peut etra?

Pauline, you may not be here, but your concern does help honest! From what we have seen this is an isolated incident. The French look after their animals in the main, but as everywhere there are people who just don't care. I don't know if this case is calousness, ignorance or what else, but it is not what you would normally expect to see. The thing that worries me is that there are hundreds of people who must have seen this and have done sod all abut it to date! WHY? The times we have walked this path way we always see at least 8 or 10 people and this is not a frequent walk for us.

[Pads]

Hi Jonzjob

Good on you mate for taking this on your shoulders.....[:)]

I have just had a thought ....[I] How about trying the people with all the horses in that dip on the road to capbrespine , the Mini ranch?

They speak english and seem to care for there horses well. they may be able to put you in touch swith some one local who can take charge?? 

Try anything and anyone ..... to stop this poor horse suffering anymore

Goodluck to you [kiss]

[Christine Animal]

We may be getting somewhere !

The girl on the other forum said she went over there on Tuesday, took photos and videos.  There are four of them.  She says two have bad feet and back problems. They all have skin problems.  Tuesday afternoon she contacted a horse rescue organisation who are starting a procedure and they have also contacted another organisation, the only one able to intervene (but I don't know what that is).  She is now waiting to hear further from them.  If there is anything new, I shall of course post it here and/or let John know, but usually these things take time.  But at least something is being done.

 

[Pads]

Thats great christine , very sad though that there is more of them [:(]

[Jonzjob]

Yes P there are 4 in the field, but the others looked in a bit better condition and I must admit that we didn't see the bad feet on another one. There is a larger pony, a mule and a donkey.

[Morse98]

Thank goodness  the ball has started to roll and hopefully it won't be too long until something is done. Well done Jonzjob for instigating this and Christine for helping[kiss]. Will keep my fingers crossed that it all works out.

[flunch]

Thankfully finally been able to log onto LF to find out what is happening with the pony.   Not sure why I could'nt but never mind, over it now.     Thank heavens something is moving now, and thanks again JJ for being so caring.     Thankfully Christine has once again achieved results too.   Please keep us updated.

[AndreaJ]

Equine Rescue France is dealing with a similar case in the Vendee, a shetland with overgrown front hooves.  The owner rescued this pony from going for meat 15 years ago and said it had bad feet then, she won't believe that the pony is in pain because it can get around the field, and is currently refusing to give permission even for a vet to come and examine the pony.  When a pony has overgrown hooves like this it is likely that the pedal bones have rotated in both front feet, and possibly sunk (foundered).  This can be corrected (unless the pedal bones have come through the sole in which case most vets would advise euthanasia) by an experienced remedial farrier working with x-rays, but is a long and painful process and success is not guaranteed.  The pony is also likely to have damage to the flexor tendons, and possibly arthritis in its legs and back problems.   When a pony has been in pain for a long time it becomes very difficult to assess the real degree of suffering because there are no objective signs (normal heart rate, no sweating), thus it is difficult to convince an owner with little or no veterinary knowledge that the pony needs treatment/putting to sleep.

I'm very pleased to hear that a local organisation has become involved to help the pony, and look forward to hearing who they are and how they got on.  If you need further help, please do get in touch with Equine Rescue France (email [email protected]) as they work with other welfare organisations throughout France and may be able to help. 

[Jonzjob]

Sorry folks, but still no further news. But thank you for the extra gen Andria.

[Amanda 61]

Please let there be good news soon. I am haunted by this little shetland. He looks just like my first pony, Pam......50 years ago!!!!!!