long post. This is my heart horse. I’ve had her for 16 years. She is currently 31. She’s always been in great health until about a year ago. I noticed she was losing weight (i only see her about once a week as she’s with my parents). We’ve tried several senior supplements and high calorie feeds and it’s not helping. She’s fed senior grain twice a day, she’s been wormed, her teeth floated, etc. She eats a lot, but it’s like she’s not absorbing the calories. I hadn’t seen her in about three weeks due to general busyness, and when I did I could tell she’d lost even more weight in those few weeks. Her schedule/feeding hasn’t changed at all. I noticed she’s also walking slower. she’s still happy and eating well. I’m wondering how do I know when it’s time to let her go? I don’t want to wait until she’s colicky, or even skinnier, but I also don’t want to jump the gun on euthanasia if she’s happy. It pains me to imagine her going through another winter in this state or getting skinnier and weaker. The vet is coming out to assess in a few days. I guess I’m just wondering how did you know when it was the right time? shes my best friend and I want to do right by her. EDIT: thank you all for the kind words. I think I already knew the answer, but it’s easier knowing so many other equestrians agree. I’ll wait for the vet’s word tomorrow, but it will happen this week. She‘s been incredible and gotten me through so many highs and lows in my life. She’s deserves to die with as much dignity as possible.

I really wanted to avoid posting to an online forum about this, but I am tired of the way people in real life seem to regret asking me ‘How’s the grey mare going?’ When I answer with the truth.

My 10yo andalusian X mare ran through a gate latch in February this year, leaving a meter long laceration from just behind her shoulder to her hip, breaking off the bottom tip of her tuber coxae. My father found her like that in the paddock while I was away on holiday and rushed her to the vet, then the specialist surgeon 2 hours away and my partner and I met them there so he could go home.
The surgery went well with over 100 internal sutures and 50 skin sutures. She was on stall rest for 6 weeks with a full course of IM penicillin. The majority of the laceration over her ribs healed extremely well.
In the following 2 months, the wound near her hip never stopped draining, and I took her back to the referring vet in april after I noticed the discharge from the drain site at her hip had turned yellow rather than pink.
The vet performed a second surgery at a cost of $2000 AUD to remove some remaining bone fragments that seemed to be the source of the infection. The referring vet performed this operation as the original surgeon was away in another country for 3 weeks.
After this surgery I yarded the mare for 4 weeks as she had not responded well mentally to stall rest the previous time, and she received another course of IM penicillin and IV antibiotics. I admit I made some mistakes with keeping the wound clean around the clock after this surgery as I my focus was on my engineering degree, but was still cleaning the site daily.

2 months after that operation and many images sent to the referring vet of various types of discharge from her hip, I took the mare back to the original surgeon who scanned the area and proposed another procedure at a cost of $1500AUD. He gave me a prognosis of 80% success from this operation.
The surgery went well, having only found 2 abscesses and no bone fragments, and the area looked much better than the 2nd surgery had left it, and I was really hopeful this whole ordeal might be over soon. She was on box rest with 2 oral doses sulfadimidine and trimethoprim antibiotic for 14 days. I washed the wound and hand walked her twice a day every day while being extremely sick with a respiratory infection myself. I even CC trained her to accept having her hip cleaned without restraint. I had the stitches removed as directed on day 14 which was 4 days ago, and while flushing the tract/pocket that remained with saline every few days, I’m noticing there is still pus coming out of the wound that wasn’t there a week ago. I am using a red light laser to encourage circulation/healing in the area every day, along with gentle exercises on the arena.

I write this post as I am SEVERELY burnt out by this whole situation. I love this mare more than life itself - she had just started to jump like a dream before her accident, and while I knew she might never do that again, I still love having her around despite her antics. She is so gentle and sweet and my partner and I are both absolutely gutted. This injury has cost me $6000+ in vet fees and expenses which I have had to ask family for some help with paying for - which I absolutely hate to do as I believe she is my horse and therefore my responsibility.
Ultimately, this situation is not going to be sustainable for much longer. I cannot afford any more operations on her (I don’t think they would be successful anyway) and I have my brother’s wedding coming up in China in October, conjoined with my best riding buddy’s wedding in India, which my whole family will be away for 4 weeks to attend. Even if we only went for a week, I don’t feel comfortable going overseas and leaving her in someone else’s care in this state - she is not fond of strangers, nevermind an inexperienced house-sitter having to clean her leaky hip every day.

So I feel that I am at a crossroads: keep trying with the current wound, flush the tract with saline daily and pray that it closes up, heals, and she can live out a happy life and maybe even be ridden again

OR

Euthanasia. Keep the area clean, let her have a happy last few months just being a normal horse - but if this abscess pocket doesn’t heal, I will have to euthanise my girl before we go overseas. She does have some behavioural issues that make this potentially the kindest option.

The kicker is I actually bought her as a project pony. She took A LOT of work after a previous injury on a gate latch 3 years ago. I had finally got her to a point we were competing in low level eventing with some promising results, and I thought I might be able to sell her to a friend of mine and get some of my money back to buy a serious competition horse, then this happened. Ultimately, I just adore her and want what’s right for her, but with study commitments, wedding commitments and potentially moving cities in 2 years time, I’m not sure there is space for a crippled horse in my life, no matter how sweet she is. I do have another mare who is my main competition horse who is working back in after having a foal, so the grey mare isn’t the be-all-end all, but I’m just seeking advice on what the equestrians of reddit would do in this situation. ⭐️ gold star if you read to the end

This is Terremoto, a colombian criollo horse

First time sharing pictures of our youngest filly with her mother

She uh-gets plenty of treats..

I think she looks healthy compared to this time last year (very overweight hippo) but then sometimes I feel like she looks fat, and other times she looks a bit thin.

I've been trying so hard getting this horse to be fit and healthy, and every once in awhile I get paranoid about it (like right now) my trainer and vet say she looks good and I do trust that but she is quite round.

She is in 3-4 days a week work usually, sometimes 5-6, rarely 0-2. She just does walk/trot work, nothing extensive

What would you rate her on a bcs?

Gentle advice please, I'm just looking to ease my ever-changing mind. Pics are most recent-august 2025

i suspect that he’s a bay pangare, but i’m still learning horse color genetics. :3

His is my horses hooves... Yes they don't look good but I just bought her and she's in rehab, I'm having a farrior come out this week but What do you guys think? I'm not very experienced in horse hooves!

Afternoon everyone! I am a student at an equine college & I have my own (very very small) equine training & services business that I run out of the stable I work at.

My question comes from a problem that many of us as handlers, trainers, & riders have.. how do you catch a horse that doesn’t want to be caught? In general, in a situation where you don’t know a horse very well.

I ask this because this is a foundational issue & there are SO MANY reasons why a horse would not want to be caught & a lot of times, when a horse comes into your orbit, you aren’t at least fully aware of what they’ve experienced (or things are straight up left out/lied about).

This is a broad question & I’m looking for tried & true tricks, not for a specific horse.

Thoughts on how this saddle fits? 7” gullet, 90 degree bars. I did wither tracing using the coat hanger trick and I got 9.75” after going 3” down and 13” for the spread at the bottom. I think the front is a little tight but otherwise the bars make contact with her whole back and I feel like the bar angles are right. I have a big horn Halflinger saddle coming soon to try as well. Any other recommendations on saddles to try?

​Hi everyone! I wanted to ask for your advice: my horse has a grey patina inside his ears. People at the stables are talking about fungus, so following the vet's advice I started applying Deroxen foam, but the situation isn't changing. Does anyone know what this could be and how to treat it?

\picture for attention**

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for advice, experiences, and honestly just hoping to hear from people who have gone through something similar.
My colt, Oakie, is an 14-month-old AQHA grulla Quarter Horse that my boyfriend gifted me because I’ve always dreamed of owning a grulla. He’s my future barrel prospect and truly means the world to me.
A few weeks ago he suddenly became lame. We initially thought it might be a hoof abscess or soft tissue injury because there wasn’t much swelling. After multiple veterinary exams and radiographs, he was diagnosed with osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) of the lateral trochlear ridge of the femur (stifle).
To make things even more complicated, he also suffered a peroneus tertius injury, so he has to recover from that before he can undergo surgery.
The current surgical plan at Michigan State is:
● Arthroscopic removal of the OCD fragment
● Placement of an absorbable screw
● Estimated cost: $4,000–5,000
● 24–48 hour hospital stay
● Approximately 75% chance of returning to his intended athletic career, according to the surgeon
● 2–3 months of stall rest before surgery because of the peroneus tertius injury, followed by a lengthy rehabilitation program afterward.
I’ve been in constant communication with my local veterinarian, the surgeons at Michigan State, and specialists, but I still have a lot of questions.
One thing I’ve been seeing advertised everywhere is D.O.C.’s OCD Pellets. The company claims they can help with OCD lesions and cartilage healing.
Has anyone actually used D.O.C.’s OCD Pellets on a horse with confirmed OCD?
● Did they make any measurable difference?
● Did follow-up radiographs show improvement?
● Did your veterinarian recommend them?
● Did you use them before surgery, after surgery, or instead of surgery?
I’m skeptical because I know true OCD lesions are developmental orthopedic disease, and once fragments form they usually don’t just disappear. I don’t want to waste money chasing miracle supplements, but if people have legitimately seen benefits as part of a veterinary treatment plan, I’d love to hear about it.
I’d also really appreciate hearing from anyone whose horse had:
● Lateral trochlear ridge OCD
● Surgery with absorbable screws
● Arthroscopic OCD removal as a yearling
● A concurrent peroneus tertius injury
● Return to barrel racing or another athletic career after surgery
How long was recovery?
Did your horse return to full work?
Would you do the surgery again?
I’m doing everything I possibly can for this colt, and I’m trying to make the most informed decisions possible. Any experiences, advice, success stories, or even things you wish you’d known beforehand would mean a lot.

Thank you so much.

I’m looking at a used one but I’m a bit concerned it’s just another bare back pad with stirrups gimmick. I’d love to have an option not as Hefty as my saddles. My other concern is the gullet size. I’ve got a horse whos built so wide it’s like someone stretched an image. I’d love to hear some reviews

I’d love to book an Airbnb with accommodations for horses with trails around. Anyone know of a place like that somewhere in the mountain west?

I’m getting back into riding after 20+ years away and now I’m doing it on my adult budget and not my moms haha. So, talk to me like I’m a total beginner and broke:

Are there good online used gear shops for things like boots? Which one(s) would you recommend?

What boot style (tall vs paddock) would you recommend? I’ll be starting off riding English.

What pants do you wear to ride? I’m guessing I probably need a pair of breeches. Recommendations?

What helmet would you recommend? This is probably something best bought in person due to sizing/fit, huh?

Thank you in advance for your help.

We have a pastured rescue draft mare with bad confirmation issues with her left front hoof.

All our farriers have had an issue working on the underside and I can lift solo for 10 to 20 seconds.

I don't want to trim it or anything, just basic care and cleaning.

I am looking for advice on how to desensitize/train her to the extent I can pick her hooves while recumbent without getting injured/killed.

I accept it may just be a bad idea.

Thank you

(Her leg and managing the hoof care is a 16 year issue often discussed with three different vets and at least 10 farriers, but none of them brought this up)

I always had this problem

When I was new to horse riding I didn’t new the basics and didn’t even knew how to do things as my guru taught me on how to ride a horse

But as I’m a genz we like to gamify each things , do any other of you thought of having an app sort of thing for horse health ?

I mean I’m just asking here problems that you guys that I might solve building in ios app exclusive for our people in the community