lee

Long story short I have a horse who was gelded quite late (which was 2 years ago now) in that time he has never settled down and in fact his hormonal reactions seem to have progressively gotten worse. He responds very badly to my being pregnant at present and has recently begun trying to mount another gelding and biting his genitals - they are seperated now. I just wonder if anybody else has experienced this kind of thing with a horse gelded later in life? There are further psychological issues stemming from a poor past also, some are improving some not but the hormonal behaviour is what has me most concerned, he reacts very badly to a mare in season, pregnant women obviously and now seems so frustrated he just doesn't seem to care what it is.... Serious answers only please guys :)

Hi there,

I feel (and my current dr agrees) that I suffered undiagnosed pre eclampsia during my first pregnancy. My symptoms included BP consistently around the 140/90 mark for about 8 weeks, severe pain in upper left abdomen, gained nearly 10kg in fluid, had protein in my urine but only on one occasion, they never did a 24 hour urine collection, I also suffered from PUPPP and developed black spots in my vision. I was induced at term and during labour my bp and bubs heartrate "shot through the roof" in the words of the dr and she was ripped out pretty quick. I continued to suffer severe odema and relatively high bp for about 2 weeks. I am now pregnant with my 2nd child and at 4.5weeks my blood pressure is already reading at 135/85 (when not pregnant my bp usually sits on the low side of normal). The dr feels high bp early in pregnancy can be an indicator of pre-e, however my bp was much lower then this last time around. Has anybody been in a similar situation and if so can you put my mind at ease a little please? I appreciate any info I can get, all my research suggests there isn't a great deal I can do to prevent it but I'll do what I can anyhow. Thanks in advance

I got my current horse a few months back. When he came to me he was beiong ridden in a happy mouth snaffle. He was playing with this bit like mad and as I'm not a fan of them either I changed him to a loose ring snaffle. This seemed to go really well he settled down with the playing and responds really well to it. Anyway within a few weeks he came down with a bit of a cold/virus whcih consisted of a cough and a runny nose. The cough was only apparent after he'd been running around or during exercise. The runny nose was gone within a week but the cough still lingers on a good three months later. I've had the vet out she felt it was just an upper respiratory irritation and prescribed some anti-inflammtories. These made no difference and I've also tried a number of herbal remedies to no avail. Otherwise he is the picture of perfect health and the cough was only apparent when he was being ridden. He'd have a cough and toss his head around a bit then settle down and be fine. It's a dry type cough.

Anyway the last few days I've tried different things on the lunge and under saddle thinking perhaps he wasn't warmed up enough and have come to realise he is only coughing when the bit is in his mouth and he is playing with it like mad. I've even tried a little bit of cod liver oil straight in his mouth to lubricate everything in there, made no difference.

My next step of course would be to try another bit, but before I do I wanted to see if anybody else has ever experienced this before? I've worked with hundreds of horses and never seen or heard of anything like it. His teeth are in good order too! I guess my next step would either be to try the happy mouth bit again or go for a french link snaffle to see if it stopped annoying him. Any ideas or experiences are greatly appreciated

My 5yo arab gelding has developed shin splints, unfortunately as far as I can tell it can only have come about from poor conformation as he has only just been started under saddle and has only done very light work (and most of it is on sand so I imagine that softens the blow anyway). From everything I have read, and from all the conversations with people who've had horses with them this is likely to be something that is going to plague him for the rest of his life. What do any of you know about them? I am concerned that he is just not going to be able to withstand much riding at all if any, ever. Before the splints became apparent he threw me, obviously due to pain though I didn't know that at the time, however I sustained some very nasty injuries from that fall and have been advised that I risk being able to walk if I were to fall like that again. Now not riding at all isn't an option, however I can be sensible and not ride a horse who is likely to continue to throw me. Milo is a very good boy but if these splints are going to continue to bother him then there is a very good chance he will throw me again if in pain and it would be like riding a ticking time bomb. I am trying to figure out what to do with him. If there is a good chance he will recover and go on to be able to be ridden a reasonable amount then I will keep him and battle on some more with him and maybe get someone else to finish his training for me if it's going to be too dangerous. If he's not going to be good for anything more then light riding though then I think I am better off getting another horse a bit older and quieter that is able to be ridden with minimal issue. Any info/opinions would be greatly appreciated. If I do decide that I will get myself another horse I would either keep him myself as a paddockl companion (though he'd be an expensive lawn mower) or try to find him a good home but I wonder whether anyone is going to want a 5yo gelding who can't do much and possibly can only handle very light exercise yet requires an experienced rider - experienced riders tend to want to do more then light riding... Anyhow would love to hear your thoughts, and thanks in advance

Hi forgive me this may be a little long. Milo is my 5yo arab gelding whom I have had since he was a yearling. I started him under saddle a few months back and just recently he has come up shin sore (I'll go into more detail soon). Since I started him under saddle I worked him daily for about 4 weeks, then 2 on 2 off for a couple of weeks and have since dropped back to weekly, because I noticed he gets very sour if you ride him more then 2-3 times a week tops. Before I broke him in I did some daily groundwork, lungeing and the likes for a couple of months, previous to that he was spelled for 18m or thereabouts as at that stage he was a stallion and I was pregnant. Before that I used to work him (just lungeing and other groundwork) once or twice a week since I got him as a yearling. So I would say that most, if not all the work he has done to date has been light-moderate work... more on the light side in my opinion - lots of walking, a fair bit of trotting and not a huge amount of cantering, enough but I concentrated alot more on his walk and trot. 4 weeks ago I was riding him and he was being an absolute devil, did NOT want to trot at all and was just generally quite disagreeable, that ride finished with him rearing right up and dumping me a beauty (I sustained multiple injuries). I checked him over then for any signs of lameness or soreness and found nothing. Over the weeks that followed I noticed first a small bump on the inside of his right foreleg right between the knee and fetlock. That slowly got bigger and bigger and is now a significant hard bony type lump, it feels like knitted bone - as if there's been a fracture there. He also has two fluid filled pockets on the top of his fetlock one on the inside, one on the outside, which have progressively gotten more and more noticeable. There is no heat and to my knowledge (he is handled regularly) never has been. There is also a small hard lump like the original one starting on the other shin also now, though it doesn't currently seem to be bothering him at all. He is not lame in any way, however it is clearly bothering him as when asked to go into a trot or canter he is throwing his head around like mad and his gait is not smooth at all. He also gets mildly agitated when you touch it. Other then the above mentioned lumps there is no swelling of the leg or joints. Previous to this date I think the one or two rides previous I'd noticed he was really "jumping into the trot" but it seemed more comical then anything and I put it down to his youth he has some pretty quirky habits I just assumed this was becoming another.

Anyhow I had the vet out today and she told me pretty much nothing I didn't already know - it could be a stress fracture of the cannon bone, it could be some form of trauma to the splint bone, it could be bone chips or it could be the suspensory ligament. She doesn't feel it requires any urgent attention as he is not lame and there's no heat. She recommended I rest him for a month and if it's still the same then get some xrays done. She said if he were a racehorse she'd xray him immediately but she doesn't feel there is any need for it and says the treatment at this stage would be the same regardless. I have been looking up all these injuries on the net, I am vaguely familiar with them, enough to have a rough idea it was one of them before she came, but have never had a horse with any of them and have only ever seen shin soreness in racehorses. All the info I've found seems to point toward heavy work as the culprit and this has me stumped as like I said he's only ever done fairly light work and most of it is done on a fairly thick sand surface so the impact should be minimal. It then occurred to me at various points over the years I've had him he has shown some signs which could suggest that this has been an underlying problem all along. He has always been funny about having his front feet picked up which I found odd as most young horses in my experience tend to be funny about their hind legs. ALso a couple of times whilst he's been trotting I have thought that he looked like he was moving funny in the front, not lame just not quite right but was never able to pinpoint a cause and because it happened intermittently I put it down to him being "young and all over the place" or that I was just seeing things cause often it's only happen briefly then he'd seem fine.

So anyway my question is for anyone who has had a horse with any of the above mentioned conditions or any other type of shin soreness. What does this sound like to you? What sort of things have you tried that have been helpful? Is there anything else I can do at this stage or do I just follow the vets orders and be patient and finally in your experiences have these horses gone on to be fine or affected by this for the rest of their lives? Thank you kindly in advance

Three weeks ago I took a nasty fall from my horse and did a great range of injuries. I have been seeing my dr and chiropractor quite alot for treatment and just this week my chiropractor informed I had fractured my collarbone. I had suspected as much anyway and had mentioned it to my dr when he was ordering other xrays but he was more focused on some other injuries (pelvis, back and wrist) and didn't give it much thought. I was so sore everywhere else also that I didn't think too much more of it. Anyhow my chiropractor advised that I have a hairline fracture which is already healing over and that there's no need for xrays or anything now as they don't do anything for them anyway unless they are displaced which mine isn't. She seems to think it's healing well.

Anyhow I just wanted to know if there is anything else I should or shouldn't be doing to help it heal and whether anybody actually thinks it's worth going back for more xrays so long after it happened? I have googled it and the main thing that stood out to me is they all seem to suggest wearing a posture support sling, should I go get one or is it too late? These are probably better questions for my dr I know, but to be honest I'm sick of the sight of him and don't want to go back unless it's absolutely necessary.

I came off my horse today and landed on my left side. I have a massive bruise over my hip bone and it is incredibly painful to touch and walk. When I am walking as that leg goes back and my good leg comes forward I am getting pain in my lower back/the back of my pelvis. I have googled hip injuries and a hip pointer is what I appear to have done, however I can find anything that says whether that should cause pain in the back or whether it's something else? I know I should probably get a dr to look at it but I'm stubborn and really don't want to be stuck at the hospital all night on good friday they'll be so busy...

My daughter is 16mo and has been acting up quite a bit lately. She's always had a fair temper on her but just this last week or so she has started biting people or objects when she gets angry or she will bang her head on stuff, for example earlier today she followed me into the toilet when I was finished I said come on and she didn't want to so she screamed, threw herself on the ground and started smashing her face into the tiled floor. She is hurting herself and I am quite concerned about it. Is this a normal behaviour for a toddler to do when they are frustrated or could there be something more to it. She is getting a bit of a runny nose so I am thinking perhaps her feeling unwell could be something to do with it but it still seems a little extreme.

I have a 5yo Arab who has only been gelded for 12m, previous to that he was running with mares and has foals on the ground. Since he was gelded he's settled down heaps but does still exhibit some coltish tendencies. I am breastfeeding a 15mo child and on numerous occasions have suspected that he may be reacting to my hormones, as he gets an erection and starts acting very stalliony - prancing, biting, nickering etc Some of his behaviour has been more dangerous - charging, kicking etc... I've also noticed he is a very different horse to handle if his handler is male - so recently I began wearing my boyfriends shirts and deoderant whenever I have been out to handle him and have noticed a huge difference in his behaviour towards me. I am interested in hearing opinions as to whether this is all in my head or whether there is some validity to this? Either way as long as it's working I'm happy... just curious would love to hear some opinions

Ok so I am 14 months post partum now and my periods returned at about 10m and I have been suffering from severe pms for a day or two every month before my period starts. I have never had pmsbefore and I am behaving like a real psycho. Has this happened to anyone else after having a baby and if so is there anything you can do about it? I am still breastfeeding too so am kind of hoping that's got something to do with it and maybe it will cease when we wean, would love to hear your experiences thanks in advance

Ok so I am 14 months post partum now and my periods returned at about 10m and I have been suffering from severe pms. I have never had pmsbefore and I am behaving like a real psycho. Has this happened to anyone else after having a baby and if so is there anything you can do about it? I am still breastfeeding too so am kind of hoping that's got something to do with it and maybe it will cease when we wean, would love to hear your experiences thanks in advance

Ok I am simply after individual opinions here I am armed with all the facts I just cannot make a decision. My daughter is 12mo and breastfed and I had hoped to go until at least 2yo or until she weans herself, however as my cycle has returned I need to start taking contraception again. My partner and I do not want another child for a few more years yet. I am unable to take the mini pill, or have an implanon or mirena as they react with me. I also am unable to use condoms as I had a bad stitching job of an episiotomy and the area is still quite tender, it's bearable most of the time but the latex irritates it way to much. We are currently just pulling out but I know this is not a reliable method obviously and it is only a matter of time before I fall pregnant again. My only real option is to take the combined pill which is fine but regardless of popular opinion is not safe whilst breastfeeding. So I am at a cross roads, do I continue to breastfeed and risk falling pregnant when I really don't want to (it's probably worth adding that we can support another child there's no real reason for not wanting another yet it's just how we want to do it) or do I wean my daughter now before either of us really want to? What would you do if this was you? Thanks guys, please no smart replies I am having a really hard time with this I love breastfeeding my daughter and feel very strongly about it but I really don't want to have my children so close together I want to enjoy my daughter for a while first

My daughter is 12mo and in the last week and a bit has had her 12m needles, is teething, has an ear infection and mild croup and has just been generally unwell. She was already a very fussy eater and not eating a great deal in the way of solids and having 6-7 breastfeeds a day. Now she is pointblank refusing all solid foods and wants to be breastfeeding all the time. If I give her finger food it gets thrown, if I put a spoon to her mouth it gets sent flying, if I hold her hands and put a mouthful in she spits it straight back out. I realise that exceptions need to be made when they are sick and sore but is it really ok for her to be eating nothing other then her breastmilk? I'm wanting to try and cut her back on the breastmilk as I may have to wean her in the next few months but it's beginning to look like that's never going to happen, I'm at a loss any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Okay this might seem like a silly question but if I want to put some fake tan on for a special event and avoid putting it on my breasts, (it will be on arms chest etc though) is there any risk to my daughter when she is feeding? I know some soaps etc can affect it so I wonder if the same is true of fake tan... Thanks in advance

I realise it varies alot but I'm wondering what is a general guideline as to how many breastfeeds my 12mo daughter should have a day and how much solid food (just roughly of course). My daughter still has about 6-8 feeds in a 24hr period sometimes only 5, but usually 6 or more. She has three meals a day and snacks in between but she is not a big eater when it comes to solid foods at all. She is a serious "booby addict" and I feel that she is having too much breast and not enough food. She has only gained 300g in the last 2 months which has dropped her down to the 10th percentile in the weight for age chart. I'm not overly concerned about her weight as she is still growing well, looks healthy and is developing greatly (walking, talking, etc) but it does worry me a little. There is plenty of information available for the first 12months but not so much beyond that. Also if I am to cut her breastmilk back how would I do it, she goes mental if she doesn't get her boobies when she wants it? Please note too I cannot supplement with regular milk as she is intolerant, but I can use lactose free options, is this what I should do? Thanks in advance I appreciate any advice

Can somebody please tell me if this is a normal stage that my daughter is going through?

She has been so hard to handle lately it isn't funny and absolutely nothing I or her father have tried seems to help. She keeps trying to get into things that she isn't allowed, the more you try to tell her she can't do or have something, the more she wants it. If you tell her no she smacks, bites, kicks, pinches and screams. When you try to dsitract her with something else, another toy or game you either get attacked or the toy thrown back at you. If you try to put her somewhere (ie playpen or cot) for some time out she screams the house down like she is being murdered. And God help anybody who tries to change her nappy.

Im tearing my hair out can somebody please tell me that this is normal and that it will end soon or if you've been through the same thing can you please tell me what things you found helped... Thanks in advance

Hi, I am 10m post partum and my cycle has just restarted. I am just curious as I have heard that you are more fertile after having a baby then at any other time, does anybody know if this is true or what is your personal experience? Previous to having my daughter they thought that I was unable to fall pregnant as I'd been trying for 3 years with no luck and was due to go for further testing (had had some done already) when I fell pregnant, the reason was never known; I suffered many ovarian cysts and period irregularities and pain constantly plus had numerous infections inside my uterus, they suspected endometriosis and have done 4 laparoscopies to try and diagnose a problem and never found one. They also ran dye through my tubes and check my blood hormone activity and all was normal. I'm not about to start trying to fall pregnant again just yet but am just interested to know if that's the truth about being more fertile and also for people who have had trouble concieving their first child and then gone onto have more, was it easier to fall pregnant the subsequent times? Thanks in advance

Hi this might seem a silly question and it probably but anyway I was carrying my 10mo daughter on my hip when I noticed her hands were incredibly blue! It only lasted for about 30seconds and otherwise she was fine her temperature normal and there was nothing constricting her arms. I had just bought her inside about 5-10mins before this, she'd been asleep in the car, it wasn't freezing cold but it was a bit chilly she didn't feel cold though and her hands weren't blue when we first came in. Is there a perfectly normal explanation for this that I am missing or should I be concerned?

My daughter is nearly 10mo and has got 6 teeth coming through and obviously is in a considerable amount of pain. I had been giving childrens panadol and a herbal teething relief mixture but they were not helping and was told by our nurse yesterday to give her childrens nurofen instead of the panadol. I went and got some and gave her the correct dose for her age and weight. She seemed quite happy after this singing and playing. About 2 hours or so later she began to have a bit of diarrhoea - not extreme just a bit. Later on when I gave her the next dose within minutes she started giggling her head off and seemed reall dazed - for lack of a better term she appeared to be high. She spent the rest of night fairly sleepy and woke up this morning with a bit of an eczema looking rash under her eyes and slight purple/blue bruise like colouring under her eyes on the inside corners. She also smelled like she'd had a spew which she does do a little during the night anyway. The diarrhoea has continued also, though I wouldn't say it's worsened I'm not sure what is normal, what is teething and what is possibly a reaction to the nurofen here. I've rang the nurse line and the drug information centre and both said it's not a typical reaction to nurofen and they both said that perhaps the "stoned" behaviour was just because she was so happy to be painfree but I don't buy it. Has this happened to anybody else's child? Do you think I should be concerned? Both recommended that I continue with the nurofen at the same dose and while I don't want her to suffer as these teeth are coming through I'm not sure I'm happy to continue with the nurofen. I'd appreciate any advice or information, I have googled it also and found nothing to explain these symptoms as far as the nurofen is concerned.

I am 9 and 1/2m post partum and my periods are just resuming. I am still breastfeeding. I'm just wondering after this long what should I expect? Is it supposed to be just a normal period now and go into a normal cycle again? I should add that I have always suffered from heavy and overly frequent periods though that had settled down about 3m before I fell pregnant. I know if it gets a foul smell to see a dr is there anything else that might suggest it needs attention? I suffered with a decent bout of PMS in the lead up which I've never had before, is this something tht will continue to happen now? Sorry for all the questions I'm just not sure what to expect and what is normal from here on in... All input is appreciated