Quina
Quina is one of the horses at the rescue that belongs personally to Karen and is not one of the rescue animals but just shows that no matter what - nothing is straight forward. Luck never seems to be on our side......Update on Quina - she is fighting the biggest battle of her life....and so is Karen. This is heartbreaking. 02.06.2018
Below is the story of her battle with Laminitis.
This may be a very different story for a website for Greyhounds but it is a personal one from myself, Karen Schultz and it is written for horse owners, from my heart, in the hope that it will find people and they will know that they are not the only ones coping with the horrendous disease of their beloved horse with LAMINITIS.
It takes you and your horse to a degree of physical and mental exhaustion. Down a road of pain, frustration, misery and doubt to where this hellish disease will end.
I became tormented with what was the best for my dear Quina. There was a time when I just couldn’t bare her in such pain. Finding her at times laid groaning, I came very close to letting her go…..twice in fact.
It’s a situation that leaves owners feeling helpless as they watch this terrible illness. And it’s not just the little fat ponies that get laminitis, it can attack and equine.
Quina had 8 weeks box rest with her first bout, then 2 weeks she was fine, until it hit her again. My heart sank and the worst was still to come.
Luckily for me, my vet is willing to go along with treatment, many vets are not and it seems the easy answer is to put them to sleep!
Even the everyday treatment of medication is hard. You have got to look at every way to administer it as once your horse suspects there are drugs in their food etc!
The mornings of dread going down to the stables and being physically sick, wondering what your horse will be like. Each new day becomes a fear.
You can read and read the internet, do this, do that, don’t do this, don’t do that, until you feel so confused it really doesn’t work.
So, I thought, right, I will do what I feel is the right way for my horse. I will go with my gut feelings (it’s the best). I will also listen to what I believe my horse is needing and dig out all my own reserves of strength needed to get her through this.
Every day, even though she had painkillers, I had the vet out days and days for him to inject her with painkiller just to keep her comfortable when she was at her worst.
Quinas’ Laminitis was caused by an infection. People think that Laminitis is just an illness to do with too much feed or grass. That’s rubbish. It can be mechanical, stress and many other things that cause it.
Quina is certainly NOT overweight in any way. She is beautifully slim.
So 4 months down the line we still battle on and after Xrays etc , I had her fitted with the plastic imprint shoes to take the weight off her soles and the wall of the hooves.
I was so grateful when the main man agreed to do this and he was brilliant, so kind of him as he came all the way from Wiltshire to Quina. This is going to be a long job to get my horse right, maybe 6 months, maybe a year but as long as Quina can be brave, then I can be.
Five things you need when dealing with a horse with Laminitis:
No 1:
Insure your horse – you never know. I didn’t and when I bought Quina, I was told she was 12 years old, Oh no….she is actually 18. So for her to go through all this has proved to me she is happy and wants to survive but you all know yourselves when you have a bond with a horse, it’s the most powerful thing you’ve got for them to survive whatever. For very little, insure your horse. Quina is already over £7000.00 in bills.
No 2:
Gut Feeling – go with what you feel – another powerful aid to go with what your horse needs. Go with their character and strength. Believe in them and what they can cope with, which is probably more than you imagined.
No 3:
Choose your vet carefully – make sure you choose a vet that is in the profession for the right reason – COMPASSION – as Quinas’ vet is. One that will go out of his way to save an animal and work with you and one you can talk to without all the technical rubbish.
No 4:
Do not leave any stone unturned. Remember horses are spiritual and sensitive. Don’t rule healing powers out and for that I thank Janis Culotta Turek for sending healing to Quina – because believe me, she made a difference to Quinas’ recovery.
No 5:
You need someone close – to help you through this hell. Someone you trust, someone to listen and unfortunately, to take your frustration, anger, tears, illness and exhaustion. I have and I don’t know how she has put up with me. God knows but Dawn has been my backbone, which normally I don’t need. Believe me, this is a must to have someone there for you.
Look At Me Now!
This is an ongoing story throughout Quina’s recovery.
And I need to say a big thank you to Quina’s vet, Ian Laird and Sharon (Ians’ Partner) from New York in Lincolnshire, for all their help and support and professional input throughout Quinas’ illness. They have been a massive help. If there is any vet in the right profession, Ian is the one.
A big thank you to Andrew Poynton of Inprint Equine Foot care, who dropped everything to personally come and fit his imprint shoes on Quina. It was amazing to get the top man in the Country all the way from Wiltshire.
Karen Schultz X