When my draft-cross filly was 3 yo, she had what really was an abscess. However, Dr. Brian Johnson of Vancouver, WA, came out and diagnosed her with a "quittor," which was common in draft horses about... Read More
When my draft-cross filly was 3 yo, she had what really was an abscess. However, Dr. Brian Johnson of Vancouver, WA, came out and diagnosed her with a "quittor," which was common in draft horses about 100 years ago when they were used to pull plows, etc. (I found out later it's a very outdated diagnosis but I trusted vets at the time). Dr. Johnson told me that abscesses "never broke out over the top of the hoof" (which I also found out later was not true) so it had to be a quittor. I hauled my filly into Columbia Equine where Scott Hansen, DVM, aka, "The Leg Man," automatically followed Dr. Johnson's diagnosis and performed surgery on my filly which consisted of cutting into/opening up her left foot. He later told me he didn't find anything (i.e., anything that looked like a quittor). I took her home a day or 2 later (with antibiotic beads inside her surgical wound) and 1 or 2 weeks later, she was still lame. I brought her back to Dr. Hansen and told him I thought I saw something on the bottom of her foot. I said, "look at the bottom of her foot, look at the bottom of her foot." He finally did and responded, "you're right, it is an abscess." This is $3,500 later in unnecessary surgery for a blatant misdiagnosis. I'm sure I could have filed a veterinary malpractice claim against both vets but I chose not to. However, I will never use Dr. Johnson or Dr. Hansen, "The Leg Man" (who is obviously not "The Leg Man") ever again. Read Less