COLT INFECTION HIND LEGS AND SPINAL CORD HELP HELP

Question:
 I have a colt that is 9 months old. He has been experiencing difficulties with his back hoof since April. We went to Panama to show him in a halter class. We were lunging him and saw that he was giving to one of his hind legs a tad. We gave him some stall rest, believing that it was due to traveling an extensive amount on the trailer. We gave him some bute at that time. He was better on the leg the more we walked him, and we showed him that weekend. After that we did not see anymore signs of any lameness until about a month and a half ago. The owner/trainer put him on a walker that is on gravel and it wore down the soles on his hooves. He started bleeding on them and eventually got to where he was in too much pain to move. However, for a while he was just a tad lame. He got so bad at that point that he formed and abscess. He quit eating at that point for SEVERAL days. We got the vet out and then he got better, and started eating once again. After that we started wrapping his foot and soaking it in Epsom salt. We took him to a show with the intention to show him because he was doing better on the let at this point. This was about 3 weeks ago. Since then the trainer was leading him around every day preparing him for the celebration. He continued to get better and better with the limping, until he showed no signs of being lame. He then began feeling better and started pulling away, so the trainer lunged him in a circle at a fast WALK for about 5 minutes. This was last Monday. He noticed that the colt began to limp on the same leg that was hurt, and he stopped him immediately. Since then the colt has been down in his stall and can't get up. He has a lot of will power and wants to live, however he just cannot get up on his back end without falling down. He was down in the stall from Tuesday until Thursday when the owner opened the stall door to see if the colt would attempt to get up to get out of the stall. Sure enough he did, and he later made it about 10 feet down the hall and fell down. He laid there until Saturday when the owner got him up for just a few minutes before falling again. He is still eating and has a GREAT appetite and is drinking plenty of water. He is extremely alert. He is going to the bathroom regular and his stools are hard, as they should be. He will sit up for about 20-30 minutes at a time. We have had him on B-12 and Red cell daily to keep him hungry. He WANTS to get up, but he cannot. You will catch him trying to get up to just get discouraged and look at his back end and fall back down. Then he will grunt and give you a very sympathetic look, like please help me. We had to drag him into the trailer today to take him to the vet's office. The vet at first just stood there and looked at us like "what are we suppose to do with him". Later on they called us back and told us that he has infection in both of the hind legs and spinal cord. He said that infection in the bone is extremely hard to treat, and is rarely successful. We need help with this precious baby. He has only had 9 months of life, and we want him to live longer. Any suggestions?
Answer:
 GIVE HIM REGULARLY VET EXAMS!!
Answer:
 It sounds like you missed the infection right off the bat. I have gone 3 rounds of medication with my horses and at times have seen the infection come back. I would say that you are lucky that it was such a young one and not alot of monetary value. Dont get me wrong I love my horses and would just about do anythign for them. And I am sure you love yours, but sometimes you have to weigh the options. You can let the colt suffer from pain and hope after extensive vet bills the little guy gets better. Or you can help him feel better until the end. I have seen bone infections in other animals that take weeks to complete the life cycle. Good Luck and I am sad to hear that they little guys is sick.