It's been a nice day today. First of all I had a luxurious amount of sleep, then went out for a breakfast in the park with Ricky. Those sunny autumn mornings are just stunning. Organised a few things around the house, managed to do some washing and a bit of tidying up.
Then off to see Kingsley. Mr. Trouble was shod all round this morning and it certainly made a difference to his general feet balance, hoof-pastern angles and size of hooves.
The swelling in the hind legs went down by half, the off hind is still quite puffy though. Here are some photos from last few days. Most recent is at the very bottom.
Pics.1: Second Day of box rest/bute (2xday). No shoes behind. All four legs filled.
Pic.2: Third day of rest, bute. Cold hosed twice a day 10 minutes each leg.
Pics.3: Today. Last day of box rest and bute. Shod all round.
The front legs are looking very well, there is no swelling present there at all. Not sure if that can be seen from those photos but hind legs have much more definition to the tendons and the swelling is now greatly reduced.
I found a tiny scabs at the back of his fetlocks which resemble very low grade mud fever/cracked heels marks. It was suggested to me that the swelling of this sort and joint stiffness could be caused by mud fever so will add this to the possible causes and discuss with the vet.
He is walking out of his stable much better but still doesn't look 100% comfortable. He will have another day rest tomorrow, then start 10 minutes walk outs in hand for a couple of days twice a day. Vet will come down on Friday to see him again.
Fingers crossed it is all to do with something straight forward and we can mend Mr. Trouble soon.
4 comments
Glad Kingsley feels and looks so much better! I've seen swelling with what we call scratches on the backs of the foot, that could be contributing as you say. Hope he continues to improve.
I hope you figure it out and that that boy gets better. I know from experience that it's no fun having your new horse be down for the count. In the first year I had Ace, he abscessed at 3 months, injured his leg and was out for month at 6 months, and at 8 months developed an infection in his foot it took the vet a while to find and was out for most of the summer. He's finally in good shape and sound again, and thrilled to be back in work. I'll be keep tabs and sending good thoughts across the pond to you and Kingsley.
Oh that's wonderful! What's with the white spot behind his shoulder blade?
Kate - I am hoping so too. Never thought I would hope for the horse to have a mud fever but I am now!
Jackie - thank you and wow, your experiences with Ace don't sound like fun :( I am just trying to stay positive and hope it's something relatively minor and he can be back to full soundness asap.
Patricia - I'm not sure what's that white spot is. It's an old scar and we were told he was bitten when in the field with other horses. However, I am now wondering if it isn't some sort of rain scald remains as it was quite scabby when he first got him. I know he looks shiny but that's thanks to lots of grooming and linseed oil! In fact, his skin condition isn't that great at all and has dandruff like appearance in mane area.
It's getting there but it's a slow process!
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