And I have no idea why. He has not been exercised for three days, but yesterday he started acting sore on his front legs. It is the left more than the right, but it is definitely both. He stands square, which is good, but occasionally he will point one of the front legs for a few seconds. He is reluctant to move, but is still a pig as far as feeding time. I have not been able to get any tenderness/reaction on the bottom of his feet, which means it isn't something "simple" like a stone bruise or an abscess. Definitely nothing going on with the tendons, and even though I keep imagining his fronts are warmer than his back legs, I can't really convince myself they are. I have been hosing his legs, and I'll use the ice boots tomorrow too, but this is really a mystery. He has a couple bug bites, as usual, but nothing that could possibly be causing the soreness. He has had something like this once before, on his right front. That was months ago after he somehow managed to bend one of the metal pipes in the fence and understandably was sore afterward for a few days. There is nothing bent this time and no signs of a struggle.
The best I can describe it is he looks like I do when I'm "bone sore" if you know what I mean. Like having the flu; all your joints ache, you have a headache, and you really do not want to jar anything so you walk very carefully. I'm afraid it could be his knees. I have mentioned before that I think they are a bit back at the knees, which makes them weaker, and having been a racehorse does predispose him to problems there. It is really upsetting though, because I haven't even started riding him yet - so did just taking him on one mile walks cause this? ( I borrowed some hoof boots from the tack shop for his back feet, and have been waiting until my order comes in to start riding him.) I sure hope this wasn't by caused by light leading exercise! Anyway, if he's not much better soon then we'll see what the vet says. Humph. I like my vet, but only in social situations...
Oh well, here's hoping tomorrow he feels a lot better and is chasing Mira around again like normal. I did take some pictures today - here is one. Tomorrow I'll put the rest up.
L
2 comments:
That stinks! If it makes you feel any better I highly doubt that your walking is causing him to be lame. They say handwalking is great for most types of lameness so I doubt it is the cause of yours. I know what you mean when you say that you just want to know what is wrong...my guy is driving me crazy because I can't even pin point where on the leg there is a problem. I hope your guy feels better soon.
Yeah, I guess handwalking shouldn't be the cause. He seemed to really like his walks and was getting a lot more energetic - I just wonder.
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