Ace came in today with cold feet, so I popped him on the lunge to see if he was still lame. If it was laminitis then at the very least he should have been less lame with the reduction in heat indicating reduction in inflammation. No change.
Ahh, rethink. Pus in the foot? No, no heat in the foot anywhere. Laminitis anyway? No, heat reduced and no sensitivity to stones, which was always odd as it is normally the first sign. OK, check the rest of the leg for swellings or heat. Swellings - none. Careful feel for heat - a suspicion of one leg being warmer than the other just below the knee on the inside. I have left him for a few hours and checked him again and now there is a marked amount of additional heat.
It's almost certainly a splint. Very common in 6 year olds and should only need a week or two's rest to be fine for the rest of his life. The other possibility is a check ligament strain but there is no filling and normally there would be, so I don't think so.
Radar is all in one piece and looks very happy. Here is a photo of me restraining him before he plummets pell mell down a very steep slope towards a narrow gate!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/harwood-images/7958491978/in/set-72157631471058290
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Have to laugh just a bit at the picture of you and Radar, mostly because I scrolled back to see the picture just before yours. There's this "little girl" giggling and smiling with almost no hold on her horse in just about...it seems...the same spot, followed by you with a very determined Radar and an equally determined you. Quite a contrast.
ReplyDeleteRadar looks so powerful and really amazing in that photo. We can tell he's pulling but, "Wow!!" He must be amazing to ride.
Hope Ace gets better soon and that it's nothing too serious to worry about.
yes he is amazing Jean. It's a pleasure to ride a horse who enjoys the job so much, even if he is a little over-exhuberent at times :-)
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Ace is still lame. Radar has had the day off.
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a "phew" in one way on the grounds that a splint in a youngster is much easier to manage than lami on a long term basis...
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