He's lame :-(

I lunged Woody to check him out this morning and he was as sound as a bell to the left. But when I turned him to the right he was lame :-(   I could not tell whether he was lame on the inside of the left fore  or the outside of the right fore, but with no signs of any problems in his legs, and the lameness presumably coming from his foot,  I was devastated to have spoiled all my rehab work with one hunt.

I was walking disconsolately back to the stable when the elf on my shoulder said - "you can't tell which front leg he is lame on. His head is nodding upwards not downwards. It's on the back, you dork!"

Back in the stable I checked his back legs and found a lump on the inside of his right hind where he has kicked himself. Thank goodness for that! There isn't enough heat in it for it to be anything but a minor bruise, and I know already that he has a very low pain threshhold. I'd be surprised if he's not as right as rain in a couple of days (and if, so, I have some news for him - he's going again on Saturday!).

I did discuss putting boots on him, but SH and I decided that the risk of damage to tendons from overheating, or of getting severe rubbing from mud and grit which they were obviously going to collect, outweighed the potential good. That may have been the wrong decision, it may not, it's impossible to know.

But I am so pleased how well his front feet and legs have come through what was a major, major challenge.

Now back to Ace, here is a photo, with the arrow indicating where he has a knobble almost missing from his wither. It is there, but it is noticeably flatter than all the other knobbles. It may mean nothing, or it may mean a lot, we'll probably never know.

C