Lame.
Again.
Maybe still?
Monday happened and he was fine. Not noticeably off at all but sulky, behind my leg and refusing to leave the ground instead opting to trot a 2′ pole awkwardly.
This is where I get frustrated that I don’t know him well yet. If that had been Gem I’d have known. But I thought he was being sulky and behind my leg like he can get when he doesn’t agree that work needs to be done. Plus it was after dinner and his friends went out without him. He was in week three of being ridden 2-3 times a week and had the weekend off. I thought he just wasn’t working well.
Tuesday evening Dusty does the chores as he gets home before me. I watched him walk Eeyore back out and asked if he looked off or was it just me. He thought he looked fine.
Wednesday he looked perfectly fine.
Thursday I went to WEG and missed both morning and afternoon chores (thanks Hubby!) so I didn’t get to see him.
Today was my first lesson in months. It only happened because both my surgeries canceled last minute and I had a free afternoon on my hands. With a sound horse and free time what better is there to do???
He loaded fine. He unloaded awful and scraped his left hind a bit but it was dry and fine in minutes. I lunged him to get him freed up and moving and he was sound and moving normal.
After we returned to tack up I palpate his left hind and he had no swelling and was not reactive. Got on and got started walking. Trainer was happy with my position and improvement in flowing elbows and seat. I still need to sit up taller and rock my shoulders back, but it is way better than before. She hadn’t seen him go in months and was pleased with how he was being and his response to my leg.
Then we trotted left and right going large and doing circles and everything was going ok. He was being a bit sassy and the neighbors were blaring music that captured his attention more than I did, so we gave a brief break and started doing more figures to keep his brain more engaged in the ride.
And that’s when I felt it. 15 minutes into the ride. Three legged lame on the front right. I stopped and slid off with my stomach in a knot. I picked up his hoof and inspected it. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Well, for him anyway. Lots of chips. The odd ski slope shape. A new bruise to the outside heel but he wasn’t reactive to me palpating it. No heat. No visible area of abscess.
I got back on. Left was normal. Right : three legged lame.
Lesson over.
I’m not a crier. I’m usually pretty pragmatic in life but I admit to almost bursting into tears right there. The same crap as in August. Pasture sound at all gaits and playing with Pete. Sound at the walk. Dead lame on that front right at the trot. Odd that it started 15 minutes into the ride but it was very much there and likely it started way back on Monday when he refused to leave the ground.
I’ve texted my farrier to see about scheduling an emergency appointment for him to look at the hoof. It’s probably time for glue on shoes.
I’m worried though. I’m worried the shape of the hoof is so wonky that even shoes won’t help. I’m worried they won’t stay on. I’m worried that I keep blaming these bad feet when in reality there is some nagging soft tissue injury that heals just enough during his rest period and then flares when back in work.
I’m worried I bought a lame horse and my riding career is over for the foreseeable future because I can’t afford to have three retired horses and buy another to ride. And I wont sell him lame nor will I put him down just because I can’t ride him. So if he doesn’t come sound I’m screwed for hopefully many years as it would require the loss of Gem or Pete to get another and that isn’t allowed to happen for another decade.
Hopefully the farrier responds. That can be tricky sometimes. Hopefully he agrees he needs glue on shoes and can do it soon. Hopefully he comes sound with that and grows out his hoof beautifully and all this can be behind us and I won’t have to send frustrated, probably mildly depressing, texts to Emma about my lame horse being lame.
Hopefully.
The Roaming Rider 
OMG noooooo! Ugh I’m so sorry! That sucks so much. I’m keeping my finger’s crossed that the farrier can come out soon!
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I hope he can too. I’m tired of this rollercoaster
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So sorry, i now know the horrid feel in your gut of having a new but lame horse. Mine is finally sound luckily (unless deep wet sand, then no likey). Maybe Eeyore just needs a little bit longer to heal. Maybe he is just a big wuss. We have 2 horses at our barn that are kinda lame. Its super frustrating when they are fine for a bit then not. Hopefully some glue ons will help your guy out. ::hugs::
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Thanks. I could use some hugs. This sucks
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I think that the shoes are a great idea. It will help you to figure out what you are dealing with. X-rays of his feet might be useful too.
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The only reason I’m not panicking is that I have clean X-rays of his feet taken 1 week before he ruined his feet. Otherwise I’d be a mess right now
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ugh i’m just sorry. lame horses are the pits, and nothing is worse than not being totally sure about what’s actually up. hopefully you and your farrier can brainstorm to isolate variables and check things off the list. the whole ‘occam’s razor’ thing. it isn’t always 100% true with horses, but usually the simplest explanation proves to be the solution. hopefully in this case, that means getting shoes on will get you where you want to be. and if not? just more data to help figure out what else might be up. hang in there!!
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Thanks for texting with me. Waiting to hear from the farrier but I’m also wondering if he has a new abscess brewing. Having the hubby bring hoof testers home tomorrow
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Horses! Anyway I’m glad you got to see some things at WEG. I spent last week there to cover the dressage and had a great time. The media center was great and the whole thing was a terrific experience. I totally agree about the para riders.
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The para riders were inspirational. They all had huge smiles and big pats for the horse and looked so happy to even be there. Puts things in perspective.
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Oh no!!!! Bad pony with sore feetsies!!!! I do hope he gets better soon!!!! Hugs to you and a hopefully soon sound horse. All the lame blogger horses need to stop conspiring with each other and BECOME SOUND!!!!!! Glad you had a great time at WEG though!!! Something fun to keep your mind off of Eeyore
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I took all my frustration out today by cleaning tack and blankets for 4 hours. Nothing like having a lame horse to motivate getting chores done
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WEG looks pretty awesome. Sorry he’s lame 😦 I hope glue ons help. Getting the right shoes on did take Levi from 3 legged to sound so it can work…
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Glad you got to enjoy WEG!! YAY. Sorry about this shit with Eeyore/Doofus! The only thing I know about glue on shoes is that you usually have to keep in a bit to let them dry completely before letting out on grass (that might be wet). Feel free to text me if you need to vent!! I am here for you!
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He’d have to be sedated for glue ons. No way he will stand still long enough to let the glue even dry but we will see. I’ve talked myself into having the vet look at him before he gets shoes so they can see the hoof as it is. I’d bet they’d want to remove it anyway to get a good look and good X-rays so no sense shoeing just to rip it back off. Horses. I need a different hobby
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ugh maybe they will FIGURE Out something to treat so we can get you riding again!! Fingers crossed!! ha ha ha on the big orange duff crawling into your heart tho 🙂
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I have my crossables crossed for you
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I am really sorry to be reading this 😦
Were radiographs taken in the PPE?
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They were but his feet were very different looking and he was shod. They should get back to good with time
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