Monday, November 19, 2012

Lame Again, and Some Photos

Yesterday, Red came up lame again in the left hind.  No heat, no swelling, no tenderness, and walking and standing perfectly normally, but short striding with the left hind at the trot.  It's hard to say what caused his relapse, but it could have been any number of things - too many days working in a row, the farrier working on him last Friday, although he showed no sign of discomfort, or just plain running or playing in the pasture.  When I rode him yesterday, everything was fine at the walk, but as soon as I asked for trot I knew something was up - instead of trotting he volunteered a nice left lead canter instead - easier on the left hind than trotting.  I put him on the lunge, and sure enough, lame again.  He's not quite as bad as the worst he's been, but it's not a minor lameness, either.  So we're back to our regime of walks in hand for now.  He had two grams of bute yesterday, and another today, and at the end of the week I'll put him on the lunge again and see how he's doing.  These sorts of set backs are pretty common with soft tissue injuries.  If he improves again over time, we'll just continue rehabbing as slowly as we need to.  If he doesn't improve, we'll deal with that when the time comes.  He's a happy, healthy horse in all other respects, and for that I'm grateful, and his sweet, friendly personality makes me glad to spend time with him.

Today I had some time to take a few photos before the horses came in from turnout.  Dawn was standing around - she's in her darker winter coat:


She gave me the "Dawn eye":




Pie (left) and Red (right) were chowing down:


Pie had to come see what I was up to:


But quickly went back to eating:


Pie's got a big head, although the photo makes it look even bigger - some would call him homely, but I think he's very handsome, and he agrees:


Getting anything other than "nose shot" photos of Red is difficult, as he's so friendly:


Red went off for a nibble:


Lots of photos of Pie eating:


That big jowl comes in handy for big bites of hay:


The dynamic duo - love some of the expressions:






I enjoy taking photos of the crew - should do it more often!

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