Vet Visit and a lonnnnnng drive

 Poor Danimal. At least he was home by 2 Sunday and got to chill the whole rest of the day. Because on Monday we left for Dr. Kate's at 9:30 am. It was a 5 hour haul and he didn't even have a buddy. And it was soooo hot. Sooooooo soooo hot. My truck read 98 degrees a good chunk of the time. But I had opened up all the windows and was driving fast so he got a good breeze. :) 

We got to Denali Equine in good time and I let him settle in the stall and get some water and potty while I unhitched the trailer. Then I took him for a long graze. But it was so hot and humid and buggy that we didn't stay out as long as we could have. I figured he would enjoy the fan and big fluffy stall and munching his hay. Sadly I didn't do a night visit but I am assuming he was happy enough. They did night check and tossed more hay and gave him his dinner, so... I went and got my hotel, showered, and went and got some dinner and spent the evening relaxing in the bed playing on the computer. Ahhh, I needed that too. 

  

This morning he was bright eyed and happy to see me. We were the first appointment so we took him out and Dr. Kate palpated him. She thought he felt great! We then took him and lunged him and he looked aweosome. He was still a twit and trying to grab the leadrope and thus when he was cantering right he kept cross cantering because he was snaking his head around so much. We were all giggling at him. He's such a ridiculous creature. I mentioned that he had dropped a bit of weight and topline and I wasn't sure if it was becuase of him being lame for 3 weeks and not in work or if it was the heat and weight loss or.. if there was something going on. She agreed but suspected it was weather and heat related. Plus I had upped his work load too. She said that he was moving well and not stuck or restricted anywhere and wasn't painful so she didn't think there was anything to worry about! Yay! She also said he seemed much less angry and protective and Julie said that when she was lunging him he seemed more playful about grabbing then lunge then protecting himself with it. I agree, but also suspect there was also some component of it being a game to him. 

 

We got back to the barn and she said that given that I had mentioned he was snatching at his shoulder a tiny bit and he was a little bit sore at the base of his neck (but not higher up) that she suggested we just inject his nerve roots. She said we could do just serapin (not even Ketamine) and then she wouldn't inject his facets just yet either. So yay!!! Works for me! This way we'll stay ahead of it I think. And we don't have to have much time off. 

So he got scrubbed and sedated and then injected. He was a good boy for it. And then we headed home once he woke up. Poor guy got rained on pretty hard around Aiken but... it did cool it off a bit. It was 100 degrees according to my truck!!! Good gravy! 

 

He was so happy to be home!! So.. he gets tomorrow and thursday off, then ground work Friday and Saturday, and then I'll hack him Sunday and then back to work Monday or Tuesday. Yay!!! He's got the farrier Tuesday and then hopefully his new saddle will arrive!!!