UNCLE!!!!!

 Oh for the love..... I can't even... 

Yesterday was Dan's first day of a week of groundwork. I worked all day but did manage to do a quick lunge with him. Like... 10 minutes. He wanted to canter some although it was still not a good canter. And he was still tripping an awful lot. Jeesh. I was a little disapppointed. sigh... I want instant results. Sigh. 

So then today... I caught him and thought we woud do some pillar walking up and down hills in the pasture. I put the lunge cavesson on and we started off. He was a turd. We did one side okay but when I switched to the other side he got rowdy and tried to pull away a few times. Fine monkey... we'll just go lunge then. So we headed to the roundpen and I sent him out. As soon as he picked up the trot, he was lame. Wait... what?!?! You were sound yesterday. And not just subtly lame...like, even I could tell it was the left hind. He didn't want to advance it. Sigh... I pulled him up and sent him the other way to see and he was just as bad tracking left. I did manage a quick video because... WHY?!? 

I checked him. He had no back pain... no pain in his hamstrings though there was maybe a little heat there, but it was bilateral and he was non-reactive. No heat or swelling in his legs. Maybe a bit of a pulse laterally on the left hind and definitely not on the right hind. I messaged Kate and sent her the video and she was like "abscess"? Well... maybe? He's not had one in ... years! And he has pour in pads, so... like how does he even get an abscess. Sigh... I went back out and checked him out again. I mashed on his heel bulbs... the magic stick moved a little over his lateral coronary band. I mashed on the side of his pastern... no reaction to anything. No reaction to his stifle. The only thing I could find was the pulse. 

Then when he went to walk off, he was practically crippled. So.. maybe an abscess. I hope an abscess. Sorry buddy...

So after I shockwaved Lyric, I pulled him out and put the bemer on him and then tried to soak his foot. He's got the pour in pad, but... he did let me sit it in the epsom salt for a little bit. Then I bemered it twice, so... I don't know. Hopefully Patrick will text me back on Monday. Or it will pop before then. Becuase if it's not an abscess... I have no idea. I might just be done...