Vet Visit

Yesterday Jackson was slightly gimpy.  I wasn't too worried.  It's been raining all week and we've been letting the horses out to stretch in between downpours.  I figured he took a wrong step in the mud.  This morning, he was lame on his right front.  His foot seemed fine but I noticed slight swelling just above the fetlock.  No heat, but swelling.  Yipes.  Ligament injury flashed through my brain and I immediately got on the phone with our vet.  I wrapped his legs while we waited for her to come up here this afternoon. 

Fortunately, he just has an abscess.  Painful for him, but easy to treat.  He will have immediate relief when it opens.  The sole of his foot tested very sore with hoof testers.  When she blocked the pain in his foot with Novocaine, he walked normal (almost).  So, the problem is definitely in the foot and not the ligaments.  He has a history of abscesses with his previous owner and, knowing that, we were able to pretty easily reach the diagnosis.  Now he has a big bandage on his foot.  The dressing will help dry and draw out the infection.  He got a shot of IV antibiotics as well -- and lots of treats.

Passage came out of the feed room to see what all the excitement was about. 

The clouds kept moving in, and as soon as the vet left I hightailed it back to the house and lit a fire.  More rain in the forecast through the weekend.