Axel's Bumps

So Tuesday I made it out to the barn on one of the two gorgeous days this week. But I feel a little guilty about not riding down the road or something. I stayed in the arena. Axel was every so slightly off, like really hard to tell but still. I spent a bit of time grooming him and trying to figure out what all the bumps are on his back. They are scabs but big pointy scabs. J thought it was a fungus but it's not patchy like rain rot. They weren't itchy but they were a little tender when I pulled off some of the spots. Axel's newest habit is grabbing the cross tie and trying to get the whole thing in his mouth. I have no idea what that's about, some sort of nervous reaction I suppose. I measured his back pasterns so I can try and make him some wraps. He's around 9.5" at the top and 12" at the bottom (circumference) on his bumpy leg.

I had him do some circles in the arena on the lunge line to see where he was at. He stuck to a walk this time and was a tiny bit tender but not too bad. I actually didn't have quite as hard a time getting him to go left like I usually do. Perhaps he's figured out that if I only ask for a walk that's all he needs to give me. I did ask for a little bit of trot which was okay but lazy. I decided to forgo the saddle and just grabbed his bridle and jumped on bareback. We spent a lot of time walking around the arena while J lunged and rode Amigo. Axel still pins his ears at the other horse but didn't try and kick. I was trying to get him to bend a little, I figured it was pretty much the one thing we could work on without hurting his leg. But he wasn't really hearing me. I tried some seat aids to get him to bend around my leg and support the other side with his back, tried to do a bit of shoulder-in, and even tried some turns on the forehand. Nothing really worked 100%. Axel spent the time grinding his teeth which I'm thinking is him not relaxing. He tends to take on a headset even when he's not collected, bit evasion I suppose. I couldn't quite get to a point where he'd stop grinding, maybe had he understood all my goofy aids he would have stopped grinding and started thinking.

When I was done riding I sprayed some betadine on Axel's back just in case the bumps are actually a fungus. He's too hairy for a real bath, he won't dry anytime soon and I didn't have all night. So if it's bugs they should be dead with all the cold and if it's fungus, well I hope it goes away.