More Lame Horses

Cody's been "nqr" (not quite right) for a while now.  I was hoping he'd be better after a few weeks off but I was just out to check on him and boo he's not better, in fact he might be worse.  So I bit the bullet and called the vet and left a message.  I'm hoping he can diagnose without xrays cuz that's wicked crazy expensive (and a different vet has to do it cuz my vet doesn't have an xray machine).  Though if it's what I think it is it might only take 1 picture per hoof so that wouldn't be too bad. Merry Christmas Cody!

So anyway it was tough pulling him away from the hay feeder and he would hardly move, kind of parked out rocked back on his heels.  It seemed like it was both fronts bothering him. His right front is stocked up but even after cleaning out his hooves and getting him in the arena footing he was favoring both feet.  (still willing to roll of course)

His front hooves are warm compared to the backs.  Not hot and I can't feel a pulse but they are definitely different than the back ones.  So I'm thinking he's foundering or has laminitis or something like that.  Last time this happened was the first time I had him shod and he was fixed right away but we had just shoes on him this fall and he still wasn't quite right so it might take some meds for inflammation and maybe special shoeing (usually they put pads on and the shoes on backwards sometimes) and maybe some diet changes.
So we'll see what the vet says.  Hopefully he calls back soon and can come out this week still. 
I put on his old hoof boots on with the old pastern wraps and I found a scissors and cut down the gel pads and put those in the boots as well. He was walking better with the boots on but still a little gun shy I think.

Boy does he look low backed in this photo, someone needs to do some sit ups.

And they are definitely getting the hang of the hay net. The barn owners picked up one of those big round bale nets to try and slow the pigs down and save on waste and it seems to be doing the trick.  I'm secretly hoping the slow in feeding will make Axel's swelling go away, but it's only been two weeks and he's still my big pregnant gelding.

Pardon Axel's *ahem*

Cowboy Dan

Earlier this year (sometime in the summer), Jeff brought Daniel out to the barn to go for a little ride with me on Cody. Daniel was pretty quiet and content riding around in circles in the arena. And then we went to take him off the horse and he got upset. So I decided since he seemed pretty into it and I teach riding lessons to other people’s kids, why not start Daniel on some short lessons at least until it gets too cold to be in the barn.

So a few weeks ago we started heading out to the barn once a week and letting Daniel ride Axel. Axel has been lame now for a few years due to arthritis but keeping him moving is good for him. He’s been telling me he’s neglected lately by trying to climb in my pocket when I go out to get Cody. Daniel’s not heavy enough to make a difference on Axel’s back. So it seemed like a perfect match.
The first week we just had Daniel ride bareback but Axel’s so huge Daniel could hardly stay in the middle so I grabbed his little saddle for our future visits. The first couple rides Daniel made it for almost 10 minutes but our last few rides he’s only made it about 5 minutes. But considering his age I don’t expect him to have much more of an attention span.

He’s really catching on fast though. He tells Axel “GO” when he wants him to move and he’ll pick up the reins when we tell him to. Usually he holds onto the saddle horn with one hand (don’t worry, we’ll fix that when he gets a little older). Our only issue right now is that when the horse stops Daniel decides that he’s done and tries to get off. So thus some of our lessons are very short.

I usually have him help groom a little before he rides and clip the reins on the halter and we had him sweep the aisle after riding. You gotta learn all the chores not just the fun part ;)

Always Catching Up

Though there's not too much to catch up on. The last couple weeks that Cody had shoes on he was off on his front right. He got better but still was the slightest "not quite right." Shoes got pulled and he's still a tiny bit off. N has ridden bareback in the arena and I rode last week for a few minutes. It's really hard to tell if he's lazy, foot sore, or lame. It's so subtle and it's not every step. So here's hoping whatever it is gets better soon.