Freedom hurt himself while I was away last week.

On Sunday, he looked a hair off on his left hind. He was just stepping a bit short and when I looked at him, I hoped it was because the footing is so icy at the barn. Unfortunately, I am blessed with an eye for lameness and he was, indeed lame. I gave him some bute and crossed my fingers.

Monday he looked worse, but it looked like an abscess. He was weight bearing but uncomfortable, standing with his toe down. I called my vet and discovered that with two vets traveling this week, scheduling was tight. I decided to see if my farrier was going to be in the area before asking the already overscheduled vet to come see what could be an abscess. I stopped giving him bute and spread the hay around to encourage movement. I soaked his foot.

Tuesday he looked worse again. My farrier came in the morning and found some bruising and some sensitivity to hoof testers. The diagnosis was inconclusive. It could be an abscess that is working its way up to the coronary band. However, the footing is still so icy that it’s hard to really evaluate how he’s walking and trotting is completely out of the question. I called the vet office and asked for an appointment with the vet who specializes in lameness, once he’s back in the office.

This morning he looked marginally better. It still looks like an abscess to me. I soaked it some more. I gave him a massage. He’s obviously uncomfortable and it *could* be higher up in the leg. He’s still weight bearing and he’s still lame. I so much wish he could just tell me where it hurts!