Lameness, Day 13

Uh huh. Gus is lame again. I can't necessarily blame the abscess, cause I'm not entirely sure that it's the root of all the issues, but it does seem like Gus is off on the left fore still. I'm more then a bit po'd, but there isn't much that I can do.

Here's some photos from today of the left front:

I ended up taking some videos of Gus walking and trotting today as well. The first two videos were taken in the barn aisle prior to me lunging him in the arena. I wish I had taken video just as he walked into the barn, because about 15 minutes prior to these video clips, he was head-bobbing lame on the left front and really walking oddly. Of course the video doesn't show any of that. Go figure.

This video is a side shot that shows the sequence of hoof landings. If you listen to the video, you can hear a slight hiccup when he lands on the right fore (slightly louder). I think this may be due to compensating for the bum left fore. 

This video is shot from straight on. If I had taken this video just minutes before, you would've seen a very different walk from what you're seeing now. Unfortunately I wasn't able to obtain video footage that time. But this is Gus walking on the concrete barn aisle. 

This was taken in the arena. I wish I had continued videoing even after my BO/Trainer walked into the arena. Because after I stopped recording, Gus ended up being pretty short and off on the left front while going to the left. He did eventually "work" out of it, but it he was still short-strided (although that is nothing new). 

This video is taken as Gus left the arena. Typically when he's off, he'll leave the arena with a heavy head-bob and distinctively off on one of the fronts (least that has been the norm as of late). Go figure that he walked off  "sound" on the concrete. 

Anyways, I ended up cancelling my lesson that I have scheduled for Wednesday. First time in ages that I've had to cancel so many lessons, but it's worth it if we can get to the bottom of everything.

I did end up hearing back from the chiropractor regarding Gus, but I still haven't received the paperwork. Here's what she had to say about Gus:

Gus was definitely quite sore on Monday.  He was still short on his RF and fairly short behind.  He was very sore in his low back and pelvis.  I also did a lot in his neck.  I felt like I made a lot of progress in his neck.  However, I do think that I should see him next month after his abscess has resolved and then hopefully I can make more progress in his low back and pelvis. 

So, Gus is scheduled to be seen again on September 22nd. I wish the chiro appointments were cheaper, but I guess I shouldn't complain, as $110 is fairly cheap, all things considered. Gus will also been seen by J, the farrier, on the 22nd as well. Busy day, that's for sure.

I guess my plan is to lunge Gus again on Wednesday and see what we've got. He's currently not on any pain meds as he doesn't seem to be in that much pain, and honestly is walking just fine outside in his paddock. I did end up putting his Soft Rides back on, complete with the normal inserts. Hopefully by Wednesday he'll be feeling a bit better.

Abscesses SUCK! (As does any lameness issue, really).