Vet Results 2.0

The vet finally got back to me about Walker's x-rays, and so I have some results.  Kinda.

First of all, the x-rays look SO much better than last time.  Below are the comparisons with last month's x-rays on the left and the corresponding x-rays on the right:

Left front

Right front

You can see just how long the toe was when you compare these two.  She also gave me the navicular views, but unless you're a trained medical professional, there's not much to see on them.

She didn't really have much to say when all was said and done (so it was a pretty expensive visit considering).  She said that there was nothing on the x-rays to suggest that I couldn't work him, and in fact, if he's feeling a little off, I'm still allowed to ride and try to work him out of it.  I did that last night actually and found that it helped a bit, but I might just be thinking that since she told me to try.

I told her that he had another bad day a few days after she arrived, and she said she would check him out when she is at the barn this afternoon for another horse.  She said that if he continues to have extremely sore days, we can consider putting a pad on the soles of his feet, but my farrier will probably want to put one on with elevation and she doesn't think that is necessary.  Based on the conformation of his feet, she thinks it will really tip him too far upward.  These x-rays make his hooves look normal, but when you look at them, they seem very upright.  Elevation will just make them more upright, and already with the trim you can notice the improvement in the angle.

In the meantime, I am trying to get a hold of the farrier today to see if he can go out and take a look at Walker's back feet. Although they are self-trimming, I think that maybe he should just clean them up a bit to help him feel comfortable.

I was going to ride him again tonight but I think I'll give him the night off.  It is probably unreasonable of me to think that he can be worked 6 days a week like he used to be, even if all we're doing is walking and light jogging - especially where he's not 100% and it is blazin' hot out.  Last night when I got to the barn, he was sweaty just standing in his stall.  15 minutes of the walk made him drenched with sweat so we called it a night.  No need for the sick lame pony to get heatstroke on top of everything else.  I gave him a nice cool bath, loved on him, and hit the road.