I made him a vet appointment for next week to be evaluated and possibly get Xrays of his hocks. Depends what the vet says. Chiro and massage appointments also in the works. He is also due for a trim. Next week he'll also be getting his teeth checked. So I am really trying to get to the root of this. Maybe it's my saddle?
Working to the left:
And to the right:
And for comparison, here we are working under saddle about a month or so ago.
He looks butt-high to me, and tight in the area right behind the saddle in the most recent video. Hmmm. Any comments welcome. I'm giving him some time off and just working him free in the roundpen to keep his mind somewhat together.
He looks not to really be pushing from behind, and perhaps trying to keep his back from moving too much, and looks like he's slightly short-striding with the left hind - see if he's a bit ouchy to the touch in the loin area on the left and also in the sacral (high point of butt) area. Or I could just be imagining things! Hock x-rays are never a bad idea, and a chiro/massage appointment might be just the thing. Doesn't look too bad, though and should be fixable.
ReplyDeleteKate -
ReplyDeleteIt's curious that you said to check if he is ouchy in the loin area on the left. This is the exact spot where a pasture mate took a HUGE chunk out of him. It's a large wound - which is now scabbed over and healing fine, but it's almost the size of my hand. I wonder if this is bothering him? You can sort of make out the wound in the video. Maybe during the squabble the other horse also jumped on him or otherwise caused him to pull a muscle there, too.
Looks like he's stiff in his butt/back legs. Looks like he's having trouble really pushing and using his back/rump muscles. Hm...
ReplyDelete~MunciEquestrian~