Despite 2 vet visits and the farrier we still don't know what was causing the lameness and so effectively managing and treating it has been pretty much guess work. The vet after her first visit had prescribed bute and rest in a small paddock which at first seemed to have had the desired effect and when I brought him back into work he was sound for a couple of days. He then went and had a hooley in the field and came in very lame again.
The vet returned 2days later and by then he was almost sound again and once again she was unable to pin point any cause. He was also exhibiting signs of ulcers, ears flat back, head tossing, biting etc. At this point she prescribed a further 2 weeks bute and rest however as the bute had already had an adverse effect on his ulcers and I was reluctant to continue knowing how unhappy it was making him. As the lameness was fairly minor we decided instead to just rest him without bute and I brought some protexin equine premium quick fix and increased his equus health gastro kalm to a loading dose.
Luckily this seems to have done the trick and he is now much happier.
I tried my very best to keep him in his stable sized paddock for the 2 weeks recommended by the vet but in the first few days he got out 3 times! I had to reinforce the fence with another string of electric and was moving the paddock daily onto fresh grass, giving plenty of hay day and night, providing a treat ball etc. It was a bit labour intensive but would be worth it if it worked which it did for about a week and he stayed put getting the rest he needed but towards the end of the 2nd week he was escaping twice everyday, even jumping the fence from a stand still, so I figured he couldn't be feeling too bad and I was wasting my time! The next day he was more lame again so I decided that he was more of a danger to himself jumping out of the paddock than just being in a larger field so I opened the fence up and let him have a little more freedom, still on his own but with about half an acre so he didn't feel so claustrophobic.
He was also due the farrier at the end of the 2nd week and I had already decided he would be having his shoes off for the Winter this time. I was also still holding on to the slim hope that despite already checking his feet that taking the shoe off might reveal something. Sadly it didn't and the foot was completely normal and healthy under the shoe so no quick fix there. I trotted him up and lunged him to see how he was without shoes, sound in a straight line but slightly lame on the near fore on the tight circle on hard ground. He was turned back out for another few days to see how he went without the shoes and a plan to call to the vet after the weekend and have the senior vet come out to him if there was still no improvement. He should have been seeing our physio Tamsyn on the Monday but with him out of work and still lame we decided to postpone her visit. I'm pleased to say that he is now much sounder so I've not had the vet back yet and I will be trying him under saddle tonight to see how he feels with my extra weight.
We had dreadful Weather over night Sunday and when I arrived Monday morning to bring him in for a rest from the rain I found the horses from the field next to him in his field with him and the fence broken. I checked them all for injury and found them all ok so brought Jack in for the day as I had planned to anyway. The heavy rain never stopped Monday and by the time I returned in the afternoon the fields were under water and the fence still broken. The other horses had all been moved onto our Winter grazing which is a 20 acre field which they all go out together in a heard of 8. I was reluctant to put Jack over there with them because I was concerned that with all that space and the other horses that he's not been with since last Winter he would mess about and do himself more damage putting back his recovery again. The rain was still bad and I didn't want to keep him in for 24hours either as he would have really gone nuts when he finally got turned out so I reluctantly put is turn out on and lead him out to the field with lots of treats in my pocket. The others were all near the gate and Jack was really good standing quietly while I took his headcollar off and then just walking off and eating not even bothering with the other horses or the fact he could run for miles! I was down before Dawn the next morning to make sure he was ok and they were all together by the gate ready to come back in to dry off! He stayed in for the day and I lunged him last night and pleased to report he was still sound so he went back out with the others last night too.
I am a bit apprehensive to assume he is now going to stay sound and crack on as normal so I will be bringing him back onto work very slowly and carefully and with a bit of good luck for once we might be back to normal in the New Year.
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