|
So ever since I bought him, Baleno has had an on-and-off strange lameness in his right hind. Look at both feet and you’ll notice his right hoof is worn down at the toe. It’s not been an obvious lameness, a three-legged lameness or even something that was easy to point to and say, “yup, that’s it. That’s the trouble spot.” I know that some of the issues we’ve had with his training have to do with this unidentifiable, not-quite-even quality of his gaits. And I also know he probably hurts more than he lets on. Sometimes he will buck just once for no apparent reason. I’ve wondered if that buck was the equivalent to OUCH!!! So since we’ve come to a screeching halt in his training—he went through a period of absolute and complete resistance, the vet came out yesterday for an exhaustive workup on his right hind leg. Nerve blocks in the fetlock, the hock and stifle (and an endless number of needles!) revealed nothing—his hitched gait didn’t change at all. Discouraging as that might sound, at least we know it’s not his leg. So we’ve ruled out one structure. The bad news is that there’s no way to know, without some more advanced diagnostics, what’s wrong with B and what we should do about it. Next step: Haul the horse to Colorado, Arizona or Texas for nuclear scintigraphy—commonly called a bone scan. How it works: a “tracer” is given to the horse orally, which than congregates in areas of damaged bones or structures, so the veterinarian can see the areas of change. Because we can’t tell whether it’s his hip, his back, or his neck that’s the problem, the bone scan will tell us how and where the treatment (whatever that is) should be administered. Of course this presents its own set of problems: Money, for one. I’ll have to save for a few months—and that’s really the only problem, except that I need new tires on the trailer before I haul 500 miles, and probably should replace the stolen radio out of the truck, and get it fully tuned up, checked out and that pesky “stalling when I back up” problem is just like B’s hind end: undiagnosed to date. So the treatment will be one set of costs. Getting to and from the treatment a whole other set of costs. At times like this, I do wish that lotto ticket would come due. I’m not a gambling woman, but I’d like to give my horses every opportunity to feel their best. Maybe that’s excessive, or obsessive. But to me, it’s probably worth every cent.
|
Technorati
Stumble It!
