Fetlock Update

Since we all know that Mort has lameness issues, (or more accurately stated he will have future lameness issues) I thought I’d give an update.  Back in early fall we had x-rays taken of his front left fetlock area.  They were ugly, so we went in for ultrasounds.  The ultrasounds were less ugly.  The vet at MU recommended that we simply do a flex test and lameness exam every six months to monitor his progression.  She also mentioned that he may benefit from injections as he gets worse over time. 

Six months ago he had a very, very minor positive response to the flex test.  Visible, but only to the trained eye looking for it.  This morning his left front had a very noticeable head bob and the right was about the same as six months ago (very, very minor).  Luckily he hasn’t been unsound for me at all in our regular work, so hopefully we’re catching it early enough to get ahead of major additional damage. 

I think we will just start with the left front fetlock for this round of injections, but I’ll also talk with the two vets who I’ve worked with on his legs and see what they recommend.  A few dollar signs from now hopefully Mort will be more comfortable and we’ll get to see some positive changes in his way of going. 

We played in the field some yesterday.  I got a few good moments of him feeling fairly free in his shoulders when we worked on extending (when he wasn’t spooking at random things).  I went to the indoor to finish our ride which ended up being frustrating.  I kept losing his shoulder and couldn’t get a good thrust from behind.  For now, I’ll chalk it up to maybe fetlock pain, maybe a poopy ride, maybe I’ve let him get away with being lazy for too long (and I’m noticing it more because of clinic magic).  Hopefully we can get him in for an injection within the next week or so.