I have answers!!

So Ive really been on the fence lately about what to do with Milo and his little buldges on his hocks. The vet really wasnt giving me any answers except just spend x amount of money on this, and maybe this, and if that doesnt work than this.

Than a few friends of mine recommended having him seen my a body specialist who does rehab with horses. Shes also done body work on Milo in the past and corrective saddle fitting. So I figured, why not? Everything she has done with Milo before has really seemed to work for him.

So she came out yesterday evening and did an evaluation with him. Right off the bat she noticed that his hind toes were too long. She said this makes him stand on his toes and he cannot get his hind end to really work underneath him (which I have noticed when riding him too). She said that standing on his toes puts added (and unnatural) pressure on his hocks, which puts pressure on his back too and creates the hollow back (which he has and for months been trying to get him to lift it).

It really all seems to make sense. She put it this way: when she first saw him about 4 or 5 months ago, he had a lot of problems. He was holding tension on his shoulders and poll due to poor saddle fitting. Now that we corrected the saddle, theres still just one more piece to fix. And its staring us straight in the face.

So my next step is to get a new farrier out to really concentrate on correcting his feet. And in the meantime I can still ride him at a walk for now. Whoot!

Long time no post

Sorry for the absence in my postings recently. Something has come up with Milo and I wanted to wait until I had more information about what was going on before I started a post.

About three weeks ago I noticed an egg sized buldge on the small hollow of the outside of both his hocks. They were somewhat soft, the right more firm than the left. There was no heat, no swelling, and no lameness at that time. So I rode him still, but limited until I could get the vet to see him.

I was able to bum a ride to the vet clinic with the barn owner of where Im at, but unfortunetly, her horse that was there for surgery went over time and made my appointment about a minute long.

I was able to get Dr. Hills out again this past Wednesday and was able to split a farm call with the barn owner. He did a flexor exanimation and it wasa fact that now Milo was definitely short stepping, his back was sore, and there was a problem. Dr. Hills suggested we get xrays to determine what was going on, and to start him on a joint supplement.

So that is where Im at now. Trying to figure out how I will pay for xrays, and joint supplements. The good news is that at this time Dr. Hills suggested riding at a walk, maybe trail rides would be a good thing. So at least I can keep Milo getting out. Unfortuently, that leaves me horseless for the drill team practices so far. But a sound horse is much more important.