Update

Milo looked quite sound on Monday when I checked on him after my lesson on Wesley. I led him to the barn and watched him walk and trot behind me. Although looking good, I didnt want to test my limits by putting him in the round pen just yet, so I merely groomed him and put him away.

Tuesday, he was looking just as good, if not even better at the trot - not a single catch I could see from the left hind. He moved smoothly and easily trotting up the driveway with me. I groomed him meticulously, and lifted his hind foot for our regular examination. While there was no heat or swelling same as the day before, I did see something else:

Excuse the blurry dark photo, but you see that on his heel bulb? Looks to me like a blown abscess-site. Now isnt that just interesting? He was tender to my touching it, but not evasive. I washed it out and put some Betadine on it and let it dry.

Deciding he was sound enough, I tacked him up and led him to the round pen with the Peggy halter on. Although his saddle was on, I did not plan on riding. I put the saddle on mostly for Milo to get into a "work mode" more than a goof off one as he did the week before when I put him in the round pen.

We worked on combing the line, walking, stopping, and anything else that came to mind at the moment. Milo was connecting with me - even tuning out the distraction of frisky turned-out horses, crackling voices from the goats on the other side of the round pen fence, and the typical hub-bub of movement at a busy boarding facility. He had a few moments of resistance, but always came back. I always know things are coming along correctly when Milo goes into his "zen-face":

The camera didnt catch the tongue, but you can bet it was peeking in and out. Now compare this to the image of Milo avoiding flies in the cross ties just ten minutes earlier:

(And your eyes arent deceiving you - that IS sunlight in the background of the previous image, and streaking in from the stalls in the barn. It reached 77 degrees and we pitifully were sweating in it. Us Pacific Northwesterners dont seem to know the meaning of "heat" anymore!)

A productive and rewarding few minutes in the round pen made the forty minute commute to Milo all worth it, even if I didnt ride.

Milo gets a drink after our "workout" in the "heat". 

So what was going on with his hoof? Strange that that could be an abscess site considering I never soaked him, or for that matter, even put anything on his hoof to help draw any infection out. But I'm not complaining if an abscess did correct itself without any assistance on my part. I guess it probably was a stone bruise manifested into an abscess - but why no heat? Totally puzzling. But for now, I will continue to cross my fingers that the worst is behind us, and soon we can start working under saddle again. In the meantime, I still cleaned and treated the heel bulb, here's hoping nothing else comes from this!