We Know What It Isn't

 Peebs had his first lameness exam last night and while we didn't get a conclusive answer, we know what it isn't. We were the last appointment of the day and the vet was running behind so we ran out of time before completing the diagnostics. They're supposed to call me this morning to schedule our next visit; hopefully soon and hopefully I have service in the basement I work in so I can actually get their call!

We started with hoof testers, and Peebs had a slight reaction on the left front, but it was pretty mild. Moved on to jogging down the driveway and he was only slightly lame on the left front on the straight aways, more lame on the turn. Flexions showed it might be his coffin joint, but again, it was slight. Put him on the lunge (tracking left first) and while he was lamer on the circle he still didn't look that bad. But tracking right (so lame leg on the outside of the circle) and he was much worse. 

 

Maybe someday we can use his new bridle for more than barn aisle pics

We did a couple low blocks, and while they helped a little, still not enough to make him sound. Vet thinks he probably has some arthritis in the coffin joint, but not enough to make him as lame as he is.  Our next appointment will be to block the suspensory, and possibly the knee. Vet is leaning towards suspensory being the issue. We also pulled blood for a metabolic panel because, while not on rich pasture and not getting fed a whole lot either, Peebs is a chonk right now, and him being ~25% Morgan makes him much more prone to metabolic issues. And horses with metabolic issues can be more prone to soft tissue injuries. 

So think happy leg and blood thoughts for us while I pray to the god of appointment scheduling that they can get us in quickly!