Riley update part 2: The bad (well, not so great) news

So you saw the clinic -- the good news. Here is the not-so-good news, which hopefully is just the tail end of the hoof issues.

In mid-March, Riley went back under saddle with  a trainer, 3 times a week. I gave the trainer these guidelines:

• Work Riley only in the indoor (felt, cushy footing)
• Check digital pulses after every ride
• Don't use the flash attachment

I lost on this last point, but it was kind of a throwaway anyway. Always include one point that you're willing to concede :-). The point is, we were careful about monitoring his feet. At least I thought we were.


The first few weeks under saddle
In the first few weeks, Riley's front legs were holding up great, and he was sound. The hinds, though, were both swelling up, asymmetrically, on and off, from the pastern to about 6" above the fetlock. The left leg was the worst at first, but after a few weeks it suddenly got better. The right continued to swell --that ugly, bulbous, taut kind of swelling. On April 6, I got a call from the barn manager -- he was non-weightbearing on the right hind.  The vet came out and found an abscess on the inside of the hoof toward the heel.   She felt his heels were pretty worn down, so we had the farrier out and put hind shoes on him (he already had front shoes). In about 5 days the swelling was down. Problem solved, right?

Well.. No...
In early May -- about a month after the abscess was found, the right hind blew up again -- this time on the outside aspect of the hoof. The farrier came out. He  trimmed the right hind and found two abscess tracts -- the old one, and a new one on the other side. We moved to the left hind. As he trimmed the hoof, he found two identical abscess tracts -- same place as the right hind (see photo, let).

If you're counting, that's FOUR abscesses. I was beside myself -- would he ever be all right?  I figured that four abscesses had to be from mechanical forces/workload/bruising. This makes some sense since both hinds were swelling mysteriously from the start of his training. The vet concurs. I just hope these are from old, pre-shoeing bruises.

The right hind swelling subsided in a matter of days and he was moving sound, so we put him in the clinic. Last night, I went to the barn to check him, and he had stocked up again in the right hind, but it was cool and squishy. It largely dissipated when I handwalked him. I remind myself that his left hind, which was the first leg to swell and subside (abscesses popped without my noticing), is now tight and dry.  I hope the right will follow suit.

Riley, Riley, Riley...
I never thought I'd have to worry about your back feet, Ri. Anyhoo, that's the bad news.

There is an update #3, which I'll reveal later this week. It's neither good nor bad, just "news."