After Racing: Retraining Thoroughbreds

It looks like we're finally on the mend. We've been waiting for the abscess to clear up, which I think it *finally* has. I'm still packing the hoof with iodine soaked cotton pads in order to keep it clean, but there is no heat in the hoof wall and Jimmy tells me through his actions that he is feeling GOOD!

Now that the abscess is taken care of, we're going to shoe him and put a wedge on the bowed leg to offer some support to the tendon. The farrier is due out on Tuesday. After that, if Dr. Angie thinks things are going well, we'll be ready for some limited turnout and perhaps light riding again! Yippee!

Well, the abscess has once again reared its ugly head. This darned thing just won't go away. I thought it had, and stopped wrapping his foot and a few days later - BAM - its back. The vet put him on another round of Tucoprim, which this time, he's not real keen on eating. We're also soaking his hoof and keeping it wrapped all the time to keep it clean until we're sure its gone.

In addition to all this, because the abscessing foot has been sore he has been carrying a lot of his weight on the bowed leg. Therefore, the bow is warm again. It hasn't rebowed, but it is definitely tender and is warm to the touch. We gave Jimmy a temporary wedge pad using baby diapers, vet wrap and a special boot. Once the abscess heals and he can have shoes on both feet, we'll have the farrier out to put a wedge pad on the bowed leg and provide relief for that tendon. In the mean time, he'll be wearing the temporary wedge. The good news is that he seemed to be immediately more comfortable with the temporary wedge in place.

Keep jingling for Jimmy!

I think that Jimmy finally seems to be near the end of his battle with the abscess. Ryan broke it open again on Tuesday and I packed it with Betadine for a couple of days and now I'm using a gentle Iodine. Ryan also trimmed the front feet. He said that the back feet were nearly worn down to nubs, and didn't feel that there was even enough to trim. He also mentioned that the front feet did not look like the soles had been cut away due to white line disease. He also mentioned that all of Jimmy's feet were WAY out of balance. He doesn't know how much correction he'll be able to make in the few months that Jimmy is with me. It will be vitally important for whoever owns him to work with a shoer or trimmer that will properly balance the feet. This will be essential to him staying sound on that bow and work in comfort once he's in regular work.

Back to the abscess...I know its draining because the smell is pretty awful when I unwrap the foot. Jimmy is barely limping anymore. I put him on the lunge yesterday just to see what his walk looked like. He kind of stabs that right front (the abscessed foot) into the ground when he walks. He offered a little trot and was pretty stiff in his hind end. He creeks a lot when he first comes out of his stall. I think he's definitely got some arthritis in the hocks and perhaps the hind pasterns. I think getting outside will do him some good. If the weather is decent tomorrow, we're going to turn him out in the grass outdoor arena. He'll have a chance to blow off some steam. It will be his first time in a large turnout area (he'll have his boots on), but I think the grass will offer some deterrent from running and jumping. He has a whole lot more attitude now that he's feeling better and still confined to the stall. He's still sweet, but he's very obviously bored and has a hard time standing still. The bow remains cold (or at least no warmer than the non-bowed leg) although he does rest it frequently. I think though that it may have become a habit during his recovery period to rest that leg. Who knows?

It appears that the abscess had closed again, so Ryan (my farrier) reopened it and it is now draining well. I'm packing the foot daily with betadine soaked gauze padding to help it heal. While he's still sore on the foot, it is much better than it has been and is obviously feel better. He's quite board with life on stall rest and ready to get outside! We'll be turning him out in the outdoor arena in the next week or so (as the foot starts to feel better. Throughout this time, he has remained cold on the bow, which is very promising! I'm hoping to get on him again in the next week.

Jimmy appears to be feeling much better! While he still favors his right front, it doesn't seem to be near as sore as it has been. When I got him out of his stall today, he was favoring the RF, but not 3-legged lame like he had been. Plus, his attitude seemed to be much more positive. He really seemed like he wanted to jump around, but didn't because of the sore front. He did toss his head around and give off a tiny squeal of joy a few times to let me know that he was feeling good. I was also finally able to get to his other feet. Unfortunately, because he has been firmly planted on his other three feet (not allowing me to pick any of them up until today since the beginning of the abscess), I found that he has a rather nasty case of thrush in all three. I'm treating them with Koppertox, which should clear it up quickly. The farrier will be back on Tuesday for a trim. Hopefully we'll be able to get back into some regular work here pretty soon!