Hose, hose, hose the horse

Still on the twice daily hose the horse routine. I was worried after watching Bestie's hock swell up over Wednesday and Thursday, but when the vet came on Friday he was pretty reassuring. Basically, given the site of the kick, there's not a lot there to cushion the blow, so what she's got is kind of a bruise on bone and resulting swelling that will take a long time (perhaps several weeks, aaaaaaaaarghhhhh) to heal. He decided to keep her on the antibiotics for several more days, since the wound is still open and also will take a long time to heal (another aaaaaaaarggggh). She's still getting wrapped at night, and part of the hock swelling is the fluid from the kick site not having anywhere to go because of the wraps.

I would say that her right hind leg, the one where the cellulitis originated, looks to be at about 95 percent healed. Still a bit of swelling, but not much.

Her lower left leg is looking pretty good also with not much swelling except for a localized lump inside the leg about halfway down the cannon bone, plus the swelling around the hock.

Got another bottle of Sore No More on Friday. Am bathing her legs in the stuff. :)

We've got our routine going. I arrive, she whinnies madly, I get her out and graze her for about 20 minutes, then we either take a walk in the indoor or down the road, then I hose her for 20 minutes. Then it's back into the stall. Repeat in the late afternoon. She does have her stallguard up quite a bit and is fed hay pretty much on demand. She's going to be a real porker by the time this all done with.

Today she was very prancy; clearly she has HAD IT it with being stallbound. But she's under dr.'s orders: no turnout until the swelling has gone down and he can recheck her at the trot for soundness. He felt she looked pretty good when he saw her Friday, although we didn't trot her out. She doesn't look lame to me as she prances around me as we head to the grass! I do have to say that she has been a real trooper about standing in the wash stall quietly, getting wrapped at night, and taking her pasty/icky medicine (with a sugar cube chaser).

I rode Dude down the path on Friday and again today. Today we went with another boarder. All was good. I don't want to go with someone every single time because I don't want him to get used to the companionship and then throw a fit when it's just us. The two times we've headed out alone he's been really well behaved, remarkably accepting of being out in the field with no barn in sight. Is Dudie becoming a trail pony?

On Friday he was switched into a new field after he got his fourth bite in four days. His new pasturemates are more laid back and Dude seems happier. It had to have been a bummer getting chased around periodically and bitten. His pasture is in the back right now, so after getting done this morning I drove down the back road and spied on him. They were all sort of dozing in the middle of the field, the fabulous foursome: Dude, Lugnut, Sparky and Chopper. :)