Recently Dude has done this strange thing where after standing for a while in one place, like on cross ties, he puts his right front foot out ahead of his left. Now, the last time he did that (back in December) he was really lame on that foot, and I soaked and soaked it, assuming an abscess to be the culprit, and one day it was better even though I never saw an abscess come through.
This time he doesn't appear lame at all; in fact, I was just telling Emma about it during my lesson on Friday and she remarked that he didn't look off. The only odd thing is the placement of the right foot, and an occasional unwillingness to pick up his left front foot and place total weight on the right.
I've been thinking about it, and I think it's from kicking his door. They've mentioned a couple times at the barn that he gets really impatient when he doesn't get right out, and I know that I've caught him kicking his door when I've arrived on days when there hasn't been turnout. When I've seen him do it, it's always been with his right foot. He's doing it enough that the door doesn't slide easily on its track any more. What I can't figure out is why he wouldn't show signs of lameness when he's being ridden, if it is bothering him enough to shift his weight when standing. Hmmmn. And I definitely would like to have some sort of solution to the door kicking.
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