And Still No Answer
Tucker is still very lame. Scott was here for almost two hours trying to figure out why.
He put in a call to my vet, but it was after hours and, of course the beginning of the weekend, and she is not on call, so I don't know if they will connect. This time hoof testers seemed to indicate pain near the frog. While it still could be an abscess, perhaps from a puncture, there are also some other disturbing possibilties.
There may be a bone fracture in the navicular area, although the two x-rays we have do not show anything. There also could be some flexor tendon issues.
But Scott did put a wedge pad on Tuck's foot to see if taking the pressure off the heel would make him feel better. There was no noticeable improvement. That temporarily eliminated that concern.
It's back to soaking and poulticing and wait and see. Scott did tell me to give Tuck some bute to see if that made him feel better. He said if it is an abscess, the bute will not have any impact at this point, but if it is something else, it might help ease some of the pain.
Scott was soooo concerned. And, he was gentle and sweet to Tucker too. At once point, he just stood at Tucker's head, hugging him and petting him and telling him how sorry he was that he could not figure out what was wrong.
I may have to get the vet back out for more x-rays. Bummer.
Meantime, I will just hope to wake up tomorrow morning to find a better picture. Scott said he was probably going to wake up at 3 AM just worrying about what is wrong. He really does care for "his" horses and loves them. I told him I'd post the hugging story and he said it was OK. *lol*
I do have to say that after I got back from the supermarket with my new container of epsom salts and diapers, I opened Tuck's stall door to soak his foot in the stall and he came out into the aisle on his own. Earlier I could hardly get him take even a step. So there was a tiny bit of improvement in a few hours--and this before I gave him his bute as I also bought some applesauce so I could dose him.
Poor boy. It's so, so sad seeing him this uncomfortable.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I am so sorry. I truly hope it is an abcesses. One of our horses went to the vet clinic, to have his hoof open, because we could not understadn what was wrong about his foot. The abcessess bursted just before surgery!
ReplyDeleteThey are tricky business.
I hope Tucker gets better soon!
Oh no, I hope Tucker will be alright. I really hope it's not serious, and just an abscess. They're really not fun to deal with, but better than the other possibilities certainly.
ReplyDeleteGive Tucker a hug and a carrot for me! Wishing him well!
Very sorry he's still hurting - hope the vet can figure it out. Your farrier sounds like a prize.
ReplyDeleteYou are so lucky to have such a concerned farrier, though I suppose it's not luck but rather a good choice on your part. How mysterious that it seemed to be better for a while now it's bad again. Doesn't seem to be an tendon or bone injury as those would not wax and wane. I still vote for an abscess; it seems that a pocket of infection could migrate and cause more, then less pain depending on the pressure it exerts. I am keeping my fingers crossed!
ReplyDeletePoor Tucker, and poor you and Scott, too. It's always difficult when they're hurting and we can't figure out why. The horses have a sort of serene acceptance of the situation, but us humans are left worrying and making ourselves sick over it.
ReplyDeleteI hope Tucker makes a speedy recovery and it turns out to just be a stubborn abscess.
agree with mary lou .. .with fingers crossed!
ReplyDelete