One Does Get Suspicious

Bute or a Breakthrough?

Tucker was much better this morning, so I suspected the bute had made him feel better.  This would be bad as that would mean his lameness was a result of something other than an abscess.

I soaked his foot in a warm epsom salt solution and then put the poultice on and wrapped his foot.

He was much better by the afternoon. 

Meanwhile, Scott and my vet had managed to coordinate a possible time and day to get here together to take some more X-rays and try to figure out what is actually going on.  That would be Tuesday afternoon. Dr. Parisio called me as well and suggested that I give Tucker bute only if he seemed to be getting more sore and otherwise to just keep up the soaking and wrapping, with him on stall rest. 

Scott called back later, after I'd fed the Boys and noticed that Tucker was even sounder.  I went out while I kept Scott on the phone, opened Tucker's inside stall door and he strode out into the aisle of the barn as if he'd never been lame.  While I did notice a little short step as he made the tight turn--the aisle is 12 feet wide, but I do have things stored on the side--he was practically bouncing sound again.  It was very windy out and the other two Boys were out in the pasture, so he was a little frisky looking for them. 

When I cleaned off the poultice earlier in the day, I certainly hadn't seen any sign of discharge.  The poultice is very white, so it would show something--I'd think--if an abscess had burst.  Since Dr. Parisio told me to soak him once a day, I decided to leave it on for the night--I'm pretty good at wrapping in vetrap and duct tape at this point--and see what I have in the morning.  If there is no sign of a burst abscess then, I am totally clueless as to why he'd suddenly look so sound again.  Yesterday he was, as Scott said, "broken bone lame." 

Abscess makes the most sense, but where is the darn thing????

Oh, yes. I lunged Chance too and had him jump a pile of blox--the plastic block thingies that hold rails for jumps and cavaletti.  He is really casual about it. Wonder if he needs something higher to inspire some real effort?

So many questions and as the wild wind whips around outside, I simpley don't have the answers.

Perhaps they are "gone with the wind."   *sorry, couldn't resist.* *lol*