Progress!

Jinx has been cleared for trot-work by the vet!

So we have been doing lots of pony-ing with Izz around the trail, lots of trotting under saddle, lots of walking over poles, tarps, etc. His trot is....interesting. Very bouncy. His gait throws me out of the tack with each step, and it doesn't help that he can't pick a speed when he is going either. It's already improved some, though, and I imagine that with time, his gait will even out. His front end still has some catching up to do with his back end anyways.

He's SUCH a good 2 year old. Nothing fazes him. And he's LAZY. The vet thinks that he might by slightly anemic from my description of him always being sleepy and drinking lots of water. We started him on Red Cell to her recommendation but I really haven't seen a dramatic difference. He was "wild" one day when he was first started on it (he bucked out once), but really any other time he is halfway between naptime and reality.

The vet is coming out on January 13th to do another ultrasound to see if he can be cleared as a normal horse. Until then, we are putting Blue Emu on the leg to break down some of the scar tissue and relieve any pain he is feeling from the tendonitis. Fingers crossed for a good news ultrasound in January!

Here's to hoping 2012 is better year with Jinx!

Cleared to Ride!

The vet came last week and ultrasounded Jinx's leg. The sore on his leg is almost completely closed up. What was raw and pink 2 weeks ago is now skin. There is a small scab on his leg, and the vet and I are both unsure of whether hair will grow back in this area completely.

Today, I rode Izz, and ponied Jinx in tack. When I realized Jinx was completely calm, and not going to do anything stupid despite the windy day, I hopped on him for a few laps around the ring at the walk. Other than trying to swim in a mud puddle, he did very well for his first ride in quite some time. He was very willing, and very calm. All he really wanted to do was visit with Izz and make sure he was not getting left behind!

Progression of Jinx's Healing

His leg is FINALLY healing, so I thought I'd put a few pictures together to show what the progression of his healing has been like...

Here is the first, initial injury:

Here it is after the stitches, and after he had ripped out said stitches:

After healing for a quite a while, and things still not looking "quite right" a blood vessel burst, which can be seen here:

And here is it is, after all the trouble, money, and heartache, FINALLY HEALING!

And it is even smaller than this photo, but I have no had a chance to take pictures of it. The area is finally starting to get smaller, there is no swelling whatsoever in that area, and it is finally starting to look like a happy, healing pink.

At least 2 more weeks of wrapping, then ultrasounds, and we are good to go with lots of fingers crossed and lots of knocking on wood!

3 more weeks?

3 more weeks of wrapping.

Last week, there was some complication with his existing injury. A blood vessel, naturally created by the healing process, and aided with the use of SSD ointment, busted, and created a scene out of a horror movie:

Ridiculous.

And in the meantime, I wrapped his leg too tight (in an attempt to stop the bleeding) and created a small bow in the left hind tendon. It seems that the swelling as all but subsided, but he is going to require ultrasound in that leg before "returning" to training (if you can call it "returning").

So now I am wrapping every other day, and alternating Biozide cream and Entederm. And counting down the days until the next vet appt on 10/19.

It's been a long road to recovery...

The long road to recovery has been full of its ups and downs. Jinx is NOT a happy camper in a stall. We have had to keep him on Ace almost every day since his injury. I know that you really can't expect too much cooperation out of 2 year old, but he has been absolutely bonkers. A week after his injury, I turned him out into our indoor ring so he could stretch his legs and be free from a stall for a while. Oh yeah.... he was FREE alright. He went CRASHING through a board to escape the ring and go see his buddies. He escaped injury-free other than a scrape or two (which I might add, I think he deserved a little bit).

Then about a week after that, I was hand walking him, and he spun around a bucked out, hitting my hand. I thought he had broken it from how hard he kicked it, but I could wiggle my fingers and regained feeling in it a few minutes later. He has since learned that spinning and bucking on the end of a lead is NOT okay.

He has also learned that kicking out at me when I am trying to re-wrap his leg is not okay either.

So onto the up side of this story....

The vet came out and checked his wound yesterday. It is healing well, and we should only have 2 more weeks of daily leg wrapping. She also x-rayed his big knee, and they came back clean with no issues! She also said his growth plates in his knees are almost done closing, and that from now on he will be gaining height from his withers and other structures.

And a photo and a few videos...

We had to get "creative" in our training... here is little Jinx wearing a tarp, which he also walked over. He was quite good about everything.

And here are two videos of his turn out "celebration"...

And let the vet bills begin...

I went out to the barn Sunday evening to check on Jinx and Izz and give them both some cookies. I came upon Jinx and noticed that there was something wrong with his left hind leg.

So $774 later...Jinx is on lots of drugs, stall rest, and has stitches in his left hind leg. He's got a wrap that needs to be replaced every other day.  He's not too happy, but I guess to look on the bright side, it could have been worse.

Already Spoiled

Jinx had an exciting week after his first ride. He made a new best friend!

Justy and Jinx were side by side inseparable since the moment we put them together.

Jinx has also been busy learning that breaking the velcro cross ties is not OK, and that getting hosed and fly-sprayed is not going to kill him. He has accepted the hosing/bathing part, not so much the fly spray part.

Today, he went out with his herd for the first time. The first thing he did was find a nice, big, lovely mud puddle. This was the end result.

He was COVERED in mud on his left side.

I went on a little shopping spree today and bought some black SMB boots. I lunged him in them today, and he didn't seem to care too much about the boots. After some pulling, and my deciding to put the chain back on his nose while I lunge him, we did manage to pick up a canter both directions. Tracking left, he first picked up his right lead canter, and then successfully picked up the left lead canter with ease. Tracking right, it took him several tries to pick up the right lead canter. He cantered a few strides to the right before I paused and brought him back to the walk and praised him up and down.

I picked up a Bates saddle w/ an interchangeable gullet that I am going to try on him tomorrow. It might be a bit too wide in the rear panels for him, but I imagine he has plenty of filling out to do still. We sticked him today...15.2 at the withers and 16.0 at the butt. I imagine he will easily mature to 16 hands, considering he is only 2 years 3 months old.