So unfortunately Amber was lame, yet again, today, and I was very disappointed...
This time, it was distinctly in the left front, and I could feel it, see it, and had another rider watch to see if she saw it from a ground perspective (well, she was mounted, but you get the idea - as in a not riding perspective). Amber seemed to be pretty irritated as well, and it was obvious something was up. I checked her her foot, her leg, but no heat or swelling. Baffling...
Either way, this is really starting to turn me off buying her. She's an awesome little mare, but I just don't want to buy anything with lameness issues. And these keep cropping up...I mean, if I could have a vet tell me with certainty that it was a fluke, that it was maybe the cold weather, or her cycles changing for the winter, even her feet being tender from the removal of her shoes a couple of months ago.
It's just starting to seem so iffy. I can't let my head get away with me. I need a horse that is 100% sound, 100% healthy, that's fairly consistent. I'm not rich, and I have only time to devote to one horse (or at least, doing things the right way). So I need something I can count on. Jack and Gulliver could have been mine, but I did not buy either because of that - and you all know how much I love those horses. Wonder, talented horses, that unfortunately just would not work out for me as a purchase. And if Amber turns out the same way...well, that'll have to be that.
Excited to go check out Rosshead sales in a couple of weeks though...who knows, I might fall in love then and there! Well, probably not, but every horse I look at and try out helps me form an even more concrete idea of what I do and don't want, so I'm definitely excited for that!
Amber got a little bute to help her out tonight. Thankfully, Casey isn't the kind of person who tries to use bute to mask a problem though. I'm kind of hoping she'll have the vet out soon to investigate this. It's so off and on though, and it's never dead hopping lame...it's just a tender/sore thing and she seems aggravated. Still, I would really love to know what's behind all this, because I really think I'm going to put Amber on the back burner until we find out. Can't risk it.
Sounds to me like a bruise or abscess. If her shoes were pulled recently, that's pretty likely. The trouble is, that sometimes those can take a while to resolve, especially when it's an "off and on" lameness and generally kind of slight.
ReplyDeleteWhen I pulled Tucker's shoes last winter/spring he was lame off and on for well over a month. Had the vet and shoer out over and over and we never did quite pinpoint it. It was definitely a hoof issue with clean xrays, however. Amber's problem sounds similar.
I thought of that actually, when I was feeling her over after I got off...I agree, it's very likely...still though, I can't take the risk. If it's still going on when the time comes to make my purchase choice, I can't do it.
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