Day 61 (and therefore 60) Post-Surgery Has Arrived!

Posting from my phone, apologies now for any formatting issues!

Yesterday was day 60 and Mikey was allowed to go back to work! Yay! After taking care of the horses in the am (I am a barn slave for part of this holiday weekend), I pulled Mikey out for a short work on the long lines.

He was very well behaved for about five minutes, then when I got dumb and corrected a bulging right side, he took off bucking and jumping like a horse who was wearing a girthed up saddle for the first time. Bouncing on all four legs at the same time, so much air, more air than I've seen him do in years, and here I am, at the end of the two lines, trying to get him back under control. I made him work like a gentleman for another ten minutes after he exploded, but then pulled him up to check on his hock.

It was blazing hot. Scary hot.

"I'm not sorry Mom."

So I threw him in his stall, flew down the hill to Sheetz and bought a bag of ice, then across the street to Walmart and bought some gallon ziploc bags, back up the hill, then did this:

Makeshift ice boot. 

I decided I need a pair of hock ice boots after using my teeth to hold the bag of ice up while wrapping a polo and then standing wrap around the damn thing.

All was well though, his hock cooled down considerably and the swelling stayed at his new normal.

Today I did the morning barn work, and took him out again, expecting more jumping around. I was pleasantly surprised!

My horse had a thought process and a work ethic! He was no worse for wear from his shenanigans yesterday, and we worked for about a half hour over his back on the long lines until he kind of had enough.

Learning to be an upstanding horsey citizen again.

I decided to do another dumb thing and take him with me to my trailer to get my lower leg ice boots that I had forgotten about yesterday. I put his blanket on and left his fleece dressage sport boots on, and we went for a walk in the sun. I gave him some of his  lead rope at the trailer, but he pulled away from me and took off. He bucked twice, then galloped back to the barn, me chasing after him so he wouldn't keep heading down the driveway to the road.

He ducked down the side path to the back of the barn and towards the mares' field gate, which conveniently had mares by the gate.

He feels perfectly fine by the way. The trot he took across the driveway and down the side of the barn was tail held like an Arab, neck arched like one too, and a big floating trot with suspension that would make any warmblood jealous.

I caught the naughty boy, who was happily grazing next to the girls, and took him back to his stall where he could wait while I went back to the trailer and got the ice boots.

This is what happens when you gallop away with a chain over your nose.

I was able to rig one up across the front of the joint, and I may not buy new ones. This works well!

It does the job!