It’s been an interesting few weeks for Ace and I. He’s been displaying signs of lameness since mid-June. Initially I thought it was a stifle issue, so we did lots of conditioning work and he got marginally better. A few weeks ago I had the vet out to do a Coggins, float Ace’s teeth, and check over that stiff right hind.
After feeling all over his leg, and using the hoof testers and flexion tests with no results, we did a nerve block. Because the vet agreed that it seemed the …

Well, it’s not Ace’s stifle after all. When he came out for a routine float, I also had the vet check out Ace’s iffy hind end. Turns out he damaged something on his fetlock or pastern. Xrays were clean, so I was thrilled it’s not arthritis. It looks like he’s injured his suspensory branch and will need at least 2-3 months off to heal.
It’s a big deal, so I’ve been sharing about it over on my main site. See the vet visit in pictures, and be sure to check back …

Not only did I survive my week away at camp, I’d say I actually thrived. It was a great week, and for a few days after returning home I just wanted to go back. It is nice to be home though and getting back into the swing of things.
Ace is looking pretty good these days. He still seems a little weak in his right stifle when he turns, but isn’t in pain or lame or anything. I’ve got him back in light work, walking and a little trotting long straight …

It’s been a crazy few weeks in the Baker household; my hubby was gone for 10 days, we’ve had some weddings and some traveling, we’ve been finalizing stuff with the house (check out pictures of our house here), packing to move to said house, prepping for a week vacation, and keeping tabs on my lame horse.
Ace is doing well. He’s not completely sound, but I’d say he’s 90 percent of the way there. I’ve been grooming him, loving on him, and lunging him just enough to see how he’s moving …

My horse is a problem child … and a klutz. He’s tweaked something in his stifle and has been off all week. I’ve gotten quite an education researching stifle problems this week, and learned that Ace has several conditions and symptoms that predispose him.
Stifle Issues
His predispositions for stifle issues include:

being out of work for a long period of time and then starting training
lack of muscle condition n the hind end (see above)
confirmation flaws including slightly straight back legs that are also base narrow

General symptoms I’ve noticed before:

back legs slip out …

It was finally warm enough today to give Ace the first post-winter bath. And boy did it feel good! I thought about titling this post something catchy about “spring cleaning”, but then realized Ace’s bath wasn’t so much about cleaning him off as it was transferring his loose hair and dirt to me. Either way, it was a beautiful thing.
Ace gets a cookie for behaving so well for his bath. I gave him one the day after I bought him last fall, and he wasn’t thrilled. He stood well for …

Apparently with Ace, when it rains it pours.
He is such a problem child. I had two happy days when he was sound and in overall decent shape. I lunged him last night, and besides grumping at me a bit he was fine. His bad leg is still OK, other than just a little swelling which is to be expected since he’s been back on arena turnout with the other horses.
But, he’s falling apart when it comes to cuts.Check out all of his current injuries (these are post-cleaning, pre-treatment and were …