I'm posting for a young lightweight
friend who is conditioning her gelding for his first LD ride in October.
Approximately 3 weeks ago the gelding came home from a 3 hr. trail ride with a
very sore back, to the point that she thought he was lame until she dismounted
and saw that he was moving OK. When I saw him the following day
there was a soft swollen area approximately 2 x 3 inches where the left side of
the Wintec cantle would be.
She did no riding for approximately
2 weeks and has done a couple of bareback rides during the past week. When
bareback she doesn't come into contact with the sore area. However, the original soft, swollen area of
approximately 2 x 3 inches has now become very hard and continues to be
extremely tender. There is no hair rub or discoloration, and no focal
point, just continues to become harder and the tenderness does not appear to be
any less than 3 weeks ago. She put him on 1 gr. Bute for 3 or 4 days,
otherwise no medication or treatment other than rest.
In my years of endurance riding
I've had some sore backs but never anything quite like this. Does anyone
have any ideas about how to best handle this, to speed the recovery
period. She's had this horse only a few months. Could it be an old
injury that has been exacerbated by the Wintec? This is Jessica's first
horse and she's trying hard to do everything right, and really wants to do that
LD in October.
Thanks,
Betty
Edgar
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