Well, it appears he slept well last night, extra shavings in his stall and all evidence that he was sleeping flat out. That made me feel good. Just did catch him before he got up. Which I'm glad to say he did without hesitation.
However, after he was up, he did not want to weight the leg. I massaged his shoulder and neck to get the blood moving and the muscles warmed up. A bit of whiskers in this shot, curious as ever, and willing. You can see from this angle the swelling has pushed the bone outward once again.
As we walked, slowly.....he would try to use the leg, it took several minutes of patient walking on stable ground. Each step I allowed him to decide if he would take it or not. But as we took one, then another, the shoulder got more flexibility, and he would start to weight the leg, just a bit. By the time I had him to his turn out pasture, he was moving much better, and being turned out always helps him to move more easily. Again, motion is lotion for joints.
I think it's going to be a long winter. But I'm not about to give up and neither is he.
I hope the cool weather may help his inflammation. Motion IS Lotion :) As much as he wants to move.
ReplyDeleteKeep up your hard work, he'll thank you by holding up his end :)