Testing out our new hocks

I am excited to say that Indy’s legs are looking amazing! After the extended stall rest period, the swelling in the hock is decreasing and the lower limbs are staying tight. He has been cleared to resume hand walking, starting at five minutes and adding one each day.

It is a little hard to see, but they are getting smaller each day!

Today was our eight minute walk, and apparently it was super exciting.  Indy, who has been very quiet and quite patient throughout, was full of it.  It was tough to be firm with him and not let him do what he wanted, which was to buck, rear, kick out, and throw his body around.  I say it was tough because I can see that he is very happy – his legs feel good and he is in no pain.  I could literally feel the joy radiating off of him as he tested his new hocks.  Coming to that realization was an emotional moment for me and a big relief.

Thankfully, all it takes is a firm “no” or a “ho” when he is getting frisky.  He will stop, take a deep breath, and continue on, behaving.  I am so glad I took all the time I have with him; he would be quite a handful and possibly dangerous if I hadn’t.

Ridiculously cute

We have been slowly weaning him of the anti-inflammatory drugs and tomorrow he will be completely off of them.  This is his next big test; if the swelling continues to go down without them then we are in the clear.  We will continue to lengthen our walks and work towards going outside again.  If all goes well he should be back out in a week or so.  He will be restricted to a small paddock for another several weeks, but at least he will be out of his stall.

Indy had some interesting entertainment – he was fascinated and very gentle with them!