During a recent veterinary exam, Mac flexed positive in both his right hind fetlock and upper limb. He improved on soft arena ground but the test on hard ground showed pain. To rule out any major issues, we decided to take radiographs of his right fetlock which showed the more significant response on the flexion test. Thankfully, the x‑rays showed nothing significant. The question then remains, what is causing the discomfort in that hind? With clean x‑rays, we considered the possibility of a soft tissue injury. However, with no palpation sensitivity for the suspensory ligament, we could rule that out. But it’s much harder to palpate the sesamoid ligament so that would require an ultrasound to see if this is the cause of his discomfort.
We know that Mac is no spring chicken! Our goal is to see if he can comfortably be a light walk/trot senior riding horse, a buddy for long flat trail walks, and a great companion for other horses. In an effort to see if this is possible or if he should be retired from riding, we have decided to see how he does on a daily dose of Equioxx. We plan to monitor his comfort over the next month, build his riding top-line and revisit with our vet in an evaluation after that time.
We have to add that Mac was a real champ for his exam! He put up with us flexing and trotting him around the parking lot while staying cool as a seasoned gentleman. Makes our lives so much easier to have a sweet boy to handle!
