
09/20/2025
Keeping an eye on Eddie...
Know your horses. The slightest change in behavior or routine can alert you to problems.
Eddie always meets me at his gate at meal time. This morning he stood in his shelter, while I brought up his feed (red flag #1). When I went to put his feed in his dishes, I noticed that he had not finished his supper from the night before (red flag #2). Right away I'm thinking upset tummy, until I noticed how he was standing. With his right front foot bearly on its toe, bearing no weight. Now I am thinking he hurt his foot, for has an abscess.
I contacted one of my foster mom's, Jani, to see if she could come over and hold Eddie, while I checked out his foot and wrapped it. When she got here, we both looked at his foot and this time his fetlock (ankle) was swollen (both times I had checked on him today, I did not notice it then. Abscesses don't usually cause swollen fetlocks. Now we are both thinking he twisted or strained it in the mud. I gave him some bute at lunch and will see how he is doing tonight at supper. Eddie is 27, so it would be pretty easy for him to twist or strain something.
Will keep everyone posted on how he is doing.