I'm Baaack!

Yeah, Alex would never put up with this!

... from my beach vacation and ready to get back to my blogging.  I returned to find Alex nearly free of the dreaded crud on his back.  As expected E had taken very good care of him in my absence for which I thanked her profusely.  Unfortunately, he was still battling a pretty bad case of crud on his hind pasterns, the right hind in particular.  Google to the rescue! I found that others had some success with a mixture of triple antibacterial, hydrocortisone, anti fungal and Destitin creams, so that is what we're currently using, after a scrub with Betadine shampoo and a spritz of Vetericyn beforehand.  This concoction seems to be working, but we're only three days in to treatment. 

Alex also seems to be feeling better about his back, we've been lunging with just a bridle Sunday, Monday Tuesday and tonight (we started right tonight for a change of pace) and he looks pretty comfortable.  He's also less sensitive to medium pressure in the areas that were previously uber sore, so I am hoping we're still moving in the right direction.  He only really flinches when he"knows" I'm going to poke, prod or scrub him, he's tired of it and I can totally understand how he feels.  Poor guy has spent more time in that wash stall since his arrival than practically any other place in the barn!  Alex is such a sensitive guy that I think a lot of what goes on with him is remembered pain,  which of course makes me feel like a bad horse mommy that he was ever in pain, but c'est la vie I suppose.

Next week my goal is to get him back into the surcingle/side-reins and see how he feels about having something on his back.  We'll be using the muscle relaxant recommended by my vet for a little while to keep him super comfortable as we keep progressing back to regular work.  I don't want him/us to have a bad experience that pushes him back into pain mode before I can help him build his back muscles back into shape; he's such a "thinker," I'm certain that would be a set back.

I think I'm also going to buy a Back on Track Back Pad and see what that does for him.  I figure I can always sell it on EBay or something, if I don't feel like it helps.  I can't afford a full BOT blanket, so we will start with the Back Pad.

Hope everyone is having a fabulous week!