Tree Trunks

Are what Jetta has for legs. Sigh. Mare, what am I going to do with you?!

I came out to the barn last night and found this:

At first I was like, ok, she's stocked up, but then once I pulled her out of the stall I saw that she was really stocked up. The pictures definitely don't do them justice.

I immediately grabbed a lunge line and brought her into the arena to see if she was lame. She trotted off just fine with those massive legs, though to my amateur eyes I may have detected a bit of shortness on her right hind (the biggest leg) and a bit more clumsiness, but that's probably something best attributed to her freakin humungo legs.

I saw the BO walk by and asked her if she had noticed her legs. I was a bit ticked that she hadn't texted me that my horse's legs are three times their normal size. Usually she's super good about letting me know if Jetta is just a little bit off, and I'd say that this was more than just a little bit. "She's fine." Was her response. Uhhh, but her legs are ginormous! "It's called stocking up, she's been in her stall for the weekend. It's normal." No, it's not. And duh, I know what stocking up is. I wouldn't be so alarmed if they weren't so huge, but then again, I didn't ride her Friday or Saturday so she's been stuck in the stall for a bit, but she's never done this in the three years I've owned her. Not when she was on stall rest, not last year at this barn, never. The BO said she turned her out on Friday, but that she was in all day Saturday. I wish I knew when the swelling started.

So I'm thinking a) it's just stocking up and I'm being paranoid and should stop stressing since she isn't lame on it, b) she bruised, pulled or ripped a tendon/ligament in her leg while on turnout or c) she's had an allergic reaction to something. Her bedding was the same (obviously because it hadn't been cleaned in, oh, what looked like at least a day or so, grrrr) but she had been fed something else. I ran out of grain (which is another rant against the BO who only told me two days before Jetta was out, and I thinking that "low" meant maybe a week of grain left, waited until the weekend when I could go home and get the grain) so she had to feed the barn grain for two days until I was able to bring her food. So it could possibly be that, but I don't think it's very likely.



Such a pretty girl.



Are you done yet? My food's waiting...

 After lunging Jetta for about 20 minutes, where she showed no reluctance to move, pivoted fine on her right hind and even backed very willingly. I put her away and decided that I would ride her lightly the next day.

Today I come out and her hind feet are just as massive as yesterday. Why???? I pulled her out and made her trot out again, but still nothing. Maybe just a tad short on the right hind, but it's minute and not consistent. The kind of thing that someone like me would come up with when I stare long enough at any horse. She's tracking up nicely, doesn't mind pivoting, transitions well, etc, etc.

I ended up taking her for a long trail walk and then bringing her back to the barn and wrapping her hind legs. Of course all my standing wrap gear is at home and I just don't have two and a half hours to drive home and get it, so I borrowed someone else's wraps and then went and bought some more for myself. I'll go re-wrap her legs tonight after my bio midterm...

Before is on the left and after I lunged/walked her is on the right. There's improvement, but I still don't understand why. So frustrating.



All wrapped up... with too short borrowed wraps.