Getting ready for the vet

Nox has his lameness evaluation next week.  Dr. Meg is coming up to ultrasound his right hind ligament, hopefully for the last time!  She was last out in November and the tear in the ligament was smaller, but still a big problem.  It has been 6 months since then, and Nox has been very quiet and calm on stall rest, with no jumping or kicking or any crazy behavior.  In preparation for Dr. Meg's visit, I decided we needed to practice walking on the concrete barn floor and walking outside, so she can evaluate him while he's moving.  This sounds so simple... and actually, getting Nox to walk on the concrete barn floor was very easy.  We just plied him with carrots and cookies and now he'll walk across the concrete like it's no big deal.

Walking outside is a different experience:

Nox is just so excited to be allowed to walk outside, after 6 months of very strict stall rest and a total of 1 1/2 years of rest, that he just cannot stop himself from jumping around and making an excuse to spook at anything that moves or makes a sound.  It's like he's over-stimulated by his surroundings.  He is calming down, little by little, and I quickly learned (once again) that I had to stop babying him and if he jumps back, I need to take control and make him back up even more and even faster.  I need to make walking forward alongside me more fun and pleasant than whatever bad behavior he wants to do.

The goal is to get him to walk on a lead line back and forth in straight line and trot back and forth in straight line while the vet is looking next Tuesday.  Please cross your fingers that we make that goal.  The good news is that Penny has been watching me walk Nox around and she doesn't see any signs of soreness or limping!  Yay!

Besides all of that, Nox is looking great.  He has shed out his winter coat and I absolutely love the rich chocolate brown summer coat he has now.  After a little time in the sun, he'll get those beautiful golden dapples all over his body that make me just want to sit and stare at him all day.

Horse girls understand the feeling...