Tuck It Up

Tonka's progress continues at steady pace of two steps forward and one step back. For the past three weeks he has been short-striding on his hind left with no evidence of heat or swelling in the leg. The pain seems to come from his stifle or back and, to be honest, I haven't really worried about it. My theory is that Tonka has been moving awkwardly to accommodate founder pain for years, so he's bound to get gimped up now and then as he starts to move more freely. So far all of his stiffnesses and sorenesses have resolved themselves over time, and he has looked more comfortable for the past two days.

Above is one of the first pictures I ever saw of Tonka. At the time I remarked to a friend that his hind legs were tucked far under his belly, but I didn't know this was typical of foundered horses trying to unweight their painful toes. Live and learn! The position of his hind legs is one of the best markers I have for Tonka's improvement. He now stands with one or both hocks directly under the points of his buttocks most of the time. I think my back would be sore too if I changed my posture that drastically.