It's In The Name

So tonight John came out. He started pinching and tugging and feeling at Jimmy's tendons. Nothing. Started tugging and pinching and wiggling his ankles. Pretty much nothing.

He did a little chiro, and Jimmy was tight and stiff and awkward everywhere. Jimmy was pissed. He did NOT want chiro. It hurt :-( Eventually he softened and became much more fluid. He did the stretches and exercises with ease within a few minutes.

Then the next step before John watched him jog was to hoof test. Do you know how many times we've hoof tested Jimmy? Like a zillion. Every farrier I've ever had with Jimmy I personally ask: Do you think he needs shoes? Say the word, I will tell you it is okay to put shoes on him. So John hoof tests him. What do you know? Left front: Sensitive to hoof tester. Indication of......*drum roll* Jimmy needing shoes.

So out we go, to jog him and see how he does. Well, he's lame. REALLY lame - the lamest I have seen him while lunging him, actually, ever. Left. Freakin'. Front. Both directions he was lame, not so bad to the right, but super lame to the left.

The decision was to block his left front hoof, to verify that is absolutely the source of pain and 20 minutes later we saw a Jimmy Choo trotting a Grade 2 instead of a Grade 3 Lameness. 50% improvement!! HOORAY! He was almost sound to the right, still lame to the left. But a huge improvement. John flexed Jimmy once and he only took two lame steps and jogged right out of it (while blocked).

So finally: the decision was to inject the left front since he was still a bit lame on it, he needed more joint fluid - and put front shoes on him!!!! HELLO! SHOES?!? C'mon, really?! How easy is that?????

Irony of it all, is every night for at least the last 4 nights I have dreamed that Jimmy was wearing shoes, or asking me for shoes. What the heck. Why didn't I listen?!? Horses talk through dreams, after all!!! So John said he definitely needs front shoes, not back, and if possible pour-in pads to give his heels some more support. Or the special high-heeled shoes....Anyone seeing the rest of the irony here?

My horse. Jimmy Choo. Needs high-heeled shoes. He thinks it's hilarious:

Anyone know a farrier who will come to McHenry?! John said he should get them ASAP - preferably in the next 3 days while he's inside on stall rest anyway.