I went out to feed the horses today and Spirit wasn’t well. He didn’t turn to eat his grain. His heart rate was up so I immediately thought of a colic since he likes to do that. It seemed strange since they had been inside all night last night. I put a halter on him and tried to get him to walk but realized that he wasn’t able to walk at all.

His back left leg was swollen all the way up. He wasn’t running a fever. I called in the vet I use when I don’t have the drugs to treat the horses. He was started on IV anti-inflammatories because he was very painful.

After that he drank water and ate his grain. I went away for a few hours and when I came back the leg was about twice as swollen as in the morning. The swelling is starting to go up under the abdomen. I started hosing the leg in the stall since he still won’t walk. He is refusing his grain in part, I think, because there are antibiotics in it. He will eat grass if I go pick it for him and hand it to him in the stall – nothing perks him up like slave labor! I’m hoping he gets hungry enough tonight to eat his grain or else I’m going to have to start force feeding him antibiotics.

This has to be coming from a wound somewhere but I can’t find it. The swelling may be distorting the tissues so much that it isn’t obvious.