Ooooh, interesting .........

Jazz appears to be producing some lumps on the inside of the other hock to the one which got the huge lump a couple of months ago. While it was obvious that the big lump had been knocked, it has never been quiiiite clear how it arrived in the first place. He does drag the toe on that foot very, very slightly if he isn't warmed up and working through.

Well, if there are now lumps forming on the other one, then he definitely has spavins. Talk about coincidences, he was bought to replace a horse with spavins and now it looks like he has them too. Other than that, though, he couldn't be any different. He has never been lame. He isn't even lame on flexion tests which would cripple most horses with spavins this new. And Jazz would never, whinge-king that he is, not have let us know if he was in pain now, would he :-) ?

On the other hand, Jazz's extreme reaction to everything appears to have included his hock joints, which by the looks of it have already fused. Never is there a more appropriate condition for a horse to "over-react" to, since the over-reaction is the cure.

It may be another week or three before it is absolutely clear, but I am reasonably certain now. It will also explain why two or three times in the last month he has started a lesson and I have thought "is he sound on the off hind?" only to decide that I had imagined the one false stride that I felt. It will also explain why I had a vague feeling that he didn't track up as much as he used to - because he didn't - and why he has suddenly seemed to increase his hock action - because they have fused and it has indeed increased. The trouble with a horse who moves as extravagantly as he does is that he still looks and feels great even if he isn't producing quite the paces he used to.

Anyway, if it hasn't caused any trouble so far, then fingers crossed it won't start now.

C