Brought Phantom in from turnout, brushed and tacked him up, walked him over to the arena, sent him out on the longe line -- and he was head-bobbing sore. So I stopped him, pulled off a glove and sure enough, his right front foot was warm.
*sigh*
I'm thinking it's an abscess. Tendon is tight, no edema, heat focused below fetlock. Plus...we've had 3-4 horses pop abscesses over the past month. Phantom did have a small stone wedged in his heel that I picked out during grooming, but I'm thinking I won't be so lucky that he has a minor bruise. No...I've already got a tab running at the vet's from Monday's jabs and dental work -- why stop there?
I soaked his foot in epsom salt today (scrounged from my just-in-case trunk where it had turned into a solid block over time -- like coal turns into a diamond, only much less valuable). I must say, Phantom was exceptionally good about soaking, since I used one of my little buckets for him to stand in. I'll see how he's doing tomorrow morning before I start making calls.
Phantom seldom has soundness problems, so I count myself fortunate. His previous owner had to deal with a trailering injury. About ten years ago I had the summer of the strained hind tendon.
So the Goober Boy is on a staycation.
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