Did I over treat?

The good news is that I think Sam is really on the mend. Last night I didn't poultice his leg. I have him booked in with the vet so I figured it couldn't do much harm missing a night. Well this morning a lot of the swelling was gone! There was still a little heat but it was just really good to see a lot of the swelling gone. I decided to leave it for the morning and headed out again around 1pm to pick up my float and check him again.

I practiced hooking the float up and checked Sam. The leg was looking good so decided to do some float loading practice for tomorrow. He loaded straight away. Backed out very slowly. I put the centre divided across to the middle and loaded him up again. This time he was happy to stand while I put the bum bar across and closed up the ramp. I then went around the front, tied him up and we headed out for the road. We just went around the block but he travelled well and I did well driving.

I get myself so worked up when I have to float Sam. I am getting worse with my worring so the more I do not under any pressure the better I will get - well that is the plan anyway. When we got back I untied him and put the ramp down. He wanted to back out straight away but he kept hitting the bum bar. I had to ask him to move forward so I could undo this. He was happy to move forward and stand there. When I undid the bum bar he did back out and wouldn't stop so I asked him to walk straight back up and in again. He did a little rear and then gave to the pressure and walked straight back on. He was happy to walk out one step at a time then.

I was very pleased with the whole floating experience.

I popped him on the lunge to check his soundness and he seemed sound. I still gave him the day off and I will check him on the lunge again in the morning to see if he needs the vet or not. I have washed him, trimmed his mane, tail and rugged him up so he will stay clean in case we need to see the vet. I know it is silly but I would like him looking his best if he needs to go out in public.