I thought for a while that it might have been me, because Archie trained me well, but he was a nutter for my trainer, too.  Then I thought that maybe he was just weak.  But while he got to the point that he was willing to pick it up in the round pen, that never transferred to under saddle work (when I know that he was using himself correctly, versus willy-nilly running).

I called the vet out, got the flu, cancelled, had the vet out for an eye emergency, rescheduled, and finally got the guy seen.  I should say - this wasn't a dramatic lameness.  The only symptom that something was meh is the guy's reaction and feeling about the right lead.  He'll pick it up in front, cross behind, swap behind, and/or break behind.  So clearly something was fucked up in the hind, but not enough that my meager butt palate could notice at the trot.

My super vet did some palpations in the cross ties while I explained all the randomness with this issue, then we put Whiskey through his paces on and off the lunge line in the round pen.  My vet immediately saw "a shortening of the cranial phase" in the right hind, at a grade of 2/5.  I did not.  I had to ask because baby brain, but the cranial phase just refers to the path of the leg towards the head.

The vet then flexed each hock/stifle ("upper flexion") and Whiskey earned himself a 3+/5 on that right hind with nothing noticeable on the left.  This led us back into the barn, where Whiskey got himself a nice, relaxing cocktail and his first stifle injection.


I promised him that the tenderness and day in a stall would be worth it, because he'd feel so much better in a couple weeks.  Fingers crossed he feels good enough to give me the right lead soon.