Arg... We are still no closer

Although the actual procedure will be waiting until we have finished with our taxes for the year, we are still trying to get a solidified diagnosis/ treatment plan for Uno.

After the vet left we had 1 week to get him on the previcox and do some light work.  After a few days, I hopped on bareback (which is very normal T - TH.) I worked on getting the more forward w -t -c really trying to feel for an active hind leg.  HE WAS AWESOME!!! 

Then Friday, I got on in the saddle (again this is very normal) and proceeded to have a 90-minute fight.  Our warm-up was picture perfect. We picked up both canters easily and he was reaching forward into the contact.     

Our usual warm up is about 15 - 20 minutes long.  We walk, halt, walk.  Then move into a trot and work on circles and figure eights. Then we canter in each direction. Again this was all VERY well done, so we dropped into a walk break for a few laps and tried to pick back up and do a bit more trot work.  He tends to get rushy after the canter, so we are slowly trying to get good quality work at the trot again to finish our rides.  

Dis be our preferred gait and location.

This was a mistake. The forward lifted gaits we had Wednesday turned into flat rushing and flailing.  I could not get any kind of half halt and he was just over it.  I tried everything trick I had to reset his brain and I had nothing. We could not walk it off, We could not canter it off. We couldn't do treat stretches.  It got to the point that he would hit a corner of the area and not even try to turn, he would just rear and spin.  I eventually got a bit of a figure eight going over a small verticle, and we were able to end on something happy, but I was pissed.  Not at the horse, just at the whole thing.  Uno is not easy to ride and I just want to know if it is him being a dick or a pain response.  

Cue Magic Trainer.  

She came out the next day and gave a flat lesson.  We warmed up with walk halt transitions being really picky about him stepping into them instead of hollowing out in the middle and splatting.  Then we picked up a trot and did trot halt transitions focusing on the same thing.  Originally it took the whole long side to get him to go from trot to halt ina forward and not braced way.  Then we worked on getting as close to walking as we could without breaking and then pushing back up into a bigger trot.

He has done all of these things before.

He was a rock star for all of this.

Then we cantered.

Left was ok - he was a little zoomy. but we worked the same half halts into the program and life was good.

Then we tried (and failed) to walk.  The resulting 40 minutes of halt, walk, halt. trot walk halt trot. trot walk trot canter trot transitions were god awful.  We almost mowed down Trainer's husband.  He was bucking and bolting and very clearly communicating that not only was he still sore, but his poor little brain hampster was totally dead. 

Video to follow.

We got one Ok transition up to canter for 4 strides, then back and quit.

Trainer thinks that it is his SI and not his hocks.  She recommends injecting both. 

I am not certain I have the $$ for that, and I am less certain I have the $$ to campaign a 7-year-old horse that needs that much maintenance to even get to BN.

So I am going to angst about it for a few weeks and read WAY too many threads on COTH trying to make up my mind.

I just want more of this!