Overstress injury, suggestions?

I was taking a training ride yesterday, seven miles on a rather demanding trail that has a 1,000 foot elevation change from start/finish to mid point. It has been rainy in the Cascade mountains, but when I started out, the trail was easily negotiable. There is a lot of uphill, and only several hundred yards in two or three places to move out a little, then a lot of downhill. It is basically a walking hillwork kind of trail.

Two things happened. First, on one of the flat spots we were moving in gait, maybe 8 mph, and he dropped a front foot into a water-filled "leg-breaker" hole. Awful, like 10 inches across and 12 inches deep! He almost fell, recovered, and started to continue to paso down the trail. I pulled him up, check his front legs and walked next to him for a while. With no heat and no tenderness, I remounted and continued.

At miles 6 and 7, way too late to turn around, I found horrible, really awful, dangerously deep sticking mud. We were headed down some serious downhills with rocks sticking out like islands. The forest was too thick to get off of the trail and the mud too deep for me to even negotiate... I tried getting off and leading him and I couldn't walk in it. So, I got back on and we crept and eased to the bottom.

When I got back to camp (he's living at a state park for part of the summer) I hosed his legs with cold water, and applied a "cooling gel" felt for heat, etc, but was mostly concerned about the leg he dropped in the hole.

When I was able to get back this morning he was swollen on all four fetlocks -- not bad, but noticeable. He's never had a mark or wind-puff or swelling or anything! There was puffiness from about 3 inches above the joint, through the joint area. It was mostly in the base of the suspensories area. There is heat in the joints, but not extreme. When I arrived, he was lying down for his post-breakfast nap. This is standard procedure for him, so I didn't freak about that... but when I came in the paddock, he was slightly lame in one front leg and mildly stiff and sore all around. I got on him bareback and rode a few minutes to check him out, and he did move pretty freely, perhaps just a slightly shorter stride. I believe that he was, miraculously, spared injury from the hole that he stepped in, but the fetlock strain was from the awful mud.

Now, I know this isn't the worse injury in the world, but I am preparing for my first 25 mile endurance ride on the 16th, and am concerned about knowing when I can safely resume riding, training and how to know if he's safe to try a 25 miler. AND, I know I'm freaked about leg problems as we've never had one before.

Today I gave him a cold water hosing and an application of cooling gel, plus 2.5 grams of Asper-Paste in the morning. He was walked in hand during the day, and then given 3.5 Equifen paste in the evening.

I don't see a suspensory pull or tear, IMHO, as he's not showing lameness per se and it's all four legs. I think it's a strain.... but I will know more tomorrow a.m. I have to leave the house at 7 a.m. Friday morning to return to the camp, and would VERY much appreciate any comments about severity of this swelling, treatment, resumption of training and time of healing. If anyone could email me before that time -- losvagos@wvi.com -- with comments I'd be very grateful. And, if you miss that 7 a.m. deadline, don't worry, I'd be very grateful for any info at any time. I will return home in the late evenings too.

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