Willig's lameness was (is) an abscess

That makes two for Mercury this year and one for Willig, while my prior almost 20 years of horse history includes 0.
It was under his shoe, sort of on his toe, and fairly deep. And it was the left leg, which he was pointing with (but also pawing with), and it was not easy to detect.
He was terrible though, the day the vet was out. He had been in the stall almost a week by then, and wanted one thing and one thing only: to be out with his friends. We had to use a stud chain on him, which he respected immediately, which was weird because I've never used a stud chain before. So it was either his old home or Bob that taught him.
That day, his first day soaking, was a bit of an adventure. Mostly, I hung onto his leg with my left arm and the bucket with my right arm, and bent over for 20 minutes, mostly with his foot in the water. It wasn't until the very end (when his other three legs got tired) that he finally set it down in the bucket.
The next day he didn't get soaked because I spent my entire barn time hanging up one of those "pas-i-fiers" (the rolling thing that mounts in the corner) and this treat ball that hangs up high. He loves the treat ball, and sportingly licked the pas-i-fier before going back to the treat ball.
Day three (but really like day 10), I took him out to the grass turn out, and let him eat grass and walk around until the other horses started to go in, at which point he finally started running around. The soaking that day was not easy (like Mercury), but not so bad.
Day 4 - yesterday - bad, bad day. We had divine weather, so I went out around lunch, put him out in the grass turn out again, and then rode Mercury. Then I switched him and Mercury, and about half way back, he realized he was going back into the barn and did not want to go. Honestly, I don't blame him, but the vet said stall rest. So we inched our way back to the barn, he'd walk a few steps, stop and put his head in the air, I'd make him step sideways, he'd walk a few steps. When we got to the barn, I took him into the grassy area and had him walk over the "bridge" a couple times, then let him eat grass again for a few more minutes. My thinking was it was at least a small reward for actually making it to the barn. Because ... the barn staff told me on Day 2 that he had "broken out" of his stall each time they put the hay in. He does stand there with his head at the door (because there are bars so he can't hang it out), but I was like "oh dear" ... I've been thinking some about barn staff - who might mean well - but the effects it can have on a younger, willful, opinionated horse and that horse's owner when she gets out at night.
So anyway - that foot soaking was a disaster. We got in a huge fight - while he was more willing to plant his foot (so he could paw with the other foot) - he was also leaping around, and eventually spilled the bucket. I had his foot only partially wrapped (I don't like for him to put it down half way, because then it just gets gross and dirty under a layer of duct tape), and I got so mad at him that I put him in his stall and left. At the time, I was just pissed, but later, I realized it was an awful lot like a time-out for a kid.
I totally understand why he's acting up - he's not getting enough exercise, he's away from his herd (and is clearly a horse that has problems with that), I'm doing weird things with him, and he doesn't feel bad anymore, so he just wants to go out and run around. But this raises the old beast - is he too much horse for me or will I learn as I go along? The vet said that a 6 year old warmblood is the mental equivalent of a 3 year old quarter horse, and that he'll improve with age and training, but that his personality will always be a bit like this. And this is probably my absolute weakest area - I don't know how to train a baby. I don't know how to train ground manners.
He gets his shoe back on May 5th, but I'm turning him out again starting tomorrow. I'll just clean his foot and reapply his little bootie each night and hope it doesn't create another abscess.
I've noticed, even without riding him the past two weeks and only riding Mercury, my lower back is still killing me. And bending over with that bucket is not helping at all. My supervisor's wife just had to have neck surgery and has fused vertebrae in her lower back (she rides), and my trainer back in college had a fall and landed on a jump and broke her back and had fused vertebrae. I'm wondering if my back is just weak from the time off, and keeps getting sore instead of stronger, or if something could be going "wrong" with the way I ride that's messing up the vertebrae. I know I'm a bit of a hyopchondriac but I'm thinking of visiting the chiropractor just to make sure it's not something serious. Each week I tell myself I'm going to start doing pilates at home to strengthen it, then each week there's too much else to do.