My Boy's Leg Wounds

Who invited these arachnids to live on my fence?

I haven't given an update on My Boy's leg. Which is ironic since I have been spending a couple of hours nearly every day driving to tend to his leg injury, it's been my major focus. He scraped the inside of his hock up pretty nasty on the wire fence while bucking alongside it. I talked to the vet this morning, she said it sounds like an abrasion. Not really a cut, that would require stitches, but more than the typical scratch horses get in the pasture. So far, his leg appears to be healing normally, although as I suspected, I've been "gooping" it up too much. Funny, how we think if we aren't putting goop on a wound, we aren't helping it. I guess I am still a bit of an overanxious horse owner. I am getting better as more "stuff" happens to my horse and we get through it.

For now, I am treating it with Betadine and just keeping an eye on it. The vet said these kind of wounds can take 2-3 weeks to heal, and we are only one week in. It had a little heat in it the first day. I assumed it would swell up as his other leg injury from two years ago swelled like a tree trunk, but there was never any swelling.

All of the black stuff you see running down his leg and around the edges of his wounds is dried and scabby oils, goop, and powder that I'd been applying that have attached firmly to the hair, along with a lot of dirt that stuck to it. As I wash it, most of that falls off.

I had been using a wound care solution w/tea tree oil, and then also some Wonder Dust proud flesh powder. Interestingly, the vet said not to apply the proud flesh powder unless you actually see proud flesh, as you can actually slow down the healing process with it. Not that I'm sure what proud flesh will look like in the beginning stages, but she said someting like pink ballooning flesh on the outer edges.

Interestingly, I have tried to avoid reading too much online as you hear 100 different opinions- use this product, don't use that product, wrap it, don't wrap it....it's overwhelming. One particular conversation thread on a message board I found had a mare with a hock rope burn injury far more severe than My Boy's. It was interesting to read about her treatments, other reader's advice, and a vet's opinion on the matter, which seemed to counter the horse owner's vet's advice. I will include the link here if you want to check it out (caution- graphic pictures.) I think I will just go with what advice the vet gave me, and be sure to call her out if it doesn't look at appears to be healing normally.

It's funny though, how My Boy knows I am helping him. The night of his injury, I saw him a few hours afterward. I brought him out to hose off the dried blood and inspect the scrapes. He didn't flinch a muscle. Over the last week, he maybe lifted his leg and held it up for a few seconds if something stung or irritated him. But he's been a good boy, never trying to move around or kick out.

My Boy mowing Paint Girl's lawn.

And did I mention he's been spoiled rotten? Just to be sure he doesn't only associate coming out of the pasture with leg-cleaning-and-medication-torture, I've been letting him graze on the last green grass remnants of summer after treatment. So he has been a happy camper. I suppose he considers to be fattening himself up for winter. He is getting that fuzzy winter coat in, that is for sure.

Sigh. It figures the summer sleekies never last long enough.

And let me tell you, he is feeling good! The leg is not holding him back at all! He's still galloping around his pasture. Fall is in the air, and horses know it.

Lastly, someone asked about his sarcoid....no resurgence yet. Actually, as his winter coat grows in, the hair is growing over the dry, scaly bare patch of skin (which I'd been coating with sunscreen all summer.) You can see the spot just to the right of and below the ring on the halter. I read somewhere in researching Xxterra that sometimes it can leave a scar, so maybe that is what it did.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that is the end I see of that bump, time will tell!