Monday, September 21, 2009

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!

35 comments:

  1. Poor "My Boy"! Sounds like you sure are taking good care of him though. Glad to hear it's not holding him back! ;) Hope it continues to heal up really quickly!

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  2. Don't you just hate it when they get owies! It looks nastier than I thought. Being the good mom you are, he will be back to normal soon. HUGS!

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  3. You would think with an abrasion like that, he wouldn't be running and bucking. He still runs and bucks up to his hay every day! Very full of it, I'd have to say.
    You are a great horse mom!
    Can't wait to get back to riding, after Brandy's back heals, and your boys leg heals, we need to get out on a trail ride, while we still have decent weather!

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  4. awww, thats just a scrape, a little cold hosing, let it dry out and let his body heal it, the serum and blood from the wound carries the right things to the wound. Nutrients, white blood cells and epithelial cells.....`

    I avoid all goops, they really have very little to no ability to 'heal' a wound, and some get in the way completely.

    Like Wonder dust and Bag Balm... nasty stuff.

    If a wound is truly infected and hot and swollen then properly treat the infection, if its not then leave it alone.
    If it's severe and needs stitches or frequent and special treatment to manage the healing, then do that but otherwise less is usually best.

    .....AND don't go scaring yourself by reading about horrible rope burns and such...silly girl

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  5. Good news on the sarcoid! Dawn's is staying away for now too. On wounds, if it's dry and looks like its healing, I tend to leave it alone - I don't put anything on it as that can interfere with healing. Even if it's wet and goopy in the first few days after it happens, it's normal for it to ooze and seep. I usually put on an antibiotic - I'm a fan of Novalsan creme - for a couple of days and then I leave it alone - very gentle hosing off if there is dirt or debris, and putting Swat around the wound to keep the flies off. But sometimes different treatment is required, depending on the injury, and I'm no vet.

    Hope he continues to recover well!

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  6. Horses, they get into everything! Gilly had a few burns on his hind foot just above his hoof a month ago. I figure he got caught in a vine in the pasture, it scabbed up but is now gone and no scar.
    You are taking really good care of your horses leg, hopefully it will not leave a scar. His bump on his face is hardly noticeable now, good job!
    I am sure he is loving getting out to eat in your Paint Girls yard, what a treat. Spoiled???? No!!! LOL

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  7. Indigo and your boy are in the same boat only Indigo got six stitches. Shes been in a stall at night and out during the day by herself and let me tell you she expresses her distaste for the stall every morning by blasting around at least once or twice with her tail strait in the air (You can really see the arab in her lol!)
    She was really stiff the night of the wound after it was sutured and the next day but she began limbering up. Indigo has had wounds like your boys there and not once was she lame or hurting. Funny how they are.
    With any wound that is in the place of your boys is hard to wrap. I prefer not to wrap. Oxygen speeds healing and wrapping it creates heat.
    Most goops are a waste of time. Most horse people don't even know what the ingredients are best at treating. Looks good though. Cold hosing a time or two a day is a very good idea in any wounds case.

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  8. It sounds like you are taking good care of your guy and he is healing nicely. Horses always amaze me with their ability to heal! Which is good, given their ability to get into things...

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  9. Exactly what Cowgirl Rae said..........
    He looks like he is healing just fine and at this point let air and time heal his leg. He'll be fine and you'll be out with your sis riding soon.
    Love his freckly coloring! He's so handsome!

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  10. Ugh, boy do I know what you mean about reading about treatments online! I've had my clumsy boy for just over a year, and he's always injuring himself or turning up with scrapes and cuts. And he usually gets them on his lower legs, which take forever to heal! I worried and looked up all about proud flesh and treatments, and for every 10 sources found 11 different answers. I've discovered with my boy that if I just keep an eye on it and keep it clean, and then don't worry myself sick, it will heal up in a couple weeks. I joke that Ace looks like a pirate because he has a scar under his eye, a long one under his chin, and is constantly scraping the hair off his face and legs. Silly boy!

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  11. I'd just let mother nature take care of it. As hard as it is- she's really good at these things. I will soon show before and after photos of my gray mare's wire cut. It happened in June and it's still not completely healed up. If you notice proud flesh and you're worried about it, you can always do the old farmer method and take a pocket knife and scrape it until it bleeds. It will eventually go away. Otherwise, you can do nothing, and it should still heal up just fine.

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  12. His sarcoid does look way better! I know what you are saying about conflicting stuff online. I often look online for advice but find the same thing. Well good luck :) glad he's being a good patient.

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  13. I think you're doing the right thing. Mostly I worry about flies, but with those under control, air and time will work just fine. He'll be ready to ride in no time.

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  14. {Sydney}~ I agree.....I forgot to mention that when I considered wrapping versus not, that despite my need to goop, I always feel that air/oxygen is the best healer! But probably because these scrapes are fairly superficial, that is okay. More severe wounds like Indigo's would require wrapping or stalling.

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  15. We'd just bought my husbands new very expensive team roping horse and I put him in the round pen to move a little. I put another horse in there to introduce him to the herd. I don't know if Big was kicked or what but when I went out to check on him, his should was ripped open with about a 6 in long 4 inch wide peel away of the hide and first layer of skin. I thought he was going to need stitches but our vet said to leave it alone. Put a protetive spray to keep the flies out of it and it just healed right back. Sometimes I think less is better.

    Glad he is making progress though!

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  16. You might try some: Schreiners Herbal Solution. Check out the Testimonials! WOW! I have ordered some to use on the horse I am working on. I have also heard from my farrier and other friends that this is the best stuff!

    http://www.schreiners.com/FARM_SITE/Farm_home.htm

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  17. Don't eat that spider My Boy!

    Interesting picture of the abrasion. Hope it heals quickly. These things usually look worse to us concerned horse-moms than they are to the horse. I'm going to look at the link to the other horse's wound, but will wait a bit. I just had breakfast and My Boy's wound is enough for now. Thanks for sharing about it. It is always interesting to know how these things are treated. And glad the sarcoid has healed well.

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  18. it's almost like you have the owie. when your horse does.. Hope he's footloose and fancy free soon

    gp

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  19. Sorry to hear My boy hurt himself, I hate it when they do that!

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  20. Ouchy! I am glad it is healing! It takes a while. Our pony had an abscess last week and is finally getting back to normal. It is always something!

    If I remember correctly you are a Diana Gabaldon fan, do you have the new book yet? It is being released today :)

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  21. Oh! It's so wonderful to see My Boy! It seems so long since you've posted photos or spoke much about him. He looks so good, despite the leg wounds. Looks like you're doing a great job helping him heal. I read through the posts on Dixie's wounds. Those wounds were horrific. And at the end it sounds as if Holly is just getting mroe and more frustrated with the information overload while watching the slow healing. That's so unfortunate and frustrating. :(
    So, don't you worry yourself and compare My Boy's injuries to Dixie's. If My Boy lived in the wild, his injuries would have just healed on their own. They don't seem to be very bad at all, mostly abrasions like your vet told you.

    Baby Doll is still healing from a nasty gash on her hock from when she was pastured over a month ago. Like My Boy, her gash wasn't deep, but was about 6" long. She's already scabbed over and much of the scab has eve fallen off and the wound is mostly healed. I didn't do much with it, except keep it clean and put Sponge Bob bandaids on it (just kidding about the Sponge Bob bandages. lol!).

    But I think you're right about the 'over-gooping' and we humans would do better for minor horse wounds, to just keep them clean and let nature heal them. :)
    I swear, though, horses seem to get injured more than the typical elementary aged kid does.

    ~Lisa

    word verif: hokies

    Many of the wonder goops are just snake oil hokies. lol!

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  22. These things happen- sounds like you're keeping his leg nice and clean. My horsey friend tells me that once a scar on a horse has healed, she applies a little vitamin E, which helps with healing and appearance of the scar (wouldn't hurt, even if it doesn't work!)

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  23. Poor sweetie pie honey. He is such a good boy to let you clean it out and work on it and you are such a good mom. "My Boy" is lucky to have you. I am sure you are busy teaching yet you take care of him daily. That is why he is so good to you out on the trails. He knows he is so loved!!!

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  24. Glad he is healing up. Wouldn't it be nice if they were more careful?

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  25. The fact that he is playing around tends to make me think that it does not hurt now that the sting is gone!!! Sometimes I find these kinds of things a day or 2 old and by that time they have already started to heal. I think the fact that it is so large in actual size makes it look so much worse than a normal size scrape.

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  26. It always looks way worse than it is. Jaz is always banged up like that. I used to freak out, but now I just keep an eye on them and for the most part don't put anything on them.

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  27. It's always something, isn't it? Sounds like you're doing all the right things. I think you're right to follow your vet's advice - why pay all that money and then ignore what she tells you to do? He looks like he's healing, but I would worry too. I think that just being there and keeping an eye on it so if there's any sign of infection, you can catch it, is the most important thing. You're such a good horse owner!

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  28. That legs looks like it will hold up just fine! between you and Paint Girl, I bet that horse gets more than enough loving care! I really like that last picture of your Boy with his dear little eyelashes and closed eye. That's really special.
    Winter coats already?! Can you belieeeeve it?

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  29. Glad to see he is doing so well. It sure seems like it is not serious, and should heal up nicely on its own. I know what you mean about reading too much online -- there is so much conflicting advice!

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  30. Poor baby, looks like he's healing, though. It is amazing how they suddenly realize that your actually trying to care for them, that's the bond........it's a good thing!

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  31. Yes it is hard not to put all the goop on a wound but it sometimes isn't good.
    I learned that a long time ago when my mare got cut up.It looks really like it is doing nicely and I am glad!

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  32. Aww, what a good boy! :) I do hate when any of the animals hurt themselves, it stresses me way more than them, fershur! :-0 Glad to see he is healing nicely.

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  33. Hey, that owie is nothing like a rope burn, so quit scaring yourself! A little intellegent non-treatment is sometimes best. But they are always getting something hurt, I know. The sarcoid looks pretty good. One of mine, a grey, had a HUGE reaction to the Exterra and the hair never grew back in, so he has a big black hairless splotch which contrasts ever so evilly with his silvery white coat. Ah, well, it could have been a melanoma (like I thought at first) instead of a sarcoid, so it's not so bad after all!

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  34. ouch looks like that one hurt a bit! One of the best things I have ever put on a wound like that is a spray called Shreiners. It's all natural, and dries the wound up in order to quicken the healing process. It does sting a bit as there is cayeanne pepper in it. But it works like a hot damn. I have replaced all my goopy substances with this little spray bottle.

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  35. {Natarojo}~ I have a generic, natural version of that, but it is a couple years old and I think it's gone bad, it looks like it's darkened in color. I've seen the Shriener's at the feed store and need to pick up a new bottle to have on hand. It's nice because it's a spray and not goopy! ;)

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I love hearing from my readers!! I truly enjoy all of your feedback, advice, helpful tips, and stories. You all make me laugh and I learn so much from you, too. I will try to post replies to your comments as often as I can.

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