Massive Leg Injury (Warning, graphic pics)

CJnBucksMom · 03-29-2009, 11:53 AM

I just wanted to kind of start a thread to keep up with a horse that I currently am taking care of. This horse belongs to an elderly lady I know and was staying at one of her family members houses when the injury first occurred, they weren't able to get a vet out to their neck of the woods, literally, so I had to go by pictures and consulting with my vet an hour away. We couldn't just take the horse in because he has issues with trailering and with this injury we didn't want to take the chance on him hurting himself further and doing more damage, plus this didn't exactly make for a time for trailer loading lessons.

However, the first pictures are when the injury first occurred and the most current are now, almost two and a half weeks later. I have been using an AMAZING product on it for the last week and a half (with vets permission, plus antibiotics, bute and hosing and wrapping of course) but this stuff is great so I just kind of wanted to show how well the wound is doing so if any of you have similar problems it might help you out as well. It's called well-horse and it's awesome. Anyhow, on to the pics (if anyone has any input or advice they'd like to share it's welcome).

Just as a heads up, once the vet gives us the okay for him to travel this horse is coming home with me so he can be taken care of 24/7, get a splint on and get updated on trimmings etc (his feet look terrible).

Sorry the pics are small I can't find a way to make them bigger but I think you can click to make them bigger. This was day one. Notice the white blob toward the top of the injury, that is severed tendon.

This is day three...no real apparent change

The beginning of week two...the brown spots are from the well-horse, not dead or infected tissue...notice some new growth of granulation tissue....

This is the middle of week two after applying the wellhorse every day...notice the change...looking much better....

I'll update with more pictures when I change his bandage today.

Native Winds · 03-29-2009, 12:15 PM

Wow there is alot of proud flesh on that. The granulated tissue is realy going beyond its boarders and will more than likely need to be debride. Nasty wound

I have one word Equaide. Greatest stuff since sliced bread. I am going to find the picture that were taken that shows the healing sequence of the Equaide.

http://www.equaide.com/ I am telling this stuff is great. A little dab will do ya. It will take that exsessive granualted tissue right off and encourage healing with out all of the goo and will leave a minute scar and will cut healing time in half.

I am not that easily impressed but this product realy did impress me.

CJnBucksMom · 03-29-2009, 12:24 PM

I am worried about proud flesh too, the horses owners were just going to put him to sleep when this happened because they had no way to care for him so I have just been doing my best to get it healed up in any way possible. He is a 3 year old stallion and I took over his care in trade for him and another horse. I CANNOT wait until he gets the okay to travel, I WANT this horse home with me. Anyhow, any idea on how to debris it? He has just now gotten to the point where letting us wrap and unwrap it every day isn't a two hour project (he was mostly unhandled) but if I try to touch it he won't stand for long. My husband, who is an army medic (yeah i know, best caregivers EVER LOL) wants to debris it because he says wounds like that need it badly but we're not sure how to do it without it causing a lot of pain and the vet didn't really have any advice other than do some debrising. Vets out here SUCK and the one good one is so far away and I hate to call him about this every day because he's pretty much helping out with care etc for free.
I appreciate all the advice I can get, Where can I purchase equade?

Thanks

Dreamsrbig · 03-29-2009, 12:50 PM

poor guy. I sure hope you get him all healed up. It dose look a lot better.

horsesR4life · 03-29-2009, 12:57 PM

wow i can see part of his extensor! hes very lucky he didnt sever that. Can vets patch up a clean cut CDE?

CJnBucksMom · 03-29-2009, 01:04 PM

The vet said that if it's within a certain time period after the injury occurs that they can, in some cases, suture the extensor back together but not always. In his case this wasn't possible because they waited a day after the injury happened before calling me to ask for help. However, when left to grow back on it's own without suturing it won't heal back as strong as if it were but it will over time reattach to itself after the initial healing has taken place. Splinting it at that point will help too which is why hopefully right before it is ready for that we will be able to move him to my place so this can all be done in a better environment and I can get a vet who will actually come to my farm to help with the hands on care. However, a good sign is that he walks without pain even without the bute and has started being able to trot on it, he is not completely sound at the trot but he just looks like a horse with a stone bruise, no major lameness which is amazing because the first few days he was limping pretty bad and knuckling over on occasion (which has also decreased greatly). He is in a small enclosure (the best they can provide) so he can't run and hurt himself but has enough room to walk around (which the vet says is best rather than keeping him still) and trot maybe five steps. Thankfully up to this point we have been able to prevent both colic and infection. Two major bonuses because either would've been seriously detrimental and infection would've made this pretty impossible to heal.

littlerider · 03-29-2009, 01:16 PM

I am completely disgusted that not ONE vet will come out and treat this horse. If the SLIGHTEST infection starts that will be enough to have to put this horse down. It does not take long for it to spread and get out of control. I had a mare with a major wound and had her on 3 different kinds of Pennicillian and still lost her. I can't put into words how angry I am at this horse not getting professional vet care (NOT your fault I know).
I DO hope everything works out well.

CJnBucksMom · 03-29-2009, 01:46 PM

You're telling me. Part of the problem is that they're so far out of the way that most of the vets around here simply won't go out that far, to top that off most of them want people to bring horses in rather than make a farm call for anything. My vet has been the only one willing to even halfway help through pictures, phone updates etc, and he is over an hour away. I can't tell you how many people there have lost horses to simple things that could've been fixed if a vet had been available to travel to the farm.

I have been worried about the possibility of infection as well and I have him on some pretty strong antibiotics, along with changing the wrap and hosing twice a day, making sure antibacterial agents are applied as well as sterilizing the bandages before application first by boiling then washing them in hot water with clorox.

Any other suggestions are welcome, I'm trying to do my best by this horse and get him to the point where he can be shipped to my house which is about 30 minutes away.

kmdstar · 03-29-2009, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CJnBucksMom

You're telling me. Part of the problem is that they're so far out of the way that most of the vets around here simply won't go out that far, to top that off most of them want people to bring horses in rather than make a farm call for anything. My vet has been the only one willing to even halfway help through pictures, phone updates etc, and he is over an hour away. I can't tell you how many people there have lost horses to simple things that could've been fixed if a vet had been available to travel to the farm.

I have been worried about the possibility of infection as well and I have him on some pretty strong antibiotics, along with changing the wrap and hosing twice a day, making sure antibacterial agents are applied as well as sterilizing the bandages before application first by boiling then washing them in hot water with clorox.

Any other suggestions are welcome, I'm trying to do my best by this horse and get him to the point where he can be shipped to my house which is about 30 minutes away.

Can you ask the vet if he'd come out if you paid for gas money?

CJnBucksMom · 03-29-2009, 01:54 PM

I thought about trying that, even then though I'm still not sure if they would. I will try when I talk to my vet again to update him tomorrow and see what he says, he might be willing to take a long drive out after hours since it's too long for him to come during office hours because he wouldn't be able to keep any of his other appointments. The bad part is at this point there really isn't anything they can do aside from what I'm doing other than giving it an in person visual appraisal, which of course is better than pictures, and possibly debris it for me but I'm not sure how much even that will do. I will keep everyone updated however.

03-29-2009, 11:53 AM	#1
CJnBucksMom Senior Member+ Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Tenntucky Posts: 1,109 Images: 127	Massive Leg Injury (Warning, graphic pics) I just wanted to kind of start a thread to keep up with a horse that I currently am taking care of. This horse belongs to an elderly lady I know and was staying at one of her family members houses when the injury first occurred, they weren't able to get a vet out to their neck of the woods, literally, so I had to go by pictures and consulting with my vet an hour away. We couldn't just take the horse in because he has issues with trailering and with this injury we didn't want to take the chance on him hurting himself further and doing more damage, plus this didn't exactly make for a time for trailer loading lessons. However, the first pictures are when the injury first occurred and the most current are now, almost two and a half weeks later. I have been using an AMAZING product on it for the last week and a half (with vets permission, plus antibiotics, bute and hosing and wrapping of course) but this stuff is great so I just kind of wanted to show how well the wound is doing so if any of you have similar problems it might help you out as well. It's called well-horse and it's awesome. Anyhow, on to the pics (if anyone has any input or advice they'd like to share it's welcome). Just as a heads up, once the vet gives us the okay for him to travel this horse is coming home with me so he can be taken care of 24/7, get a splint on and get updated on trimmings etc (his feet look terrible). Sorry the pics are small I can't find a way to make them bigger but I think you can click to make them bigger. This was day one. Notice the white blob toward the top of the injury, that is severed tendon. This is day three...no real apparent change The beginning of week two...the brown spots are from the well-horse, not dead or infected tissue...notice some new growth of granulation tissue.... This is the middle of week two after applying the wellhorse every day...notice the change...looking much better.... I'll update with more pictures when I change his bandage today.

03-29-2009, 12:15 PM	#2
Native Winds Senior Member+ Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Lexington KY area Posts: 2,044 Images: 10 Blog Entries: 19	Wow there is alot of proud flesh on that. The granulated tissue is realy going beyond its boarders and will more than likely need to be debride. Nasty wound I have one word Equaide. Greatest stuff since sliced bread. I am going to find the picture that were taken that shows the healing sequence of the Equaide. http://www.equaide.com/ I am telling this stuff is great. A little dab will do ya. It will take that exsessive granualted tissue right off and encourage healing with out all of the goo and will leave a minute scar and will cut healing time in half. I am not that easily impressed but this product realy did impress me. __________________ They say money does'nt buy you happiness, but I know it would solve alot of my problems which makes me unhappy. "Trust No One" x-files

03-29-2009, 12:57 PM	#5
horsesR4life Senior Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: London, Ontario Posts: 1,414 Images: 139	wow i can see part of his extensor! hes very lucky he didnt sever that. Can vets patch up a clean cut CDE? __________________ Soon to be a Registered Equine Massage Therapist

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03-29-2009, 12:24 PM	#3
CJnBucksMom Senior Member+ Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Tenntucky Posts: 1,109 Images: 127	I am worried about proud flesh too, the horses owners were just going to put him to sleep when this happened because they had no way to care for him so I have just been doing my best to get it healed up in any way possible. He is a 3 year old stallion and I took over his care in trade for him and another horse. I CANNOT wait until he gets the okay to travel, I WANT this horse home with me. Anyhow, any idea on how to debris it? He has just now gotten to the point where letting us wrap and unwrap it every day isn't a two hour project (he was mostly unhandled) but if I try to touch it he won't stand for long. My husband, who is an army medic (yeah i know, best caregivers EVER LOL) wants to debris it because he says wounds like that need it badly but we're not sure how to do it without it causing a lot of pain and the vet didn't really have any advice other than do some debrising. Vets out here SUCK and the one good one is so far away and I hate to call him about this every day because he's pretty much helping out with care etc for free. I appreciate all the advice I can get, Where can I purchase equade? Thanks

03-29-2009, 12:50 PM	#4
Dreamsrbig Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: IL Posts: 1,337 Images: 211	poor guy. I sure hope you get him all healed up. It dose look a lot better.

03-29-2009, 01:04 PM	#6
CJnBucksMom Senior Member+ Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Tenntucky Posts: 1,109 Images: 127	The vet said that if it's within a certain time period after the injury occurs that they can, in some cases, suture the extensor back together but not always. In his case this wasn't possible because they waited a day after the injury happened before calling me to ask for help. However, when left to grow back on it's own without suturing it won't heal back as strong as if it were but it will over time reattach to itself after the initial healing has taken place. Splinting it at that point will help too which is why hopefully right before it is ready for that we will be able to move him to my place so this can all be done in a better environment and I can get a vet who will actually come to my farm to help with the hands on care. However, a good sign is that he walks without pain even without the bute and has started being able to trot on it, he is not completely sound at the trot but he just looks like a horse with a stone bruise, no major lameness which is amazing because the first few days he was limping pretty bad and knuckling over on occasion (which has also decreased greatly). He is in a small enclosure (the best they can provide) so he can't run and hurt himself but has enough room to walk around (which the vet says is best rather than keeping him still) and trot maybe five steps. Thankfully up to this point we have been able to prevent both colic and infection. Two major bonuses because either would've been seriously detrimental and infection would've made this pretty impossible to heal.

03-29-2009, 01:16 PM	#7
littlerider Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Quebec, Canada Posts: 444 Images: 49	I am completely disgusted that not ONE vet will come out and treat this horse. If the SLIGHTEST infection starts that will be enough to have to put this horse down. It does not take long for it to spread and get out of control. I had a mare with a major wound and had her on 3 different kinds of Pennicillian and still lost her. I can't put into words how angry I am at this horse not getting professional vet care (NOT your fault I know). I DO hope everything works out well.

03-29-2009, 01:46 PM	#8
CJnBucksMom Senior Member+ Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Tenntucky Posts: 1,109 Images: 127	You're telling me. Part of the problem is that they're so far out of the way that most of the vets around here simply won't go out that far, to top that off most of them want people to bring horses in rather than make a farm call for anything. My vet has been the only one willing to even halfway help through pictures, phone updates etc, and he is over an hour away. I can't tell you how many people there have lost horses to simple things that could've been fixed if a vet had been available to travel to the farm. I have been worried about the possibility of infection as well and I have him on some pretty strong antibiotics, along with changing the wrap and hosing twice a day, making sure antibacterial agents are applied as well as sterilizing the bandages before application first by boiling then washing them in hot water with clorox. Any other suggestions are welcome, I'm trying to do my best by this horse and get him to the point where he can be shipped to my house which is about 30 minutes away.

03-29-2009, 01:54 PM	#10
CJnBucksMom Senior Member+ Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Tenntucky Posts: 1,109 Images: 127	I thought about trying that, even then though I'm still not sure if they would. I will try when I talk to my vet again to update him tomorrow and see what he says, he might be willing to take a long drive out after hours since it's too long for him to come during office hours because he wouldn't be able to keep any of his other appointments. The bad part is at this point there really isn't anything they can do aside from what I'm doing other than giving it an in person visual appraisal, which of course is better than pictures, and possibly debris it for me but I'm not sure how much even that will do. I will keep everyone updated however.