# Lucky I wasn't barefoot!



## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

Oh my goodness! D: Imagine if you HAD been wearing sandals! (Jandals?) I hope your foot gets to feeling better!


----------



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

So sorry you had a bit of bad luck there. seriously, I mean , you can be careful all you want, but every once in a while, the horse will step on you. 
Mac got my toe a couple of years ago, and it hurt like , well, like bad, and that was only a fraction of what you had happen. 
take it easy, and hope you get to feeling better soon.


----------



## CLaPorte432 (Jan 3, 2012)

Ouch!

If the swelling is severe, it can cause a fracture to not show up on X RAY. So you may want to consider going back for another X RAY once the swelling subsides.

Keep taking your pain meds. Ice. Elevate your leg. And keep off your foot.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## EdmontonHorseGal (Jun 2, 2013)

ouch! and wow, it amazes me how hurt we puny humans can get even when we do take precautions and wear good footwear around horses.

not long after Loki came to my barn she spooked when i was holding her. i was wearing runners that day (stupid me!) and she did almost exactly the same as your horse did - jumped straight up and came down on my foot. my toe next to my big toe got mangled pretty bad, and for a while i wasn't sure if the toenail was going to come off or not. thankfully it healed up and i'm good as new. now i wear hiking boots around Loki at all times, but after reading your story i wonder if i should invest in some knee high steel toe boots!


----------



## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

Steel-capped farm boots are my standard wear around horses, but even they aren't a magic failsafe solution: I know someone who had a horse jump on their foot just at the edge of the cap, bending the steel into the foot. Not nice either and they had a hell of a job cutting the boot off.

Last time a horse stepped on my foot was, of course, when I was wearing riding boots, he was in horseshoes, and we were both on a bitumen road. Murphy again! He spooked and fled closer to me, catching the edge of my foot - full weight on the little toe. Ouch...

Get better soon.


----------



## HollyBubbles (Jun 22, 2009)

It's pretty sore and is even more swollen now, engulfing my whole foot rather than just where it got stood on, but my hands hurt from using my crutches so I'm kind of stuck on the couch haha. (You know your riding correctly when using crutches kills your arms and horse riding doesn't!)

I did wonder about swelling possibly not showing a fracture, I'm going to the doctors some time this week anyway so I'll ask about another x-ray then, hopefully the swelling has gone down by then.

We aren't allowed to wear steel caps around the horses for that reason, there's been a person or two that have had toes amputated by the edge of a steel cap.. It seems we can't win with footwear and horses, every type of footwear seems to have a downside, I think the only footwear I haven't been injured while wearing is my gumboots, not even kidding.. I've been stood on while wearing them but hooves always tend to slide off rather than dig in.. Given though that my horses aren't wearing shoes (thank goodness)


----------



## Northernstar (Jul 23, 2011)

Ooooh! I can almost feel your pain from the description! So sorry this happened, and glad you're going back to the Dr. soon-I agree in the possibility of a fracture not showing up just yet, so glad you're on that! I worked in a stable many years ago, and had my big toe stepped on (hard!) by a 4 yr old (a very large one!) who was prancing around a bit impatiently as I was opening the gate to his turn-out pasture. His buddy was already on the other side, and he wanted in yesterday! Of course when his hoof came down on my toe, he decided to stand still.... Nothing like a 1,000 lb compressor on your foot, right? I'm firmly saying, "Lift up!/Lift up!/Lift up!" then whew, finally! Made him walk in slowly and wait while I took off his halter. Then gimping to the stable, I thought of the 30 (yes, 30!) stalls waiting for me to clean! By the _grace of God_, I got through the day, and fortunately it was Fri. The black and blue toenail fell off eventually, but grew back perfectly! I was lucky 

* The horse's name was Bailey-I'll never forget young Bailey....


----------



## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Glad you're ok.

You have a very sweet horse there


----------



## HollyBubbles (Jun 22, 2009)

Ohhh Notherstar - OUCH!! Nothing like a toenail coming off from an injury.. Whew. I handled the split second where he was standing on my foot, it was when he twisted to get off that the pain really started.. It was pretty instant! I've broken both feet before, one horse related, one soccer related, and neither hurt or swelled up this badly.. Or bled and bruised come to think of it.

Yogiwick, he really is, even though I was in an incredible amount of pain I couldn't help but feel so sorry for him, he didn't do it on purpose and the look in his eyes was so sad. My mare tried to come over and see what was going on but Mitch shifted away and then attacked her and wouldn't let her near me.
I've got dads worker feeding them for me since there is no way in hell that I'm going out into that paddock with a foot too fat to put in a shoe! I'll stand outside the fence when I can manage to get myself over there, but I'm not going into the paddock.


----------



## Wild Heart (Oct 4, 2010)

Ouch! I've been stepped on a time or two but usually not with the full weight. I can only imagine how bad that must've hurt!

I hope you make a quick recovery.


----------



## HollyBubbles (Jun 22, 2009)

Thanks Wild Heart, I hope so too.
I've been stood on plenty of times before but never with the entire weight of my extremely fat horse.. don't judge me, he gets skinny in winter so I'm feeding him up before winter hits ;-) hopefully he won't look starved if I can get it right for him from the very start.

I went out there tonight to check on them (from the other side of the fence!) and make sure they had been fed. Mitch wandered up to the gate so I showed him my foot and he stood there and looked sad, poor boy. I know he didn't mean to do it but that didn't make it hurt any less.

I'm living with ice packs on it throughout the day at the moment, only having small breaks without one on there. I can't take anti-inflammatories (NSAIDS) because of my crohns disease, so I can't use those to help.


----------



## MyBoySi (Dec 1, 2011)

Ugh I'm super paranoid about my toes and horses. 

Just last spring as I was turning out I accidentally put my foot right in my geldings way. He came down hard and I almost got my foot out of the way but not far enough. I was wearing both rubber boots, he caught the edge my foot twisted and somehow I ended up on the ground with him standing on the side of my foot and ankle. Still not sure how I managed that. 

My saving grace was the 8 inches of mud we were in, it had been super rainy and we all know how the gate area can be during a particularly wet spring. 

Luckily he just pushed my foot deep into the mud and was weirded out enough by the squeeling human under him to quickly move away into the paddock before he caused much damage. I was a bit bruised but nothing broken like there surely would have been if we had been standing on solid ground.

The one and only time I've appreciated mud


----------



## HollyBubbles (Jun 22, 2009)

Haha yes mud is brilliant for that! (And getting dirty and wet, but not injured during falls) but just my luck we're going through a drought right now.. I literally have NO grass and that never, ever happens.. So the ground is absolutely ROCK hard.

It's always the worst when they twist! If they just lift straight off it isn't so bad, but the twisting is just nasty.


----------



## Cherrij (Jan 30, 2013)

Oh my GOD!. I am really feeling your pain.

A few weeks ago I took a wrong step on stairs and damaged my ankle.. there was swelling, nothing on Xray, but hurt like crazy and at first I thought I broke it.. I mean it, I have fallen on my ankles a lot of times, but never this bad... 

First aid - 3/4 vodka 1/4 water - soak a cloth, put it all over and wrap it up with elastic bandage. 
Next aid - take a cabbage leaf - big juicy one, beat it up with a meat hammer or anything, so the juice gets out of the leaf, wrap again.. I put those on for the night - in 2 days no inflamation anymore. Vodka really helps, believe it or not.

Hope your leg heals well.. mine still hurts a bit even though it was at least 2 weeks ago when I fell..


----------



## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

Cherrij said:


> ...
> 
> First aid - 3/4 vodka 1/4 water - soak a cloth, put it all over and wrap it up with elastic bandage.


This sounded promising until I got to the cloth!


----------



## HollyBubbles (Jun 22, 2009)

Cherrij said:


> Oh my GOD!. I am really feeling your pain.
> 
> A few weeks ago I took a wrong step on stairs and damaged my ankle.. there was swelling, nothing on Xray, but hurt like crazy and at first I thought I broke it.. I mean it, I have fallen on my ankles a lot of times, but never this bad...
> 
> ...


What a waste of Vodka!! lol... Wouldn't that sting like crazy on an open wound? He tore skin off too, it even bled in one spot, I think an eyelet of the shoe dug in maybe?

I would try that but the idea of putting it on an open wound scares me :lol:


----------



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

just reading this thread makes me grit my teeth in fear of the day that I don't get my feet out of the way fast enough, and 1400 lb . shod on the front, dinner plate sized feet Z steps on one.


----------



## HollyBubbles (Jun 22, 2009)

tinyliny said:


> just reading this thread makes me grit my teeth in fear of the day that I don't get my feet out of the way fast enough, and 1400 lb . shod on the front, dinner plate sized feet Z steps on one.


Ooohhh shod.. Oh that would hurt so bad! 1400lb is about what Mitch weighs atm (he's extremely fat right now ready for winter, but always seems to keep his muscle so he's always rather heavy)

I've just made my way through an entire block of Black forest chocolate... Not directly helping the pain or swelling, but it's a good enough excuse to eat chocolate anyway!:lol:


----------



## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

HollyBubbles said:


> I've just made my way through an entire block of Black forest chocolate... Not directly helping the pain or swelling, but it's a good enough excuse to eat chocolate anyway!:lol:


If it is good dark chocolate with lots of cocoa, then it just might be helping your pain!  Not just because the yummy sensations probably cancel out some of the ouchy ones, but because cocoa contains phenylethylamine, a chemical cousin of the 'in-love" hormone produced by the brain when pair bonding. (Yep, that's right, the plant world has us by our short and curlies! ;-) )

So you have a gut issue that makes anti-inflammatories a no-no. I can't take those because I have an extra-sensitive stomach. Something that might help you is a cream like this:

Hirudoid - Heals bruises fast


I'm not sure what it will be called where you live, but you can ask a pharmacist for something with the same ingredients. I find this super effective with these sorts of injuries. When I was 22 my left leg got trapped behind a post at the knee and my mare tried to gallop off, causing us to fall into a steel-tube gate with my leg between her and the gate. They needed pipe benders to bend the gate back into shape, and I had a really interesting-looking leg for a while... but this stuff was good! Even in the vicinity of open wounds - just avoid those, but no big deal if a little makes contact, no sting. And make sure there is no alcohol in the base of the cream you buy!

Also, laughter and mirth actually encourage healing (along with extra Vitamin C). This is the time to get out some of your favourite funny movies / comedy DVDs etc. I will leave you with two little clips to that effect:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCwMjEIEsvI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTc3PsW5ghQ


----------



## Cherrij (Jan 30, 2013)

HollyBubbles said:


> What a waste of Vodka!! lol... Wouldn't that sting like crazy on an open wound? He tore skin off too, it even bled in one spot, I think an eyelet of the shoe dug in maybe?
> 
> I would try that but the idea of putting it on an open wound scares me :lol:


Open wound might sting. try with a little drop. Cabbage shouldn't sting.. you can always try to put a plaster over the wound and then but the cabbage everywhere else what is swollen. does mirracles.. with vodka it is a bit harder, because the cloth should be a bit more wet. then again I think even just rubbing vodka around and keeping elastic bandage on should help - like take a cutton ball, soak it in the vodka solution, make the foot wet everywhere that is not the wound...


----------



## ~*~anebel~*~ (Aug 21, 2008)

And they put you on Tramadol?!

Be, super super cautious with that junk. Very very easy to get hooked.

I had the same thing in sneakers and a shod horse. Broke the foot and ripped off a toenail. Drove myself to the hospital (it was my driving foot) after my friends made me go, at hospital they were bandaging and I told them it would fit in a boot. Nurse said it might not and I told them that it wasn't a question. Two days later jogged my own horse and rode in a CDI.

Yes the pain sucks but to seriously be on Tramadol for it? Take an NSAID and you will be fine. Personally I would not have even accepted the Tramadol. There's nothing broken, ice it, elevate it and take an NSAID.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

~*~anebel~*~ said:


> Yes the pain sucks but to seriously be on Tramadol for it? Take an NSAID and you will be fine. Personally I would not have even accepted the Tramadol. There's nothing broken, ice it, elevate it and take an NSAID.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Really! Everyone feels and experiences pain differently, how can you sit there and tell a person what painkillers they should take. I think I would trust my own judgement and that of the doctors who actually were looking at my injury rather than random intenet person.


----------



## ~*~anebel~*~ (Aug 21, 2008)

Tramadol has serious addiction potential and is heavy duty stuff. I personally wouldn't take it as I personally know folks who've gotten hooked on it. Addiction is a life long battle, and many Drs are very pill happy.

As someone who is currently struggling through the medical system for proper treatment and care - one has to be their own advocate and research, research, research and get second opinions before taking any Drs word as gospel. Personally unless I had completely wrecked myself would not take a narcotic, or narcotic like pain reliever. And I would never take home a prescription for the junk either.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## HollyBubbles (Jun 22, 2009)

Thanks for your concern anebel, I know that Tramadol has the potential to be rather addictive, I've taken it plenty of times before because of my Crohns and I actually hate the stuff, I took it for the first 2 days and I haven't taken it since. I tend not to take any pain killers unless I really need to, because I seem to develop resistance to them very quickly and then I have to find even stronger stuff.

And in regards to the NSAID, I can't take them because of my crohns, they make the internal ulcers bleed and in turn actually make the pain of the crohns worse (thats not fun) and have other lovely effects that nobody really wants to know about :lol:


----------



## CLaPorte432 (Jan 3, 2012)

~*~anebel~*~ said:


> Tramadol has serious addiction potential and is heavy duty stuff. I personally wouldn't take it as I personally know folks who've gotten hooked on it. Addiction is a life long battle, and many Drs are very pill happy.
> 
> As someone who is currently struggling through the medical system for proper treatment and care - one has to be their own advocate and research, research, research and get second opinions before taking any Drs word as gospel. Personally unless I had completely wrecked myself would not take a narcotic, or narcotic like pain reliever. And I would never take home a prescription for the junk either.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Tramadol isn't a problem such as other opoids. Vicoden and Oxycotin are much more addictive. 

Tramadol here in the US isn't even considered heavy duty and does not require much more then a prescription. It's not considered a "narcotic" as of yet. But they are trying to place it into that category. There will be alot more paperwork once that is done.

I have Ovarian cysts and my Dr gave me 60 Tramadol and a refill. Meanwhile the ER Dr I went and seen gave me 15 Norco with no refills. 

I am not addicted to Tramadol, and only take it when I severely need it.

And I just did a paper on Tramadol and all the evidence based practice journals and periodicals I read say that there have not been studies to PROVE it's addicting, but "could be"...

A lot of it would have to do with a person's own response to meds and their addictive qualities. Smoking...alcoholism...other drugs. Etc.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

I think sometimes strong pain medications have their place. A friend of ours just had a shoulder reconstruction and was on a morphine drip immediately after the accident that busted his shoulder. When someone's in that much pain, I think it's fine to give them opioids, or anything else that works. I do agree with CLP's comments about addiction. While lots of people binge drink in our country, many others spend their lives just having the odd glass of wine or can of beer or cider or whatever when they think it's appropriate, and never become binge drinkers or alcoholics.


----------



## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

Something for you, Cherrij, on this fine day for remembering Norman Thelwell:










Have you healed up yet?


----------



## bitinsane (Jun 5, 2013)

It really depends on the person. I have an addictive personality, but I also have self control. I have a bottle of Tramadol sitting on my dresser for months now lol I take it as needed as well as my Xanax even though I'm supposed to take it 3x a day. If it's taken when it is REALLY needed and for a short period of time I see no problem with it, but then again it is the responsibility of the individual taking it. DR's dole out meds like candy because it's all business. I went to the free clinic last year when I had the flu. THE FLU. and the DR sent me home with THREE big bottles of codeine. I was a bit confused and it's kinda sad that DR's are so quick to shove meds down your throat.


----------



## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

Love me some Thelwell


----------



## HollyBubbles (Jun 22, 2009)

Ooooh man that picture looks very very familiar haha!

I'm still gimping around the place quite a bit, sometimes I can walk properly for a little while before it gets sore and sometimes I can't walk properly at all to start with. I have ridden twice (for like 5 minutes) since I got stood on, I rode a friends horses but that doesn't count cause I was only walking for the most part and they're easy horses to trot so there wasn't any weight on my foot haha


----------



## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

...so while your foot is healing up you are in an excellent position to ride at all paces without stirrups and work on your seat and balance! 

...your setback is an opportunity, blah blah! ;-)


----------



## Roux (Aug 23, 2013)

Im glad you are feeling better! That sounded like it hurt BAD!

I ended up with severe pain in my left foot a few years ago it came and went for several months. I would complain about it nightly to DH and he finally took me to the Dr. since I was refusing to go.

After some x-rays the Dr. said - what have you done to your foot it looks like it has been broken or crushed in the past... I honestly couldn't remember a specific injury but I am almost 100% sure it was from getting stepped on by a horse(s) some time or another.

I ended up getting surgery to put all the bones back and I have been pain free ever since.

Painkillers are all very individual. I am allergic to them and they make me very ill so I didn't take any for my foot surgery, getting my wisdom teeth out, or for my most recent sinus surgery (also caused by a horse injury). I did ibuprofen and meditation and I was fine. 

Also SueC - I have always been told to never wear steel toe boot around horses because if they step on your foot the steel will guillotine your toes right off. 

Not to gross any one out but I know someone who was barefoot when her mare stepped on her foot and her foot was "de- gloved" as in the skin slid entirely off her foot. She had to get surgery to reattach the skin and it was a long healing process kind of like a severe burn.


----------



## HollyBubbles (Jun 22, 2009)

Haha yes Sue C I totally agree! I did do some trot work on both of my friends horses, my only problem is catching the horses, carrying my tack out and saddling up and mounting etc etc. So everything but the stirrupless work lol.

I'm having surgery (laparoscopy) in 2 weeks time so I haven't been riding lately anyway, I figure it would be just my luck to injure myself and need two lots of unrelated surgery haha.

Roux, I'm like that with every antibiotic I've ever had so far, but I hate taking pills anyway so I avoid them altogether if I can. I've not ever meditated though, I don't know how to start, and don't have the patience I don't think :lol:


----------



## Roux (Aug 23, 2013)

I can't take antibiotics with out serious vomiting either so they are out for me also. I have found a non-medicated antibiotic / antiviral that is a mix of Chinese herbs. I don't have any problems with it but its non- pharmaceutical.


----------



## HollyBubbles (Jun 22, 2009)

I have GI issues anyway so I have to be careful about what I put in there.
What is it that you have found?? I'm curious. I've just come across a whole lot of information on Turmeric and ways it can be used beneficially on both humans and animals, so I have started my horses on it already, and I will be starting on it myself after my surgery


----------



## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

Roux said:


> Also SueC - I have always been told to never wear steel toe boot around horses because if they step on your foot the steel will guillotine your toes right off.


Depends on the type of construction. In some places they are compulsory wear around large animals. I wear them myself and they got me out of many potential injuries to my toes. We know one person whose toes got trapped when the cap got bent, and they had to cut the boot off, but wasn't guillotined. I'm sure some types have the potential for that. You kind of have to weigh up the risk of that kind of bad luck with the benefit of really preventing lots of injuries, broken toes etc.


----------



## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

Believe it or not, garlic is supposed to be really efficacious against infection, and not just by keeping other people away. Also, a combination of VitaminC, zinc and the amino acid lysine is standard cold sore treatment but actually works well to limit other viral infections, like the flu, as well - both to reduce risk of developing it full-blown when exposed, and to reduce the problem if you're already sick. Anecdotally it works wonderfully for me (got the tip nearly a decade ago and much reduced winter colds/flus for me), as well as my husband and some friends who tried it. Pharmacies usually stock it.


----------

