# Really bad case



## Lis (Oct 29, 2009)

I'd have had her put down immediately. I know the vet said the hoof wall will grow back but it's going to take a long time and I doubt she will ever be sound again. I would also imagine she is in a lot of pain. I think it would be kinder to have her put down.


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

That poor, wretched creature. 

Thank whoever's in charge for taking her in and trying to make her comfortable.

I'd be very surprised if she pulls through, to be honest. With her having little to no body fat and that horrible wound to her foot, the odds are stacked against her.

Even if you can keep her alive and that foot bandaged to help relieve the pressure, she'll likely develop laminitis in the other 3 feet because she's trying to distribute her weight off the injured foot.

Horses need all of their feet in order to stay healthy. When you take one away, it throws their whole system off. 

They're such big animals but so darned delicate, especially when it comes to their feet.

My opinion is to give her as much good food and hay as she can eat for several days, love on her and make her feel special, and then let her go.

Those pictures just break my heart.


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## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

Poor girl - I think the kindest thing you could do for her would be to give her a quick passing.


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## damnedEvans (Jan 23, 2010)

@ Speed Racer : We will wait until the other vet will come and see her. I think that he will say to put her down. But we want to have his opinion too and to know that we made all we can for the mare. She receives food all day long so she is happy from this point of view. Evidently that she doesn't seems to be in pain, but I know that horses will rarely show when they are in pain. She stand pretty still when we change her bandages and when we clean the wound. She is more nervous when she takes her shoots. She doesn't use the leg anymore, only for support when she tries to move. We really take in consideration the prosthesis option but the worse part is that the prosthesis are very very hard to find. So it seems that we are stuck at this point. The only option that seems viable is to put her down. We'll wait for the vet to decide. 

@ Lis: Yes, even if she recovers she will not be sound anymore. But this isn't a problem. We have a lot of horses at the shelter that are just pasture ornaments so we don't mind to keep her even if she will not be sound. But we must take into consideration her chances before torture her any more. We will think at her comfort. So if the vet will tell us that we're just torturing her we will have her put down right away.

Thank you for the input, really appreciate it


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

Speed Racer said:


> That poor, wretched creature.
> 
> Thank whoever's in charge for taking her in and trying to make her comfortable.
> 
> ...


This, a thousand times over.


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## ShutUpJoe (Nov 10, 2009)

I saw a case like this on a website someone posted on here but can't remember what it was. They regrew the hoof wall with round the clock vet care which ended up costing a lot of money. I think it'd be kind for the horse to be put down, she looks downright miserable.


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## moonflower (May 21, 2010)

*moonflower*

Hello. I,m so sorry to see such a pitiful sight. Horses depend on us so and this one has had a hard and abused life. I have seen this before with the mal-nourishment and the cuts and the hoof--just not as bad with the hoof. It really looks to me like she got caught in barrbed wire or even ----when a abusing owner trys to do the manever of tieing the foot to the saddle horn in order to throw them down as a method of controlling them if the horse is a little stubborn to whatever they wanted them to do. Some horrible people will throw a horse down and walk off and leave them tied up with the leg roped up to the saddle for a hour or so just to (break their spirit) so there is no more fight in the horse when they come back. Then the horse will fight uncontrollably thinking that it is dieing and therefore tear itself up on anything that is near. The foot will heal, she just needs alot of care and many hours of love and food and antibiotics. She seems to understand that you are helping her since she is co-operating so when you Dr her. She really deserves another chance at life to show her that all people are not horrible creatures. I have went around and turned people in when a horse gets so skinny or abused, so help her as much as possible. Your org. to help animals is soooo awsume. I wish I could find one in my area to help out.


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

Speed Racer said:


> That poor, wretched creature.
> 
> Thank whoever's in charge for taking her in and trying to make her comfortable.
> 
> ...



Yes, this. Can't say it any better.

That poor, poor girl. Bless you guys for taking her in, but this is one case beyond saving, IMO. See what your vet says, but if his opinion is to euthanize, give love her and let her go.


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## Chella (May 23, 2009)

Yes feed her love her, give her all she needs, wants and more. Make it the best days of her life. I do believe life finds away. Give her a chance and bless you and everyone that is helping her. If in the end she doesn't make it she will have left knowing great kindness.


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## AlmostThere (Oct 31, 2009)

Imagine all the resources you can put into helping other horses if you put her down instead of spending all the time and money it would take to make her healthy again. 

If it was just the cuts, then keep at it, but with that hoof.....

Poor girl. Good for you that you could help her, once the vet is out I hope he will help you give her a peaceful end.


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## Skipsfirstspike (Mar 22, 2010)

ShutUpJoe...
This is the link you were talking about I think. I think the horse lived, actually.
http//www.stepaheadfarm.com/Case182.html


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## damnedEvans (Jan 23, 2010)

Thank you all for the opinions. I really appreciate it. At least if she will be put down we will now that it was the right decision for her. It's a hard thing to do in such a case but it's hard to let her be in pain too. 

@ Skipsfirstspike , ShutUpJoe : The link is very useful. Thank you a lot.


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## Lis (Oct 29, 2009)

How did the second vet visit go?


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## Kashmere (Nov 30, 2009)

I am curious about that too.. How is it going?
What a HORRIBLE thing for her to happen!
On a way I'd put her down as well, but on another way, if she eats so well and seems so happy, why not give her a chance of the vet thinks it might work out?
Good luck to her, whatever path she may take!


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## damnedEvans (Jan 23, 2010)

Well... The second vet told us that she will be ok. He said that he wouldn't put her down. But I really think that this horse should be put down. But as I said is not my decision to take. They decided to give her a chance, which is fine, but in the same time I don't think that the quality of her life will be great. Even if her hoof will grow back she will be limping and she has all the chances to have laminitis in the other three legs. 
I saw the mare today, I didn't take pictures but it's better this way. The wound from the left side, the big one on the shoulder, is open now. The stitches didn't hold her wound closed so now the wound is open and we can't stitch her back. 

Do you have any advice as to what we should use for an open wound, to clean it better and to prevent the infection? We still give her antibiotics but I'm really concerned about that open wound. 

Her hoof is fine for the moment. And the mare is still curious, she eats all day long and is very talkative when you go in her stall. But I'm so sorry for her. I will try to speak tomorrow with the person that has the right to decide in this case and I'll see what it will be done. I really hope that she will change her mind and decide to put her down but I have a lot of doubts. 
If she decides to keep the mare alive I will try to make all that I can for this mare. 

Thank you for the support.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Wow, it must be horrible to be in your position. I agree with you that the mare should probably be put down but if they say they won't then all you can do is make her as comfortable as you can for as long as you can. As for the wound on her shoulder, I think I would probably wash it twice a day with antibacterial soap and apply an antibacterial ointment. It is far too big of an area to try to cover but just keeping it clean should work. I don't know if you have access to Granulex over there but I swear by that stuff for cleaning open wounds.


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## damnedEvans (Jan 23, 2010)

smrobs said:


> Wow, it must be horrible to be in your position. I agree with you that the mare should probably be put down but if they say they won't then all you can do is make her as comfortable as you can for as long as you can. As for the wound on her shoulder, I think I would probably wash it twice a day with antibacterial soap and apply an antibacterial ointment. It is far too big of an area to try to cover but just keeping it clean should work. I don't know if you have access to Granulex over there but I swear by that stuff for cleaning open wounds.


Thank you for your quick reply. Yes it's horrible that I can't do what's better for the horse. I think that a horse shouldn't be kept alive if his quality of life will be awful. And I really don't see a good life for this mare. It will take months for the hoof to grow back and a lot of pain for the mare. I just think it's cruel to keep her alive. But here the conditions aren't to great for a horse that it's injured like her. And a case like this will have better chances in a clinic, but we don't have such a thing. So we must treat her home with the vet supervision. 
The person that has the right to decide is one of those that think that euthanasia is not a solution. She is a doctor but she will never put down an animal even if the animal is in pain and beyond hope. So she will not take the decision to put her down. The only solution was the second doctor that came to us, but he said that is ok to keep her alive. And the same doctor advised us to put down a lot of horses, and some of them are ok now. So... I don't understand why he said to keep this horse alive. I have no idea. 

Anyway, I will try to make all that I can for the horse. We will treat her in shifts. I have never treated a wound on a horse so it will be something that I will learn now. To clean the wound and to bandage a hoof. 

And thank you a lot for the advice. The idea with the antibacterial soap and antibacterial ointment is great. Unfortunately we don't have Granulex but I hope that the doctor will advice us to use something. But for tomorrow we must treat the wound without the doctor.


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

It's tough to put an animal down. Not everyone thinks it's a good idea, but in this case it's just a bad decision not to. Poor girl, it's just unbelievable what happens to the animals thanks to some people. I wish her all the luck she needs. 

I know there is stuff called "furacilin" pretty popular in some countries out there (see here Furacilin , Best Online Pharmacy. ). You dissolve the tablet and wash the wound with the solution. It does wonder.


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## draftrider (Mar 31, 2010)

I think it is very wonderful your group wants to save her, I really do. For her to be in that kind of pain would be horrific, she seems gentle enough to allow you to handle her to treat it. 

That said, if this horse came through our rescue I would not hesitate to demand she be put to sleep. We believe horses should die with their dignity. This is not dignity, this is suffering. I do not believe that this wound will heal without major issues down the road. The animal has no hoof wall left, and there is exposed bone. Without access to a top notch equine hospital and state of the art medicine and surgeries, I cannot see her surviving.

If I had no choice but to try, I would consider having the leg amputated midway up the cannon bone and having her fitted with a prosthetic limb. I cannot see that injuring healing enough to allow her to walk on it.

For sure- get her out of that sand. Those fine granules are going to work into the wound and carry bacteria. I would bed her down with shredded paper myself.

Good luck. I'm sending as many blessings as I can come up with for her.


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## damnedEvans (Jan 23, 2010)

Thank you all for the advice. I wanted to update with a recent picture. 
Her treatment is :
- we wash the wounds with water then Hydrogen peroxide then with normal saline solution and finally with ether iodoform. And we put another powder, but I don't know it's name.
- then we bandage the wound, the one from the hoof. 
We finished the treatment with antibiotics for now. The doctor told us to stop for a period and then to give her antibiotics again. 

Here is the picture with the wound from her shoulder. The picture is taken before the treatment.


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

Evans, it's not her shoulder I'm worried about, it's her feet.

How are her feet holding up, and what's been done about the foot with no hoof?


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## AngelWithoutWings54 (May 24, 2010)

I hope I'm not to late in posting this comment... I didn't read all the other so I don't know if she's been put down already...

When Barbaro the racehorse broke his leg, they put him on a thing that wrapped around his stomach and lifted him up off the ground. It made it so that he didn't have to put any weight on his leg, so that it could recover. I don't know if this would help with the horse's hoof, but its worth a shot.

I say that you should really try and give her a chance, but if all else fails, put her down.


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## damnedEvans (Jan 23, 2010)

Well, the foot is in the same condition. I don't know what to do with it. Today I was there to clean her wounds. I cleaned the both wounds and treated them, and now we wait. The doctors told us to clean the wounds daily and to bandage only the foot. I didn't took pictures with the foot because i didn't saw any improvement, it's exactly the same as the last ones. I'm happy because it isn't worse, I was expecting to see that wound in a worse condition. The only bad thing is the smell ... 
It's really hard to treat a horse with this wounds, I'm so sorry for her when I see that she's in pain or when I see her walking in three legs. She doesn't use the injured foot. That's a good thing only because we know for sure that she still has senses in that leg. The flesh is pink and it looks healthy there so I wait for the tissue to regenerate. 
I'm still preoccupied for laminitis in the other legs but the doctor wasn't preoccupied by it. I hate the doctors, but we must work with this one. In the whole city there are just 3 horse doctors. He didn't say a thing about standing wraps. The mare is laying down to rest, but unfortunately she's laying down exactly on the left side, the one with the shoulder wound.


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## riccil0ve (Mar 28, 2009)

If she spends a lot of time laying down, you'll want to roll her over every half hour or so. Or at least keep her upright. Laying on one side for too long can cause such things as muscle atrophy.

I'm with everyone else on this matter, the poor mare should be put down and the money spent on saving a horse with a higher chance of life. But what can you do.

If you're concerned, talk to the vet about laminitis in her other legs, and do some research on it. Also, I'd have her on paper bedding. It's less likely to cause irritation to either wound.


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

AngelWithoutWings54 said:


> When Barbaro the racehorse broke his leg, they put him on a thing that wrapped around his stomach and lifted him up off the ground. It made it so that he didn't have to put any weight on his leg, so that it could recover. I don't know if this would help with the horse's hoof, but its worth a shot.


The sling will get her up off her injured foot for awhile, but a horse can't stay in a sling indefinitely because it's too hard on them physically to be hung where their feet can't touch the ground.

Barbaro isn't exactly a good example, since he was put down because he developed laminitis in his uninjured feet because he couldn't put weight on his injured leg.

It wasn't Barbaro's injury that decided his fate, it was the laminitis in his other feet. Let's not forget that this was a horse who had 24/7 vet care, and they_ still_ couldn't save him. This mare doesn't have 1/100th the medical attention Barbaro did.

Unfortunately, I predict the same thing will happen here. Even if the mare starts to grow her hoof back, displacing her weight onto her 3 remaining good feet is just laminitis waiting to happen.

Evans, I'm sorry. I know you're doing all you can for this girl, but I just don't think in the end it's going to be enough. Your vets sound like buffoons.


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## damnedEvans (Jan 23, 2010)

AngelWithoutWings54 said:


> I hope I'm not to late in posting this comment... I didn't read all the other so I don't know if she's been put down already...
> 
> When Barbaro the racehorse broke his leg, they put him on a thing that wrapped around his stomach and lifted him up off the ground. It made it so that he didn't have to put any weight on his leg, so that it could recover. I don't know if this would help with the horse's hoof, but its worth a shot.
> 
> I say that you should really try and give her a chance, but if all else fails, put her down.



Yes, this is indeed a solution. We had a mare with a broken humerus that we treated in this way. And that mare was fine in the end. But I don't know if it's ok for this one because of her shoulder wound. I'm worried about the harness that will lift her up. It is possible that the harness will touch the open wound from the shoulder and this will be very painful for her. Of it can put pressure on the wound and not allowing it to heal. 

I will really consider this alternative but I guess that it will be ok to wait a little for the shoulder wound to heal a bit.


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

Lis said:


> I'd have had her put down immediately. I know the vet said the hoof wall will grow back but it's going to take a long time and I doubt she will ever be sound again. I would also imagine she is in a lot of pain. I think it would be kinder to have her put down.


Exactly what I was going to say. It's inhumane to keep her alive in that condition. It can take up to 12 months for a whole new hoof wall to grow back, plus she's missing the sole of her foot.


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## damnedEvans (Jan 23, 2010)

riccil0ve : She's alternating the laying down with standing up so she's pretty smart the poor girl. She's laying down often but for short periods of time. And here we don't have paper bedding. I heard about it but in my area, or country, it's not used at all. We use only shavings and straw. Now we are thinking to make the bedding with straw. 

Speed Racer : I'm glad that I don't have a horse. If I will buy a horse I will change the country too. I really hate those doctors. Really appreciate your opinions. And I know that you're right. You and I and almost all the people that answered to this thread are sharing the same opinion, to put the poor thing to sleep. But I can't force that woman to take the decision.

thank you all.


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## maura (Nov 21, 2009)

I'm going to apologize for not reading all the preceeding posts. Three points I'd like to make:

1.) I completely support and agree with all the posters who believe it's the kindest thing to put her down. However:

2) I have seen a rescue horse in worse body condition and with worse wounds (except the hoof) recover and live a useful life. I will tell that story if anyone's interested. I seriously questioned the decision to try to save her when she came into the clinic. 

3.) I have seen a horse tear off it's entire outer hoof by getting it caught it a woven wire fence and panicking. There was enough of the coronet band intact for the hoof wall to regrow, with intensive nursing care, for the horse to return to pasture soundness. 

It's not the wrong decision to put her down. 

It may not be the wrong decision to try to save her. I would be guided by the vet's opinions at this point. 

The fact that your questioning whether it makes sense to try to save her means you're thinking with your head, not your heart, and means that you're *exactly* the right person to be working in this situation. 

Brava!


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## fltrailrider (Jul 19, 2009)

I would put the poor thing out of a life of pain and misery.


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## HalfPass (Jun 12, 2009)

Hello there.
I read through this entire thread and while my first thought was to put thhis poor mare down, the more I read what you have posted and also looking at the photographs I came to the conclusion that hse seems to be a fighter.
She lets you go in and treat her and you have mentioned nothing of an poor behavior on her part. Maybe she just doesnt have it in her or maybe she knows what your trying to do for her.

It is my feeling if the mare is at this point tolerating all that is being done for her and her pain is being managed then why not let her have the chance. If for any reason things change for the worse the option to put her down will still be there.

The shoulder wound reminds of a wound a poster had to deal with. I do remember the horse looking 100 times better and the wound finally closing and the horse did well. But this horse did not have the awful hoof disfigurment to deal with.

I will be keeping this mare in my thoughts and prayers.

Does she have a name?
She looks like she is a sweet thing.

All my best and keep us posted.

halfpass


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## damnedEvans (Jan 23, 2010)

maura : thank you. For the moment I have nothing to do besides taking care of the poor mare. As I said the person that has the right to take decisions in this foundation doesn't want to put down the horse. Even if I and a lot of other people think that she should be put down our opinion is not listened. So I decided to take care of the mare and just wait. If she is strong enough she will live, if no, then if her situation will go worse she will be finally put down. The hard part is not this. If she will fight and live, she will have a poor quality of life after the injuries will heal. Maybe she will have laminitis, and she will be limping. So my opinion is, even if the injuries will heal the suffering and effort doesn't worth it because of the poor quality of life that the mare will have after. 

fltrailrider : Yes, I agree with you, but as I said earlier this is not an alternative for the moment. And this is not my decision to take. 

HalfPass : Thank you for the support. She hasn't yet a name, but we call her "Printesa (Princess) ", I think that this will be her name.
And indeed, she is a very tough mare, she definitely has the will to live. She is in pain when we treat her wounds but she tolerate all just fine. And she is not depressed or without the will to live. She has a great state of mind, she is curious and alert, and very talkative. When you came in her stall she welcomes you and then she looks at you to see what you're doing there, maybe you have apples or carrots. To bad she has all those wounds and problems. She is a great mare.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

Glad the poor mare has someone taking good care of her while those in charge try to be heroic.

I agree with Speedracer and the like. This mare should be spoiled and put down.



If nothing else, it seems like such a waste of the limited resources a rescue has to try to rehab a horse that will most likely never be sound again. There are so many other horses in need.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Just to kinda give you a touch of possible hope. My horse that I grew up on fractured a bone in his leg (I don't know which one, it was a long time ago and I was very young) during a roping. The vet advised us to put him down because he would never be sound again. However, this horse was a very stubborn fighter and absolutely priceless so Dad decided to give him a chance. He put him in a stall with super deep shavings for almost 3 months then turned him out to pasture for an additional year. He healed up just as sound as he ever was and never showed signs of laminitis in spite of standing on 3 legs for months (and he was probably twice the size of this mare). It is impossible to tell exactly what would happen with the mare but I would keep the closest eye on her other feet and if she starts showing signs of founder, insist that the boss put her down immediately.


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## damnedEvans (Jan 23, 2010)

smrobs said:


> Just to kinda give you a touch of possible hope. My horse that I grew up on fractured a bone in his leg (I don't know which one, it was a long time ago and I was very young) during a roping. The vet advised us to put him down because he would never be sound again. However, this horse was a very stubborn fighter and absolutely priceless so Dad decided to give him a chance. He put him in a stall with super deep shavings for almost 3 months then turned him out to pasture for an additional year. He healed up just as sound as he ever was and never showed signs of laminitis in spite of standing on 3 legs for months (and he was probably twice the size of this mare). It is impossible to tell exactly what would happen with the mare but I would keep the closest eye on her other feet and if she starts showing signs of founder, insist that the boss put her down immediately.



Yes, is incredible how tough the horses are. You can never tell how he will heal after an injury. We have some cases where the doctor told us to put them down and now they are doing very well. They are pasture ornaments but they are some happy pasture ornaments . Thank you for telling me about your case. I know that it's just slightly chance for the mare to not develop laminitis but I'm happy that it's still a chance there. For now it's important for her to not develop an infection. After that only time will tell. At least I know that if the case will get worse the mare will be finally put down. Thanks a lot.


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## draftrider (Mar 31, 2010)

One thing that may help with the laminitis is to try to keep her from gaining too much weight. 

Overweight horses tend to get laminitis more often than thin. When I took in my Arab/TB mare, she had a ruptured suspensory ligament, torn achilles tendon and broken sesamoid bone from drunken idiots who thought they knew how to break a horse.

She was about 300 lbs underweight- and my vet implored me- do NOT feed her for gain right now. He said at most to put 100 lbs on her- that the last thing she needed right this minute was more weight on her leg. I know it sounds odd but it did help- if she were up to full weight there is no way she would have recovered.

I am NOT saying starve her- but just don't focus right now on getting her fat. Keep her where she is at, and heal that leg.

You are fighting an uphill battle, 60% of a horses weight is on their forehand- I was lucky that my mare injured her hind leg. She was one that our vet said put a bullet into- everyone advised us not to try, she'd never walk again. Well- she proved them wrong. Not only does she walk, but she gallops across the pasture with her tail as a banner in the air.


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## damnedEvans (Jan 23, 2010)

wow, wonderful recuperation. Your case is really incredible if she had a full recovery. And indeed, it seems logical what you say there. The more the weight the more strain on the legs. We don't give her grain anyway, she receives hay all day long. But I saw a lot of horses gaining a lot of weight only with hay. I will try to reduce her hay to three times a day. She for the moment is a little underweight but not very very much. She looks like this because the lack of muscles. Guess it's better to have a little underweight horse than one with laminitis. 
Thank you for the suggestion.


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## draftrider (Mar 31, 2010)

What is incredible with our mare is that she never had surgery. Our vet at the time said she was too far gone to save, and advocated euthanasia. She had that spark- and a will to fight. We did casting and wraps for about 6 months, and she was on stall rest and then worked her way towards handwalking, and finally liberty at pasture. She got a joint supplement to help out, and some other herbs that I can't remember off the top of my head.

We ended up changing vets midway though her treatment to a young female vet from the same practice. She is awesome with our horses. On an emergency the old vet came out with her to help and saw our herd run full on from one end of the pasture (over half a mile away) up to the front to see what was going on. He kept looking at her and finally we said "Yep, thats the one you said put a bullet in her head". He ate his words that day. =)


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

I don't think there is much that can be done for her.
I hope that they will do the right thing and just put her down.


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## mom2pride (May 5, 2009)

Her injuries could very well have been caused by a car...the hoof that's torn all the way down was probably due to her getting caught up under the car, and the hoof may have been dragged, or simply busted off due to the force...

I dunno about saving her...I guess that's up to the horse, and how much of a will she has to survive and overcome the injuries she has; personally though, i may have put her down, and never have taken her off the property she came from. 

It may have been the kindest thing for her, because that foot, even if she grows hoof back, will never be normal again, and will likely develop navicular, founder, infection, arthritus or any host of problems along the way causing her further pain.


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## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

This is such a sad sad story, the pictures brought a tear to my eye. I really think the mare should be put down, there is little hope for recovery and she will spend a long time in pain while the hoof grows back (if it ever does).

Also to be considered is the cost of caring for a horse like this. Whilst it is a great thing that you (and others) are prepared to give this mare the best chance of getting better, at what expense will it be? How many other horses with a better chance at a full recovery might miss out on your care while you tend to this horse? I know it sounds a little heartless but you may be able to save three horses for the same amount of time and money it would take to heal one.

I just wish there were more people such as you that were able to help all the horses in need.


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## damnedEvans (Jan 23, 2010)

Sorry for the absence, I had a lot of exams lately and no more time for the forum. 
I wanted to update the case. The mare is fine. The hoof has starting to grow a little and the shoulder injury is starting to heal. I think that the shoulder wound is looking great. The mare is very very cooperative. She doesn't even move when we clean her wounds. And I never seen a horse so talkative, I should make a video with her. She is a sweetheart. 

Here are new photos with the injuries. 


I'm worried about the black tissue. I read that it's normal to have some necrotic tissue. Do you think that it's necrotic tissue there?


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

I'm not an expert but if it is necrotic tissue you make a caustic powder that you get through the vet and it eats any growths (Proud flesh)and whatnot that is starting to form BUT you want to be careful with it. It is only prescribed through a vet. It's NASTY stuff and you need to use caution when using it but it works! We have our horse using it because he tore off his entire heel.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Wow, is that just part of the injury or is that her coffin bone sticking out the bottom of her foot? Poor girl. I am glad to hear that she seems to be on the road to recovery.


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## AngelWithoutWings54 (May 24, 2010)

I'm so glad for her.  It's looking a lot better, and I'll keep her in my prayers. I wish her the best, keep us updated!


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## HalfPass (Jun 12, 2009)

So gladd to see an update.
I think the shoulder wound looks much better than the first pics.
I am not sure about her hoof.
The fact she is so tolerant of everything and is being talkative are good signs.

She is lucky to have a human such as yourself to take care of her and nurse her back to health!
Good job!
Halfpass


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## damnedEvans (Jan 23, 2010)

smrobs said:


> Wow, is that just part of the injury or is that her coffin bone sticking out the bottom of her foot? Poor girl. I am glad to hear that she seems to be on the road to recovery.


Well, her coffin bone is really sticking out there. She seems ok now. He is not depressed or without the will to live. She is acting exactly as a normal horse. I will be happy if her recovery will be ok. And this is just because she is so though and patient. 

Gidget: we must call the vet to see his opinion. But I read somewhere that it's normal to have some necrotic tissue. Hope it will be ok. 

AngelWithoutWings54 and HalfPass : thank you a lot. I'll do my best for her. I'm happy that for now she is acting like a normal horse without to many signs of pain or discomfort. She seems to get used to her state and she tolerates all in an exemplar manner.


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## draftrider (Mar 31, 2010)

Can she have that nasty foot amputated below the knee and get fitted for a prosthetic limb?


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## damnedEvans (Jan 23, 2010)

draftrider said:


> Can she have that nasty foot amputated below the knee and get fitted for a prosthetic limb?


The doctor didn't said a thing about this alternative. He said that it's ok to let her heal this way. :-(

and now I find out that we'll have another horse in this situation. He came a hour ago. He has the foot in a same condition from what I've heard and is very underweight.


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## draftrider (Mar 31, 2010)

Ugh, what is it with horses in your area getting their feet ripped off?? Thats just insane!!!


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## riccil0ve (Mar 28, 2009)

I wanted to revive this to see if there was any update? How is the mare doing? Her foot?


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## mom2pride (May 5, 2009)

I was just looking for this thread!!! 

Yes, how are these horses doing? Any new/good news?


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## damnedEvans (Jan 23, 2010)

Hello... Well.. I don't have to many news. The mare's situation is almost as it was. She receives treatment as always but as it was expected her progress is very slow. 

As I said in some previous posts her hoof wall is starting to grow slowly. She seems to not have problems with a possible infection, the tissue is clean and healthy. The shoulder wound is starting to heal pretty nicely. I was amazed how fast that wound is healing. 
The bad thing is her left foot. The hoof is starting to look really weird because of the pressure that is on it. We cannot take off the shoe for the moment because we must find a way to do it. 

Here are the most recent photos that I took. 

Her hoof is looking the same in this photo but you can see that the tissue is healthy in the most parts.








Princess has gained some weight in the last time. I know that it's not very good for her other feet because she puts more strain on them. But she's an easy keeper I guess because she receives only hay three times a day and some supplements but not much.








Her shoulder wound healing nicely. 








Her left foot. This is very concerning for me because it seems to be almost impossible for this mare to not develop laminitis.









And as I said we had another horse that came with the same injury two weeks ago. I was talking with draftrider on 17 june that we expect another horse to come. The horse, named Bathor, was a gelding in a very poor state. He was very underweight and without a hoof on the left hind leg. The right hind leg was concerning also because his ligament was very weak because of the strain and pressure. Because of the position of the injury, on one of the hind legs, Bathor was constantly using his injured leg for moving or for walking to the treatment place. This was very bad for the leg because when he put pressure on it the place was starting to bleed. So the healing process seemed to be almost impossible. 
So the horse had been put down two days ago. 


























The concerning left hind leg.


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## riccil0ve (Mar 28, 2009)

I'm sorry about the gelding, but it was the right choice.

The mare's opposite foot definitely looks like founder to me. Do you not have access to a farrier who can try some special shoeing on her? Have her feet been seen at all?

As was mentioned in the past, the hoof well very likely grow back and grow back well. It's the laminitis in the other feet that tip the scale.

As always, I'm wishing her the best, and I hope you can do something with her hooves soon.


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## lv2kyshowtrot (Jun 30, 2010)

Oh This poor mare's foot...
How long will it take for her foot to become normal?


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

If I'm understanding correctly, at this point the issue with the mare is she can not stand on her injured foot to support herself while her uninjured foot is worked on, correct?

Is it possible to rig up some sort of sling system to support her front body weight while her "good" front hoof is trimmed? I would think this would be your best bet while the bad foot is healing. It looks to be healing very well - if you get past the gruesomeness of the actual injury, the tissue is nice and pink and well on it's way to closing over exposed bones and processes. I still have doubts the mare will ever be anything resembling sound, but you guys have brought her this far already, and done her so much good, it would be a shame to give up now. You never know, she could be a "miracle" story if given the chance. 

Kudos to you and the good work you guys are doing. I'm rooting for this little mare! What did you name her again?

ETA oops, I see it now, you named her Princess. I think she deserves such a name. Good for you.


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## Starlet (Jun 3, 2010)

Poor thing! She's so skinny! Car accident??? From the pictures she looks either abused or severely neglected. Poor thing! It makes my heart hurt looking at the first pictures! Congrats on the progress with her, you can definatly see progress from before to currently. You're right when she probably won't be sound again, but who knows, she may pull through. God bless the pretty Princess!


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## dee (Jul 30, 2009)

lv2kyshowtrot said:


> Oh This poor mare's foot...
> How long will it take for her foot to become normal?


From what I understand on another website, a hoof injury of this type doesn't ever become normal. The poor horse will never be anything approaching sound.:-(


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## AngelWithoutWings54 (May 24, 2010)

^But at least she has a chance at life.  I always try to let people know to give animals a chance unless it's obvious that they don't want to be alive, and even in the first pictures, I can see that she wants to keep going.


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## damnedEvans (Jan 23, 2010)

riccil0ve : I don't even know if we have farriers that know how to shoe a horse for such a problem. Therapeutic shoeing isn't to common here. She definitely needs a farrier to do the left hoof and to pull off that shoe. We will try to find a solution. Thank you

Indyhorse : yes you understood correctly the problem. Princess can't use her right injured foot to sustain herself while the farrier do her left foot. She uses the injured foot only when she needs to equilibrate herself while walking or turning. She avoids to use that foot because of the pain. It's a good idea the one with the sling sistem. I think that this will be the only opportunity. Another idea will be to do her feet when she will stand down or under anesthesia. Thank you. 

Starlet : She had a car accident and was severely abused. She was even more skinny when she came to us.


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## mom2pride (May 5, 2009)

I think under anesthetic may be the best way, as it will be the most 'comfortable' and painless for her. Slinging her up isn't always a guarenteed, because you never know if the horse will fight it, and then you could wind up with more problems, because she could injure herself further, or the people that are trying to help her. 

I'm wondering if one of those boots that you can put on them when a foot is injured would help her out? Not that she would bear alot of weight on the injured foot even with it, but may make her more comfortable when she does? May not work though, depending on how much the injury is seeping fluid still...although I think all you'd have to do is pack the hoof with lots of nonstick gauze, and wrap lightly, and change it a couple times a day. Not sure though...just thinking 'outloud'...


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## purplefoal (Jun 30, 2010)

How could anyone be so heartless to do this to a horse? You are so kind to take her in and help her recover! She looks like she's coming along! The weight was much better in this picture along with the cut! Good luck! My fingers are crossed for her!


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## AngelWithoutWings54 (May 24, 2010)

Just wanted to revive this thread and see if there are any more updates.


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## damnedEvans (Jan 23, 2010)

Hello... Princess is in the same condition. I didn't took recent photos with her unfortunately. But I'll take some photos the next time when we will change her bandage. The bandage is changed at two days now. The most recent news is that her distal phalanx fell off. But I was reading about a similar case and this thing happened there too. So I guess that it's normal because the bone was exposed so much time. The hoof and the frog (or something resembling the frog) is starting to grow nicely. And the tissue is still healthy. The shoulder wound is almost healed and it looks really nice now. 
Besides of that her mental state is still the same.  She seems to be as happy as it can be. Her only problem is that she is staled all the time. But I don't think that it would be good for her otherwise. 

Thank you for your interest in this case, really appreciate it.


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## AngelWithoutWings54 (May 24, 2010)

It's so great to hear that she's doing at least a bit better. I love inspirational stories like these. Do you know if she'll ever be able to be used for riding? Not like, big riding, but maybe pony rides for little kids?


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## damnedEvans (Jan 23, 2010)

I don't think that she'll be able to be used for riding. She will be limping all her life because of that foot. And she will be surely develop laminitis in the other feet. I think that she already have laminitis in the other feet. So she will not be a sound horse for anything. Hopefully she will have a nice life without to much pain. But we don't know this for sure. If the pain will be unbearable she will be put down in the future. But for the moment she is doing a lot of progress. She seems to be ok with her state. She surely is a fighter.


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## mom2pride (May 5, 2009)

Glad to hear she is still hanging in there...


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## fltrailrider (Jul 19, 2009)

As a horse owner who has owned a horse that had laminitis, my advice is to humanely put this horse down. She will never be sound and lives every day in excrutiating pain. Despite her attitude, do you not think she lives in pain everyday? I feel you are doing a real disservice to this horse.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

fltrailrider, that issue was already covered earlier in the thread. The OP does not have the final word in whether or not that horse is put down, she is just doing the best she can to make sure the horse is comfortable.


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## deineria (Mar 22, 2009)

Bless her heart -  That is all I have to say. I hope for the best!


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

fltrailrider said:


> As a horse owner who has owned a horse that had laminitis, my advice is to humanely put this horse down. She will never be sound and lives every day in excrutiating pain. Despite her attitude, do you not think she lives in pain everyday? I feel you are doing a real disservice to this horse.


That's a lark. Hundreds of horses get laminitis and get it bad and make recovery's. I owned an Arab gelding that foundered up so bad, we almost put him down. We SHOULD have put him down. But I was a kid and my parents and grandpa kept putting it off. By some complete miracle, with some barefoot farrier work, he calloused up and started walking right again, albeit a bit wonky from how funny his hooves are now.

This happened 10 years ago and now at 17 years old, not only is he still alive he is still SOUND. I have had him x-rayed and the vet is in disbelief that he's still standing much less racing around his pasture like a 3 year old due to the degree of rotation on his coffin bones. He moves out funny now and he's nothing but a trail horse, but he survived all odds and even rallied back to be a SOUND riding horse. He has never taken a lame step from the day he started walking again.

This is not the case for all horses, and definitely I would put this horse down, but your statement is just ridiculous at best and a really lousy attempt to make the OP feel like crap because YOU couldn't be bothered to actually READ the thread.


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## inaclick (Jun 6, 2010)

Printesa is getting a weekly treatment. Unfortunately I did not arrive in time yesterday to take pictures for you guys.

She has gained a bit of weight, the hoof is slowly (veeery slowly) growing.
The tissue is clean, no infection sign anywhere.

She became also a bit more vivid over the last months. Even started nipping a bit :shock:

As soon as we can - which is probably next Sunday - we'll post pictures of her hoof.

MM, thanks for defending the OP  but I assure you she's a tough little cookie, really hard to discourage her. Otherwise she would not be one of the most valued volunteers at the center


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

inaclick said:


> Printesa is getting a weekly treatment. Unfortunately I did not arrive in time yesterday to take pictures for you guys.
> 
> She has gained a bit of weight, the hoof is slowly (veeery slowly) growing.
> The tissue is clean, no infection sign anywhere.
> ...


I had wondered if you were from the same facility. Glad to see you here! I personally am rooting for Princess and have become one of this little mare's big fans. She has a lot of heart and it seems to me she is telling everyone she is not ready to give up - and that needs to count for something as well. I hope she continues to surprise everyone!


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## inaclick (Jun 6, 2010)

Indyhorse said:


> I had wondered if you were from the same facility. Glad to see you here! I personally am rooting for Princess and have become one of this little mare's big fans. She has a lot of heart and it seems to me she is telling everyone she is not ready to give up - and that needs to count for something as well. I hope she continues to surprise everyone!


Yep, I am from the same facility. Damned_Evan brought me in, and we met on this forum so thank you guys as well 

Yes Printesa surprises everyone, especially me since I did not know she started biting :lol: Nothing serious though.
As I left now, she was hopping around in the main yard, munching hay. I sent her your best wishes


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