# Jynxy had a surprise for me.. [ WARNING - Graphic images]



## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

*sighs* I guess Jynx was desperate enough to avoid Dressage training she decided to self harm herself. I have absolutely no idea how this happened, I went and checked the pasture and there appears to be a cable down with some white fur on it but it's beyond me how it caused such an injury - even if she'd gotten hung up in it, it's a smooth thick cable wire that she should have slid right off of.

I immediately phoned the vet who said because of location, he can't stitch it which makes sense. However, he told me to cold hose it daily, apply furisone and re-bandage daily. Doesn't furisone promote proud flesh? It doesn't appear to have hit any muscle, though she's cut herself right down to it. She can walk ok but doesn't want to put weight on the leg so holds it cocked and is limping pretty bad.

I am debating whether to call the vet back and request an appointment just so he can check it and be sure, or if I should call another vet? Am I being silly? Is this just extremely bad to look at but not that big of a deal? You can see the muscle underneath moving when she walks. :-(

Any advice would be great, thanks guys, I am so miserable right now it's not even funny.









As I found it, still fresh with blood so it happened within the last few hours









Side view









After cold hosing









Sorry for the crummy Blackberry pics









Ugh.

I'll take more pics tomorrow as soon as I find my camera which seems to be MIA. I had put it in my purse and couldn't find it at the barn and it's not at home so I think it may have fallen out in the barn.

*sighs*


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## GreenTreeFrog (Sep 26, 2009)

Ouch! That looks nasty. And quite a decent gash!

My horse had one of these mystery injuries recently.Not as bad as that but same spot and no idea how she did it. It happened a month ago and is still scabbing and healing over, then the scab comes off and the process starts again. 

I hope she is OK.


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## corinowalk (Apr 26, 2010)

It does look pretty nasty. I think I would want a vet to look at it. Even if he/she just agrees to take a peek at the pictures. I understand that it can't be sutured but I just think it needs a professional set of eyes. 

http://www.horseforum.com/horse-health/phoenix-had-accident-graphic-contents-66017/

Any time I have dealt with a tissue injury, I have used the stuff that kiwigirl used on her mare. Manuka honey. That thread has a huge amount of information on leg injuries and which way to go with them. Jynx's injury doesn't look as severe but the same type...open with no way to suture. 

Poor thing...she was doing so well!


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

Poor girl, she must really hate dressage! Is that bone showing? If it's that close to the bone, then yes, Furisone has been known to cause proud flesh. Good luck on a steady recovery!


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

No, no bone, I poked and prodded in it a bit. That's what I thought to at first, but I suck with ligaments and tendons and all that so I don't know what the one on the front of the back leg is called but it appears to be only muscle and undamaged muscle at that.


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## Scoutrider (Jun 4, 2009)

Wow, MM... poor Jynxy...

My sister's QH sliced up his hock 2 years ago next September on a piece of steel plate in that exact spot on the other hind leg, but his looked a lot worse than Jynx's. Rio actually sliced 3 blood vessels - I was away at school at the time, but the blood-stain in the driveway alone was horrific. Our saint of a vet came out on the spot and stitched him up from the inside out. When we closed up the barn for the night there was a neat row of stitches under the bandage. By morning, Rio had popped the stitches and the entire wound was inflamed, almost to the point of turning inside-out. We spent the entire winter nursing that leg, and he took about a year to fully recover. Like I said, though, Rio's looked a lot worse than Jynx's. 

The vet cleaned him up when she did the stitches, but after those popped we had to treat it just like an open wound. We just used generic triple-antibiotic ointment on a large sterile gauze pad on the wound, and held that in place with vetwrap. That dressing was changed twice daily for about 3 months, and once daily after that point. 

The difficult part was getting the old dressing off, since the entire area was really tender. Our vet gave us some of the same anesthetic that she injected his leg with to stitch it, along with several syringes. We used that topically to numb the area, rinsing the wound with that while we prepped the new dressing - that did a lot for his pain reaction, and was really instrumental in our ability to change his dressings without getting kicked on a daily basis. The anesthetic is similar to novocaine: the vet suggested that we try it, but was skeptical that it would work topically, but it was THE STUFF to use. Vet actually gave us several vials that were just barely outdated that she couldn't use, but were safe for the job. We used TONS of Equate brand triple-antibiotic ointment; that also kept the dressing from sticking too badly. 

After about 6 months, the swelling was almost gone, we'd start allowing him to stand without a bandage for some time, but we kept him bandaged if he was left alone in the stall to keep him from getting bedding and poo in the wound. This whole time he was on stall rest, some hand walking. Once the wound could hold itself together without dressings, he still had some swelling and tenderness for several months. A I said, it was about a year before he was back to full range of motion and total soundness in that leg. Today, he has some scarring around that hock, but moves great, no problems. 

Be patient, it'll take some time, although I doubt as much as Rio needed. I don't know much about furazone or that controversy, but we had fine results with triple antibiotic ointment and sterile padding. Most of the problems that we had were keeping the bandage in place and keeping Rio comfortable through the dressing changes. He would fuss and fight through that, and get things bleeding and swelling again. The thing to watch with Jynx will be flies in the summer - the last thing you want is bugs in that wound. 

Sorry for the novel, but hopefully you can benefit from my experience with a similar injury. Let me know if there are any more details I can give that might help you out with dealing with it. I may have some photos of Rio, taken through his healing process that can give you some form of a timeline, if you like. 

Best of luck, and sending good healing vibes to Jynx! :-(


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## Allison Finch (Oct 21, 2009)

Look like he got his leg through wire. Do you have any square wire fencing?


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

You have exposed tendons and probably ligaments. You need to put a dressing on it with sterile gauze, a thick pad and Vet Wrap over it to keep it clean until a Vet can evaluate it. I doubt there is much one can do other than clean it and wrap it. 

If the Vet Wrap and bandage want to sag down, then use Duct Tape on the top of it and stick it to the skin above the wound.

You will NEED proud flesh to fill in the gaps and keep infection out. It is the over-growth of proud flesh that causes so much scarring. Once you have it good and clean, do not put any more water on it. It causes proud flesh worse than anything else you can do. We do use Furazone salve early as it keeps infection at bay and helps it fill in with proud flesh. Once proud flesh fills in the gaps, you no longer need an antibiotic. Then, keep a lotion or unmedicated salve on the edges and put a proud flesh medicine with 'copper sulfate' to keep proud flesh from getting out of hand where the proud flesh sticks out further than the level of the skin.

If the tendons have not been damaged, your horse should be sound and fine -- just have the scars left by the wreck.

Teaching a horse to stand hobbled and to accept 3 way hobbles (or a side line) stops them from self-destructing when they get in this kind of situation. They just calmly try to pick each foot up and then just stand still if they can't get out of the mess. Hobble training teaches them to 'yield' to any restraint and not panic. It is really worth the time to teach them.


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

Thanks guys. I've called the vet back and left a message just stating that due to the seriousness of the wound I would appreciate if we could book an appointment for him to see the wound in person, or I have photos I could also send him just to ensure his recommendation was correct.

It's definitely tender but I don't know that I'll need an anesthetic, she was ok with me bandaging it today although she really didn't like the cold hosing. I'll ask the vet his opinion.

NOTE - The vet just called me back and had me e-mail him the images.


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## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

Gosh, that's a nasty one, so sorry for you and Jynxy.

My old girl did a similar injury although more similar in severity to Scoutrider's experience. Tough place to stitch being in an area of such high movement and flexion. I had her stitched but the first three stitches were busted on day three (when the pressure bandage came off) and most of the remaining stitches on the hock area busted over the following two days. 

Just to give you an idea, my girl had sliced right to the bone and sheared the flesh off the cannon bone, very nasty. She did it by kicking out through a plain wire fence, getting her leg caught then retracting it in fright. Vet wouldn't give me a prognosis at the time of her returning to soundness as she had partially lacerated the tendon. He was only able to tell me what had been done, how to treat it and he came back after a week, then after three weeks at which time he was much more positive in regards to her return to soundness.

My vet at the time told me that the biggest worry in regards to proud flesh comes from the area below the hock to the hoof. That's not to say that it won't develop proud flesh, just that the danger increases the further down the leg the injury is. Since my girl had injured everything from the hock to the fetlock, she was a very much at risk for developing proud flesh unfortunately.

In all, it took my girl 8 long months to heal and the wound healed from the inside out. It took a lot of work though and I put her on Vitamin E, selenium, zinc and magnesium supplements to help with tissue regeneration as well as the bandaging, disinfecting, poulticing and debridement. After 10 months she was back under saddle, 100% sound and not a single hint of proud flesh anywhere on the leg, all that remained was a scar across her hock.

I hope the vet gets back to you very soon, they will at least be able to give you an idea of the damage to tendons/ligaments. Sending good thoughts.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Ooh, wow, that's ugly. Poor Jynxy. You've gotten great advice about how to deal with the wound itself so I won't go over that stuff again.

One thing I noticed is the large bump/lump on the inside of her leg that appears to be about 4-5 inches down from the injury itself. Is that a new thing with the injury or has that been there for a while?


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

Nope, that's the LAST injury she got from getting hung up in a metal cattle feeder as a yearling. >.< She already had it when I bought her as a 2 year old, it had proud fleshed and the stupid cow didn't do anything about it so now she just has a blemished lump.

Question - due to the injury as a yearling, and then what she endured at the last boarding stable, Jynxy absolutely HATES barns and goes stir crazy at being cooped up. If the bandage is staying put, do I really need to keep her in a stall? The injury hurts enough it's not like she's going to go tearing around, I'm just concerned about her state of mind and what she may do to that leg being cooped up for months on end. :-(


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## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

MacabreMikolaj said:


> Question - due to the injury as a yearling, and then what she endured at the last boarding stable, Jynxy absolutely HATES barns and goes stir crazy at being cooped up. If the bandage is staying put, do I really need to keep her in a stall? The injury hurts enough it's not like she's going to go tearing around, I'm just concerned about her state of mind and what she may do to that leg being cooped up for months on end. :-(


The stall rest vs. not stall rest debate, everyone has different experiences but here's my 2 cents:

I had the same problem with Angel. After consulting with the vet I stalled her for the initial three days and then after that she was kept in a small yard, probably big enough for her to walk/trot if she wanted, but not do anything too crazy. It would have been about 10 metres X 15 metres. He actually advised me to do that rather than stalling as allowing her to walk would increase the circulation which can help to dissipate inflammation and stimulate tissue regeneration. Mind you I would be changing the bandage 1-2 times per day so that the wound and leg were supported adequately.

The only thing I did was I took her _off_ the Bute (yep I'm a big meanie :evil when I let her out, simply so she could feel that the leg was hurting. Pain is nature's own warning system. 

Worked for us, I'm sure others have different experiences.


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## riccil0ve (Mar 28, 2009)

I have no input, just wanted to give you and Jynxy hugs and carrots. Poor Jynx. =\
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

Thanks sarahver. I gave her some Bute for tonight, just after having my scrub and prod at the wound and wrap it she was feeling MIGHTY uncomfortable and couldn't find a good place to rest her leg, but I definitely don't intend to continue her on Bute - whether she's in a stall or paddock, I need her to feel that wound so she doesn't keep tearing it open in oblivion.

There's a few smaller grassy areas I think I'll ask the BO if I can keep her in those for now - still restrict her movement but allow her to be outside and see her buddies. I don't think the wound will be helped by her body slamming the walls of her stall for hours on end.


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## Scoutrider (Jun 4, 2009)

sarahver said:


> The stall rest vs. not stall rest debate, everyone has different experiences but here's my 2 cents:
> 
> I had the same problem with Angel. After consulting with the vet I stalled her for the initial three days and then after that she was kept in a small yard, probably big enough for her to walk/trot if she wanted, but not do anything too crazy. It would have been about 10 metres X 15 metres. He actually advised me to do that rather than stalling as allowing her to walk would increase the circulation which can help to dissipate inflammation and stimulate tissue regeneration. Mind you I would be changing the bandage 1-2 times per day so that the wound and leg were supported adequately.
> 
> ...


I agree completely with the above. Rio wouldn't have been stalled as long as he was except for the fact that he was injured in winter, and we couldn't maneuver his leg enough to pull his shoes so he wouldn't slip on ice outside. Do whatever maximizes the individual horse's mental/physical comfort and safety. 

Agreed on use of pain meds as well. I prefer to only Bute them if they truly need it to be comfortable standing. Other than that, they know what's comfortable and what isn't. Dad tells me that Rio was on just a little Bute for the first couple of days, and nothing for pain after that except for the topical during dressing changes.


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

I love my BO, her and Kali (Jynxy's trainer) went and checked on Jynx and due to the size of the wound, my bandage was just getting sucked into the crevice and making things worse. They stripped her, re-washed her, put more nitrofurazone on, and then used a diaper and tape. And she brushed her for me to make her more relaxed, and massaged a knot in her neck! I seriously love this woman, it's so nice to be with someone who's 100% about horses. 

Still waiting for a reply from the vet, I also re-emailed him and asked him about antibiotics. He's also pretty amazing, he gives a lot of free advice, I gave him my address and requested he send any bills to me but doubtful he will as he never charges for advice given by phone. I just don't want to look like I'm taking advantage, I appreciate how helpful he is!

We also discussed keeping Jynx in VS turning her out, and I think we'll play it by ear - she is completely relaxed and quiet tonight, I'm not sure if it's from the pain or the Bute, but she is being very unJynxlike in terms of not pitching a fit from being alone in a stall. No complaints from me, she needs her rest!


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

It won't take months to heal if the tendons are not involved. After the first 3 or 4 days, you won't have to rebandage more than every other day. 

Is there another horse friend or a pony or a goat you can keep in with her? It sure helps if you limit movement for a week or two. It is also easier to keep flies down indoors. 

I would not use Bute at all. It is so hard on a horse's stomach, can cause ulcers and slows healing. 

Good luck with it.


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

Thanks Cherie. I am thankful that the BO had an injury almost identical to this on her young Warmblood - he ended up dragging the entire fence down with him and had an injury even worse. You can't even tell he was cut now. My BO is getting a special salve concocted by one of the racetrack vets that she swears by - she said it's pure magic, healed her horse up in no time flat.

We're almost positive she kicked through the wire fence and got herself hung up. She's known for kicking at and through fences at strange horses, and today was the first day they were in the back pasture where they could touch noses with the second herd for the first time this spring.

At this point there's nobody who can stay in with her 24/7. There are a few other horses that come in at night. However, she could go in with her "best bud" in a smaller paddock so we may examine that after a few days to a week in the barn to get through this initial healing stage with minimum movement.

I'll be going out to change the bandage twice tomorrow, grab some diapers and some duct tape! :lol:


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## CJ82Sky (Dec 19, 2008)

hey there MM - i want to chime in bc my horse had a similar injury years ago and both vets i used at the time (two diff offices) were unable to get to me for more than 24h bc one was working on site at the track 2h away (racetrack vet) and the other's truck broke down and had no alternate transportation.

they both told me the same thing based on my pics and description.

pressure wrap with non stick pads, gauze, cotton, vetwrap, standing wrap. dress the wound after cold hosing with fura mixed with power dexamethasone (the dex prevents proud flesh and promotes circulation to the tissue to speed healing bc it is a steroid). change bandage every OTHER day to allow coagulation at first as too much changing of the wrap can cause more good than bad. and then the vet came for a follow up a few days later and told me there was nothing he could do to improve on what i had already done  made me proud!

years later and my horse is 100% sound on it! here's some pics from the injury (they were deep and to the bone in a few spots with exposed tendon sheath and risk of needing skin grafting bc of the amount of skin lost - however there was no need for surgery due to the healing with the fura and dex).


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

Thanks. Due to the location of the injury and the lower risk of proud flesh, I am going to go with the vet's advice at this point of daily hydrotherapy, furazone and bandaging. At this early stage, I'm actually treating her twice a day as cold hosing on a fresh injury as often as possible at the initial stages is super helpful for healing. After the weekend, I will revert to once a day.

I am VERY happy with the wound today. Jynxy was feeling much better, no limping and happy to bear weight on the leg although I'm sure she has some lingering Bute in her system (24 hours ago). She let me cold hose it and dress it without any fuss. I am feeling a LOT more optimistic.

Vet saw pics and confirmed his initial advised treatment plan. He said it's a relatively common injury that heals well with minimal scarring, so I am VERY happy about that!

Before cold hosing:

















After cold hosing:


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## AlexS (Aug 9, 2010)

It already looks much better! Glad you had some good news. Is she putting weight on it yet?


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

That looks so much better, good job so far


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## atreyu917 (May 22, 2011)

Poor baby that looks rough


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

Yes! She's walking no problem, and even bore weight on it when asked to turn (yesterday she would half bear weight, half rear on her other back leg as she sort of stumbled in a circle). She also had no problems with me touching it today, I am very happy.


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## pintophile (May 18, 2011)

Good to hear it's healing up! Man, compared to that other thread that corinowalk posted, this looks like a little scratch! I actually read all 16 pages of that thread, and I am quite honestly amazed at how well that horse healed up. After reading that, I really don't think you'll have much of a problem with your horse if you keep doing what you're doing. It looks nasty, but sometimes horses amaze you with what they can handle.


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## AlexS (Aug 9, 2010)

Great news! Am happy for you.


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## momo3boys (Jul 7, 2010)

Wow! What a difference! So glad you got good advice and great help!


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## MHFoundation Quarters (Feb 23, 2011)

Ouch! Darn horses, always something! Hope she has a speedy recovery!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

Poor Jynx. It turns out the BO had given her some Bute yesterday morning, hence her good spirits and invincible attitude. She was 3 legged lame this morning, took me forever to coax her from her stall hopping on three legs and refusing to put her injured leg down. I finally convinced her she wasn't going to die if she put weight on it, she was kind of cute testing the waters and then going "oh I guess that's not so bad" and limping along on it instead of hopping with it off the ground.

I feel bad, but she needs to feel this pain, she was WAY to comfortable and sassy yesterday and that's a recipe for disaster. I'm hoping her feeling the pain will make stall rest a lot easier on her, not feeling like she CAN run around.


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## atreyu917 (May 22, 2011)

Yeah, I understand that frustration. I had to kennel my dog (who has NEVER been kenneled before) when he injured his neck back in December. The pain/anti inflammatory meds made him feel much better so it made it that much harder for him to understand why I had to keep him locked up and leash walk him everywhere. Well wishes go her way for a speedy recovery.


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

Day 4

Jynx was in a lot of pain today, she refused to bear weight on the leg and was hopping everywhere on her right leg so I ended up giving her a teaspoon of Bute and stall bandaging her supporting leg. It seemed to do the trick well - a couple hours later, she was still limping and definitely feeling pain but able to bear weight on the injured leg. It's a really touchy balance right now - the dangers of Bute VS the problems we're going to have if she stands on ONE back leg for the next 2 months. We're giving her as little Bute as possible to take the edge off for her.

She got to graze outside for 4 hours today in the round pen, so she was happy about that. Everyone is loving on her a lot, and the BO has been hand grazing her for a couple hours a day, she's like the greatest most awesomest person in the world!

Before hydrotherapy:









After hydrotherapy:

















And having a nom after being bandaged:









The Bute has also become somewhat necessary due to her almost falling over (she actually has once already) when I try to bandage or touch the wound in anyway. Poor girl.


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## CJ82Sky (Dec 19, 2008)

is there any chance it is into the joint capsule? it looks like it is healing well but from the amount of pain she is in that makes me think that there may be some more internal damage than initially thought. what did the vet think?


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

He said it was below the joint with no tendon damage. I honestly think she's being a bit of a "suck" in layman's terms. She wasn't limping at all when I found her with the fresh wound, walked all the way from the back pasture just fine. I gave her Bute that night and the BO gave her some in the morning so she was feeling GREAT the next day which concerned me. So we stopped the Bute, and this refusing to bear weight came around yesterday however it "comes and goes" so to speak.

I've watched this horse walk with almost no limp straight towards me for a dozen steps, and then when I clip her leadrope on and ask her to walk, she cranks the leg up and starts hopping. :-|


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## CJ82Sky (Dec 19, 2008)

btw you are doing a lovely job cleaning and bandaging it!


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## CJ82Sky (Dec 19, 2008)

and lol to the dramatics! glad it's nothing serious even if she seems to think otherwise haha.


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

She had me a bit flabbergasted today. It took me forever to get her out of her stall, she's convinced she can't hop over the bottom bar of the stall so she stands on 3 legs and rocks and shakes her head and has a tantrum like she somehow wants me to pick her up and take her outside. She'll get tired of hopping after awhile, and then tries to put the foot down and goes "oh that's not so bad..." so I think she's just wily and milking it for all she's worth.

I know horses can't premeditate like that, but sometimes I seriously wonder. She'll walk perfectly fine for half an hour and then suddenly start hopping, so I'm not sure!

She's started chewing at her bandages and scratching at the wound, I'm going to assume that's a good sign - itchy = healing and all that. God I love duct tape. :lol:


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## CJ82Sky (Dec 19, 2008)

horses have a higher ability to reason than you'd think! glad she's doing better and hope she's walking sound again very soon


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

Hey, MM. I just picked up this thread. Sorry that I missed it, but things are looking much better already!  

I don't understand why the vet wouldn't suture that. Perhaps there wasn't enough elasticity in the skin to close it up? Just an interest question.


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

Due to the location, she would have just torn them out. Anytime she lifts her leg, the wound closes, but stepping down it gapes again. I can see how she would have torn them almost immediately just from normal leg function.

The vet reviewed the photos and confirmed his treatment plan of hydrotherapy, furazone and bandaging. I am requesting he come out to assess at the 2 week mark.


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

I still don't get it; maybe I'm dense today -- if it had been stitched while the leg was extended, then it would be at it's greatest stretch. Maybe too hard to stitch extended because she wouldn't have stood for it... I dunno.

I'm just glad for you that it's healing up well!


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

That's the problem though, the only reason the wound itself is so large is because it split from the tension on the skin in that area. He would have to draw both edges of the wound together, a good few inches gap. The strain of bending and then extending the leg would have just split it wide open all over again. It may have lasted for awhile, but any sudden movement of bending and then extending the leg would have just popped the stitches from the strain on the skin. If she had drawn the cable across her leg lower, it's unlikely the wound ever would have split so hard to create such a big wound. 

We're on day 5 and I am very happy with the wound today! It's filled in greatly already, and the entire leg was very much reduced in swelling and heat. She seems to do okay on 1 tsp of Bute per day - it allows her to walk and not overly strain her good leg, but she still feels pain and limps.


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

MacabreMikolaj said:


> That's the problem though, the only reason the wound itself is so large is because it split from the tension on the skin in that area. /QUOTE]
> 
> Oh! NOW I get it! Much-o clear-o! Thanks MM.
> 
> It's looking good!


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

HOW DO YOU PEOPLE DO THIS?!?!?! It's been ONE week and I've already managed to screw this up. I cannot even believe this mess, this is unreal. It won't stop pouring blood, and she won't put ANY weight on her leg even with Bute.

Enough is enough, I'm calling the vet tomorrow and he's getting his *** down here ASAP. I can't deal with having NO idea what I'm even freaking looking for, whether it's infected or not, whether this is a serious problem or not.

I just want to cry.


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## atreyu917 (May 22, 2011)

Wow the wound does look so much angrier than just the last pictures


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Whew, breathe, honey :hug:. It'll be okay. It does look a bit nasty right now but it will get better. By all means, get the vet out just so he can try to figure out what happened. Do you know what happened to irritate the wound? Did she get to chewing on it or rip the bandage off or something?


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

I have no idea. Her bandages have been fine. She's been laying down, but she's been doing that since the beginning so I don't know why it got so ugly so suddenly.

Just feeling overwhelmed. Calling the vet tomorrow and finding out what's what.


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

Sorry, MM I can't recall - did a vet come out to check the wound originally?


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I know, and it's okay :hug:. For it to get so angry so quickly, she would have had to do something to aggravate it. Maybe she kicked a wall or something, there's no way to know. It looks to me like it's just irritated. it looks far too healthy for there to be infection in there so that's something.


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## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

Don't stress too much! The wound has to undergo vascularisation which is when all the damages blood vessels repair themselves, the fact that it is bleeding is a good sign, indicitive of tissue regeneration. The wound looks very good and the blood looks clean too, she may have lay down and then overstretched it when she got up. But of course a vet will explain it much better than me and be a more reliable source.

I think you are doing a good job, it looks ouchie right now but it will get better. Just a word of warning - the majority of the wound will close in quickly as the tissue rebuilds, the longest stage of healing with wounds like this is actually wound _closure_ and unfortunately legs heal approximately 1/10th the speed of other areas of the body so the worst will be over shortly and then there will be a longer period as the skin rebuilds. But it won't look anywhere near as nasty! I bet that within the month the wound has mostly filled itself in.

Keep up the good work!


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## Ladytrails (Jul 28, 2010)

smrobs said:


> For it to get so angry so quickly, she would have had to do something to aggravate it. Maybe she kicked a wall or something, there's no way to know. It looks to me like it's just irritated. it looks far too healthy for there to be infection in there so that's something.


I agree with smrobs, maybe when she was lying down she rubbed the wound inside the bandage or something. Or if she's bending the leg now that she feels a little better, maybe the bandage and dressing/pads put pressure/rubbed the wound more than she has in the past and it's flared up. I would rather see fresh blood with a clean surface than something with infection starting - it looks really clean and that's really good.


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## Wild Heart (Oct 4, 2010)

You did not screw up. You are doing everything your vet is telling you. I know it's hard but don't put the blame on yourself. I've seen horses that have irritated their healing wounds simply by the bandage loosening up slightly and chafing the area.


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

JustDressageIt said:


> Sorry, MM I can't recall - did a vet come out to check the wound originally?


No. I called him immediately to ask about stitching and he said due to location it would be pointless, and to proceed with hydrotherapy, furazone and bandaging daily. After I got home, I still felt concerned so I called again and left a message saying I know he can't stitch it but I would appreciate if he would come out anyway just to check and that I also had photos. He called me back and requested they be e-mailed to him.

Upon seeing the photos, he confirmed it was a relatively common injury that heals well and to continue with the hydrotherapy, furazone and bandaging for at least 2 weeks and no antibiotics unless it started looking infected.

At the time, it seemed good enough. He's the only local vet, the other ones I'm looking at a minimum of $75 travel charge due to being so far out of the locale. Which I will obviously cave and pitch out for if he still doesn't think coming out is necessary but I need some peace of mind here.

*sarahver* - why is she SO lame on it? I think that's my biggest concern here. She is hopping everywhere on 3 legs, refusing to put any weight on it and **** near fell over 3-4 times while I was bandaging it, desperately trying to get it away from me.


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## Ladytrails (Jul 28, 2010)

MM, eager to see Sarahver's answer, too, but will chime in that I've seen some injuries that were teeny but the horse was so protective of himself that he acted dead lame. Not necessarily a bad thing, as it will help you in the long run, because less likely to reinjure. If there were joint infection or injury she would be 24/7 3-legged lame and have a fever, so to put your mind at ease about something serious in the joint, you could take her temp. You're doing everything right - beautiful bandaging and clean healthy tissue. You may be surprised how much better it looks tomorrow. Hugs.

PS - think about a cut on your finger joint - every time you move that finger it hurts and even with a tiny paper cut you change how you use your hand. Her wound is in a tender place and it stretches and hurts when she bends her leg; she has to hop if she doesn't want to bend that leg. Having said all that, I've seen Sarahver's advice now and am editing to remind you that I'm not a vet...and maybe you could send the pics and describe the lameness to see what he thinks.


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## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

Sorry, I didn't comprehend how lame she is, non weight bearing is definitely a job for a vet, good luck.


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

Thanks guys. I know I'm over reacting, I'm just stressed and my mind is swimming with all the horrors of proud flesh developing.

She is very much her Jynxy self, playful and pushy and eating well and drinking lots. She bangs around and gets obnoxious when she sees me because she knows I'll take her outside to hose her and she gets to graze. She certainly doesn't appear to be an infected or otherwise unhealthy horse aside from not wanting to put any weight on it.

She also has a bad cough that's going around that's persisting even with daily dosing of Zev, so I think it's just better all around if the vet comes and physically assesses. It will make ME a lot happier anyway. I have no issue pitching out $40 for my peace of mind.


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## Ladytrails (Jul 28, 2010)

Good luck to you and hope everything is a good report when you have the vet look at her. You're doing all the right things...it's really a shock when you unwrap those bandages sometimes, I know!


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

Proud flesh isn't the end of the world, MM - it can be cut back if it overgrows the line of the flesh. It's ugly, but it can definitely be done. Because she isn't weightbearing, I would want a vet out personally. Sounds like you do have a good handle on it, though, and know what needs to be done.


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

MM, I agree with SMR that your horse aggravated it somehow. They do that. As for the non-weight bearing, it could be nothing, so don't stress it. Once you have more information you can deal with what needs dealing with. Every horse will react differently and your girl may be a bit of a princess since she doesn't understand why it hurts. With all that movement there, it may be that she's just trying not to move it, rather than avoid weight-bearing.

It'll be OK. The wound doesn't appear to be grievous, as ugly as it is. I wonder, since this is such a hard place to bandage, if there is such a thing as a stitched on bandage that the vet could put on. I thinking of a patch that is stitched on two sides, leaving the bottom and one side open so you can still keep it clean and then wrap with that sticky wrap??? Just a thought.

Edited to ad: I wish I could call a vet for a farm call for just $40 <sigh>...


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

I do not think you are over reacting.

I agree with the thought that since she is truly not weight bearing this now requires a vet for sure.

If your regular vet will not come out and look into that then you might have to call out one of the more expensive vets.


Though ugly, a wound like that should not make your horse unwilling to use the leg.


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

Hey MM, check this one out, some scary stuff, but a good outcome..link contains graphic pics and blood

Jay-s-Injury


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

Ok, crisis averted. I finally got a chance to hear in depth opinions from two different vets (the $75 one Shay-la likes, and one filling in for my vet right now). I called Glenn this morning but he's away until tomorrow and is forwarding his calls to a veterinary clinic in a nearby town. I left a message and they finally got back to me, but this vet was amazing, she was patient and answered every one of my questions in full detail.

Both vets confirmed they would have advised me of the exact same thing. They confirmed using cool water for this, furazone for the initial healing and pressure bandaging. They both said the furazone has run it's course and both advised their own ointment recipes for this stage and also confirmed what I'm getting from Dr. Elder will essentially be the same thing, every vet has their own "recipe" for fixing these types of wounds and holding back proud flesh.

Both were concerned that she seemed to be in so much pain, and seem to think it's the raw edges of the wound being irritated by the hydrotherapy and bandaging which makes sense, her poor skin is practically peeling away. The vet I spoke to advised that Glenn would be back in a couple days and book an appointment with him when he gets back if I'm still concerned, but it sounds like Jynx is being a bit "namby pamby" about her pain threshold. They said if she's still not weight bearing by the time Glenn gets back, definitely have him out to ensure no deeper infection is occurring.

However, just spoke to the BO and she's walking just FINE today, so methinks my horse is a little princess who likes to scare me half to death. :roll:

Both said it sounded like I was doing everything right, and that the wound was healing as it should. I am a much happier camper tonight.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

That's great news!! Some horses are just weenies about pain. I have a couple that will limp for a quarter mile after stepping on a pea sized piece of gravel and I have a couple others that will seemingly brush off fairly serious injuries like they are nothing.


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## atreyu917 (May 22, 2011)

Best case scenario that she's just being a weenie!  So happy to hear this. Bet you'll sleep better tonight!


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## gaelgirl (Mar 3, 2011)

So glad she is doing better.


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## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

That's great news, so glad that she is feeling better today. There really isn't anything about that wound to suggest that it would make her non weight bearing which made me wonder if something more serious was going on. Wonderful that she is walking today, keep up the good work!

How did you administer penicillin, orally or IM?


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

We didn't give any penicillin yet, we have a bottle of Depocillin on hand in the fridge to be injected IM if we need but I asked the vet if I should give her a "just in case" shot and she said no, unless I'm suspicious about blatant infection I should hold off until my vet comes to check her.

I think I'm used to Zierra, the horse who's sustained damage to BOTH tendon sheaths and has never taken a lame step in her life. Jynx is SO dramatic about her injury, you'd swear she had a friggin bone infection. When I bandage she cranks her leg as high as she possibly can in the air, almost falls over and rubs my pant leg with her lip like a kid crying. If I didn't know any better, I would say she's milking this for all she's worth.


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## EveningShadows (May 18, 2009)

If I hadn't seen it for myself, not sure I'd believe it...but on day 4-5 we walked up to the round pen where she was grazing, weight bearing equally, even walked over to the other side perfectly - we came to the gate and she darn near INSTANTLY raised the leg and 3-legged gimped over to the gate. Not so sure horses can't pre-meditate... 

Big relief that both vet phone consults drew the same conclusion and we can have the vet out by the weekend. Don't be discouraged - she's already filled in within a week...she'll be ok again because of all your effort and care.  Stop doubting yourself and just do your best!


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## Wild Heart (Oct 4, 2010)

Must've been comforting to hear what the vets had to say even if they told you Jynxy was being a bit of a drama queen in the pain department.

Be sure to keep us updated!


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

Tried to post this last night but HF was being silly and not loading properly:

 Jynx is FANTASTIC today. I arrived and she was walking completely normal, no limp (except when I clip a leadrope to her halter and attempt to lead her, then she hikes up the leg, jumps for 3 steps and then walks normal)







I swear it's just a show now.

I turned her out for a couple hours in the round pen with another retired mare to graze. Brought her back and stripped the bandages and it looks GREAT. All bleeding has stopped, back to a nice pink color and the entire leg is back to normal size save for some minimal heat and swelling around the actual injury itself. However, BO was concerned about some pus so we're going to watch it carefully.

Even the tissues around the wound look good again. So not quite sure what happened for that couple of days, but glad she's looking so good again!


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## Ladytrails (Jul 28, 2010)

Looks great!


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

Yay!


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## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

Good work Team Jynxy!!!


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## Royal Pine Buck (May 28, 2011)

if it is WIRE Cable...i have known some of the worst injuries to happen from horses getting stuck in those... usually sleeving themselves down to the tendons and bone! if that is the case and it is wire cable... she is very lucky.

look up horse sleeving injuries and you could see how badit could have been. :S

i have heard underwoods medicine having good healing power with injuries like this one. i have yet to try it though..

if it were me i would just keep rinsing it with a saline solution and put nothing on top of it. as most creams are caustic and slow the healing of tissue by killing the cells responsible for healing or by making them move slower! 

if you do want to put something on it just to feel better i would suggest a hydrogel wound formula.

edited to add: sorry i didn't realise you were already treating it... i didn't read many of the replies before posting.


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

Well, it'll be 2 weeks on Thursday and Jynx is doing FANTASTIC. I took some pics on my cell phone today, I'll upload them later.

We've finally found the perfect tension on her bandages - too tight and she's stiff and sore the next morning, too loose and they're around her pastern when we check on her. The wound couldn't possibly look better - all swelling is pretty much gone, and just some mild standard heat directly at the wound itself. The edges are pink and sparkling, and every time we take those bandages off it seems we just smile a little brighter.

Jynx stands like a doll, she doesn't move a muscle. Unfortunately she's lost weight, but we're hoping to rig up a nice grassy paddock for her very soon as there's no reason why she can't start going outside a little more. She's walking beautifully on it, no limping. It's almost entirely filled in, just a bit more to go and then it'll all be waiting for skin to close.

Jynx is in good spirits, seems to enjoy all the attention she's getting and is her sweet usual self. She likes to torment horses tied in the aisle, the little goober. She practically dragged me to the round pen today, she was so excited to get out and eat. 

All in all, I couldn't be happier! I'm much less stressed and my trips to the barn aren't a stressful ordeal anymore, Jynx is settling nice, everyone is SO helpful and the wound looks perfect! Yay!


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## atreyu917 (May 22, 2011)

So so so so SOOOO happy to hear this!


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## Eliz (Jun 16, 2010)

Good lord!

I'm glad you got the better of this, it could have been REALLY bad! 
I just went through/am going through something like this. My boy sliced open his pastern, right about his hoof. The vet said 1 mm deeper and he would have no chance of a full recovery. It took about 3 weeks of stall rest and bandaging every other day for the thing to fill in. Then, we got a bit of proud flesh but it was easily conquered and now I'm just patiently waiting on the thing to scar over.

Silly horses! The funny thing is mine injured himself to avoid dressage training just like yours. I bet they conspired together 

Good luck & I'm glad to see it is not such a serious thing!


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## EveningShadows (May 18, 2009)

I'm so happy healing has gone so smooth in general  Had a rough patch but doing great again...ecstatic we were able to get her trimmed too! Feel free to steal Cinder as a companion in the grass paddock for a bit! I took a picture of Jynx's leg yesterday but have no idea how to upload it here!

Go Team Jynxy!


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

I just uploaded the pics and realized she was actually quite a bit more swollen then I thought so we'll have to keep a close eye on that. I don't know why, but I never see the swelling until I look at the pictures. Either way, I'm pretty impressed with how good it looks!


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

I totally slagged off on pics and updates, haha, things have been so hectic.

Jynx is great, she's handling the barn well. She gets to hand graze daily. We're on 4 weeks now, and we've discontinued bandaging and she's sprayed several times a day with a special coolant spray designed to pull back proud flesh and allow the skin to grow without damaging healthy tissue.

She's been on antibiotics for a week now as she rather suddenly swelled up again and was oozing pus just after we stopped bandaging. She developed some pretty nasty pressure sores from the bandages we've had to treat as well.









Leg today









Jynxy enjoying some nomz while her stall is cleaned









Happy poneh!









Both legs for comparison









ZOMFG MOM I FOUND THE GOOD STUFFZ!









Whut?!?!









Like a kid in a candy store!


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## AbbeyCPA (Jun 29, 2011)

Haven't been following her progress, I just saw this thread this evening, but you're doing a _great_ job with that wound! Glad to see what you're using has done so well to work against the proud flesh, that's such a nasty area to get cut. Tons of new tissue already! I'm definitely subbing to this thread so I can follow the rest of her progress - injuries totally fascinate me


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

I'm happy we're coming down into the home stretch. I was SO stressed at the beginning, having never dealt with anything of this magnitude before. Now she's doing so well, there's no lameness, she's in good spirits which is just a relief.

Just a waiting game now!


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## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

Great work MM, all the best with her continued recovery! She is such a beautiful girl by the way, what a sweetheart.


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

She's been a doll, the BO is absolutely head over heels in love with her. She can be having a "moment" in her stall, jumping around and flipping her head and banging around and the minute you go in to do ANY work with her leg she freezes absolutely solid. Even when bandaging was hurting her, she would not move a single muscle so long as you had your hands on her leg. I didn't need anyone to hold her, did all her bandaging and treatment loose in her stall.

She had a cough and I was dosing her with Zev daily - she actually got BETTER about having it shot into her throat, I could just stick the syringe in the corner of her mouth and she wouldn't budge, didn't have to rub her throat she just swallowed it. Again, loose in her stall.

A week of antibiotics and she is NOT happy about that needle, and all she does is bob her head when she knows I'm about to stick her. You can see how much she hates it, and she still takes it like a champ.

Definitely a lot of her amazing personality shining through and showing how resilient, tolerant and affectionate she is!


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## atreyu917 (May 22, 2011)

Yay! Glad to see how well she is doing. She looks just as pretty as ever.


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

It's been 6 weeks and things are going fantastic! The vet was out a week ago to float teeth, and said we've gone a great job and it looks great, very healthy. He scraped away from proud flesh, just with his nails, and said I should continue doing it every week while using the coolant to keep it all flush against the wound edges. 

I'm not liking how massive the wound itself still seems, it seems uber swollen still but I suppose that will just take time to go down? The vet didn't seem concerned, so we'll just wait and see! She's completely sound, and the vet approved her to go back into work including light riding. I don't have a death wish, so we've started round penning ancd daily turnout. She went BONKERS last week, tearing around the paddock like she was a circus horse, leaping, bucking, farting, rollbacks and every athletic complicated ridiculous movement a horse can make and was none the worse for wear so I'm pretty sure she can do some walk/jog in the round pen!









Mmmmm, crusty









Front view









Side view - you can see the size of it that worries me a bit, but doesn't seem to interfere at all!









Closer









Nice and healthy according to the vet!









I finally went after her with the scissors today, ROFL. I forgot I'd left my clippers at home, so she gets to look like an uber doofus until tomorrow. I just couldn't do ANYTHING with it, figured this way it'll grow back nice and even for show season next year.









WHAT FOR WHY YOU DO DIS TO ME MOM?!?!?!









Spooky poneh is possessed, LOL


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## atreyu917 (May 22, 2011)

God she's a beautiful horse!


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