# Hard to write about



## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

Lostastirrup's recent barely-averted trailering disaster was very painful to read, because I have just had a trailering disaster of my own. I have not been able to talk about it much less write about it much. But maybe it will be cathartic or something. Yes. Hug your horses.

Three weeks ago I was hauling my horse to my trainer's for a lesson when the door latch failed and the door swung open. It's a simple stock trailer, no butt bars, and Brooke slid, the safety catch on her trailer tie let go, and she fell out. Not more than five miles from home.

She was on her feet, in fact trotting down the road in a daze, when I caught her. I called my vet, called my trainer. The guy whose driveway I ended up in was truly nice and even rather horse-savvy. Didn't mind the equine first aid station in front of his house. Brooke had abrasions all over, maybe thirty of them. I haven't counted. Some were deep, and a couple were frightening. Her carpus (knee) was exposed bone. 

My vet was there within fifteen minutes, sedated her, cleaned out her wounds in the field, bandaged her well. I knew I was in no shape to haul her anywhere even back home. I called a friend with a trailer and very luckily she was already at her boarding barn getting ready to ride. She immediately dropped everything and brought her trailer around. Meanwhile my trainer had come to find me, she got me to drink some lemonade and eat something. We got Brooke into my friend's trailer and she hauled her to Tufts equine hospital two hours away, while my trainer drove my trailer home for me. Everyone was so kind, and generous, and competent. 

Brooke is still there. But she is healing well and will be released in three days to come home, unless something untoward happens. They thoroughly flushed the exposed joints, they infused them with antibiotics, and they covered them with sterile bandaging until they had granulated over. I doubt she would have made it without such skilled medical help.

Her terrible knee is now quite covered with granulation and is already half the size it was. She punctured the joint capsule on one hock; that is almost closed. And the other bad place, front of a rear fetlock, slower to heal than the knee although a much smaller wound, is finally doing well. The vet at Tufts used "amnion" on her knee and fetlock to try to help them close; an alternative to skin grafting, which was the other option. I had never heard of it. It's a manufactured membrane made from the amniotic tissue of a foal (the sac that encloses them in the womb). So it is a kind of stem cell therapy. Not cheap, but it clearly made a difference. 

I've been driving out there to visit her twice a week. It is absolutely exhausting. Pippa pony stays far out in the pasture both night and day and doesn't come in except for breakfast and dinner. She mourned for a while and now is resigned. The goat doesn't seem to cheer her much. Nor me, I'm still grieving. And still traumatized. Anything that reminds me of that event collapses me. The stable feels so empty. 

But I will get over this. I am healing too. Brooke will come right. No ligaments or tendons or bones were involved, she only has to grow her skin back. This has been a hard hard year. But I am grateful to God. It could have been far worse, I can't even contemplate it. So thankful for my friends, for the vets who have cared so well for Brooke, and grateful I had enough money to save my dear horse.


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## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

Oh, I am so sorry. Prayers she heals quickly.


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

I wondered if you would have read lostastirrup's post and was worried about what it might bring up, but I am glad it helped you want to share your story too. You know everyone here is pulling for Brooke now, and this group seems to have a lot of healing power. I will be relieved for you once she's home in the barn, reunited with Pippa!


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## LoriF (Apr 3, 2015)

OMG! Poor Brooke!! I sounds like she's in good hands for a full recovery.

What happened with you and lostastirrup are some of a horse persons worst nightmares. Wishing you both physical and emotional recovery from this. It can be hard sometimes.

The common thing in both of your stories is how other horse people dropped everything to be there right away to help. Kudos to all horse people. What an amazing group we are involved in.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Oh Avna, that was so hard to read. So glad Brooke will heal and you will too. I had the same thing happen to my stock trailer, the latch came open when I was hauling two horses. I was going slowly on a gravel road and someone saw and started yelling and waving at me from their yard. Fortunately, my yearling in the back portion of the trailer was scrunched up to the front gate because he knew that door was open! My husband rigged up a locking mechanism on it after. Hugs for you & the horses....and Stewart.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Oh no, I'm so sorry to read this @Avna! Hugs to you and Brooke. Sending healing vibes to you both.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

waresbear said:


> Oh Avna, that was so hard to read. So glad Brooke will heal and you will too. I had the same thing happen to my stock trailer, the latch came open when I was hauling two horses. I was going slowly on a gravel road and someone saw and started yelling and waving at me from their yard. Fortunately, my yearling in the back portion of the trailer was scrunched up to the front gate because he knew that door was open! My husband rigged up a locking mechanism on it after. Hugs for you & the horses....and Stewart.


Yeah, nothing is going to be hauled in that trailer until there are not one but two fail safes on the latch. It came with one, but -- and you can bet we feel extremely awful about this -- Brooke bent it while pawing tied to the trailer, and we never fixed it. We have already repaired that one but I want another one. I'm sure that both Brooke and I are going to need a lot of patience before we are ready to go anywhere in that thing.


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## lb27312 (Aug 25, 2018)

Wow... just wow... that must have been/must be so hard to deal with. I know it was hard to share here but I'm glad you did, it may help someone in the future, you never know. I hope she heals up good and quickly for you.


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

Massive jingles to both Brooke and you for swift and complete healing. What a nightmare.


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## carshon (Apr 7, 2015)

Wow is all I can say. I am just devastated to read this. You have had a terrible year and I am sure this has shook your confidence. So very happy that Brooke with heal and recover - now concentrate on your own recovery and guilt. This is not something that you could have foreseen happening. This was out of your control. Your devotion to your horses is second to none.

We are your friends and are here to listen and help you and Brooke through the healing process.


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## cbar (Nov 27, 2015)

How devastating for you! I'm so glad to hear Brooke will heal - but I can't even imagine going through that. I am so paranoid when I trailer and some things just can't be avoided. 

Thank you for sharing your story - I know it must have been hard for you.


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## Kalraii (Jul 28, 2015)

My heart. I've not been able to even reply to lostastirrups been so caught up with work but I read... just wanted to quickly say this stuff.... it just happens. But you know that. I am dreading the day I inevitably wind up in an accident as well on horseback or with Katie involved somehow. It's almost inevitable that those that own and work with them will experience these things. The thing that helps me after the many difficult situatinos I've been in is to promise myself to learn that lesson and do my best to try and never let it happen again. It's the only way can go forward. But from joining this forum it's obvious you are a very caring and attentive owner. I have no doubt "you got dis" <3


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

So sorry to read this. Sounds like she is healing well. Pippa will be over joyed to have her friend back and you'll make those changes and move forward. Hugs to you all.


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## lostastirrup (Jan 6, 2015)

Love and hugs. You're in my prayers. Birds of a feather must flock together. Give Brooke a cookie for me and tell her she's got company in the bravest horse in world club.


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

I'm tellin' ya. Every horse owner's worst fear - or right up there at the top.


Read this one with a growing sense of dread as well and glad to hear everyone will recover!


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

Oh geez Avna! Prayers you both recover quickly!


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

Oh, I'm so glad she's going to be ok. Hugs to you.

I've never had the latch on my stock trailer open, but many years ago a cowboy friend says he has a length of chain with a heavy bolt snap that he uses when horses are inside as a double-latch for the door. That's not a bad idea when there aren't any butt bars on the trailer. I use it because I can remember latching it, and I know that when I do, both doors are firmly closed as well, but I'll keep doing it now!


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## therhondamarie (Sep 18, 2019)

Sending so much positive vibes and prayers to you and Brooke. I am glad that she is healing well and will be okay. I cannot imagine how that must have felt for you.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Made me sick to my stomach just reading that. I cannot imagine how intense that experience must have felt first hand. 

You are strong, and so is she, obviously. get well soon!


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Another Yikes incident - so sorry for you and your pony! Sending you healing prayers & thoughts that you both recover completely.

I had an incident where I didn't latch the door of my 2H straight load after I left a Ranch Horse show. I had people trying to get my attention, but was so tired, I didn't see them. My trainer, who had left after I did, had caught up with me and finally got my attention to pull over on the freeway. He stopped before me and RAN past my truck to the trailer. At that time I had taken the divider out and used the trailer as a one-horse slant. Star was stuffed in there (she actually rode comfortably in it) and was not bothered in the least by the door being open. I had nightmares after that (well, really still do, even though I no longer have that trailer). I was stupid and inattentive. I am hyper vigilant now ..


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

So sorry to read about your nightmare incident. You surely have had more than your share this year. Especially sad because you were just starting to gain more confidence about Brooke and trailering. I surely hope Brooke heals quickly and you also. Mental trauma is real and hard to heal. @phantomhorse13, didn't you have a trailer catch fire on a long distance haul? I know I had another friend whose trailer caught fire. Horses got out safely. Oddly enough, everyone I know whose horses were in trailer accidents continued to haul just fine.

As I wrote in @lostastirrup 's post, I was told long ago, back in my foxhunting days, that the tighter you can fit the horse in the trailer, the safer it is for the horse. One of my foxhunting friends rolled their truck and trailer several times and their horses, wedged in tightly, were unhurt. I had a large horse and small trailer and was told, if he would haul in it, don't change a thing.


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## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

Very sorry to read this, gave me shivers as I think trailer accidents are just horrible. glad your horse is recovering well and hope you are too.

I got a used trailer a few years ago and it is for larger horses so I had a second butt bar installed as I was afraid that with our smaller horses they could push back and somehow get under the bar. Better two than take a chance.

All the best to you and your horse


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## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

This is what I was afraid of happening with my prior trailer. My doors rotted out and the metal rusted out. I sure hoped the person who bought my trailer would fix it but nope. I saw it the other day still with rotted doors. It had butt bars but those are not that secure. The doors are replaceable but i guess it's too expensive on an old trailer. 

I love my newer trailer and am very thankful I was able to afford it.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

I'm so sorry Brook was injured and you're having to deal with the mental aspect of what happened. No matter how careful you try to be accidents happen, they just do. Pulling an empty trailer doesn't bother me in the least. When one of my horses are in there though I'm as jumpy as a cat on a hot tin roof even though I've never had a major accident while trailering. I did have a wheel fall off while driving on the interstate one time because right before the trip I had taken it in to have the bearings packed and they forgot to tighten the lug nuts on that particular wheel. Something I never even thought about double checking until after that happened. Thankfully no horses were injured and a bunch of us were traveling in a convoy so my two were able to be squeezed into other trailers until we got to where we were going and I could get it fixed.


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## SwissMiss (Aug 1, 2014)

I am so sorry that happened to you and Brooke :hug: It is one of my trailering nightmares. 
Glad to hear that your pony is on the mend (Tufts is awesome!) and hopefully you are recovering too :hug:


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

SwissMiss said:


> I am so sorry that happened to you and Brooke :hug: It is one of my trailering nightmares.
> Glad to hear that your pony is on the mend (Tufts is awesome!) and hopefully you are recovering too :hug:


Yes, I am extremely grateful to the medical teams at Tufts.


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## Aquamarine (Aug 27, 2019)

I am so sorry to hear of that traumatic experience. And I am very glad to read that Brooke is doing well and will be coming home. That is a blessing. Cyber hugs to you.


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## Feathers7 (Jun 11, 2019)

So glad that Brooke will be alright!!! Wishing all the best for you and her, Avna. Hang in there! You've certainly earned all the support you can get for all of your hard work and love you put into your horses. Big hugs! Thank you for sharing with us and letting us know what can happen so we can all take safety precautions against something like this happening. My big mare has hauled well in the past, but I've found she is very prone to feeling claustrophobic and I was considering a stock trailer for her. So I sincerely appreciate your post. Perhaps a modified stock trailer is in order for us!


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

Brought Brooke home today (my friend who got her to Tufts also hauled her back for me). It took some coaxing to get her into the trailer but it was more about her uncertainty of the footing with her awkward bandaged legs, I think. 

She and Pippa were *very* happy to see each other. I was touched to see Brooke gently nibbling Stewart the goat's fur later; they both had their eyes half closed. 

She will have about two weeks more of bandaging and stall rest before she can go out to play. One front leg, which had the shallowest abrasions, is already bandage-free, but she's still wrapped up on the other three. 

She's very itchy. Spent much of the afternoon just rubbing herself against things. A month in a stall with absolutely no rubbing surfaces does seem like torment for a horse. I was given a couple doses of the antihistamine she was on the whole time. Wonder how itchy she'll be once that runs out. Also another week with a mild oral sedative and oral antibiotics. I am going to have my vet do the first rebandaging with me. 

It is so great to see that sweet brown head hanging over the stable door again.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

Glad you got your "baby" home. Even though she'll be a little extra work for a while at least you'll be able to see and touch her and know that she's ok.


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

So glad to hear Brooke is home now safely.


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

So thrilled she’s home!


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

Went out this morning to feed and clean, and yes, she had managed to drag one of her hock bandages down to her ankle. It was covering the most-healed of her three most serious wounds, so I was not so appalled as I might have been. And so it begins .... the Bandage War.


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

Good thing you are the queen of such battles :wink:


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## carshon (Apr 7, 2015)

You could give bandaging classes! So glad she is home and seems to be feeling pretty good.


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

Ha ha! I thought the same thing: Nobody knows bandaging like Avna does. You've got this.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

I hate bandaging. Bleah! Especially hocks!!


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

So glad she's home!


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## SwissMiss (Aug 1, 2014)

knightrider said:


> Ha ha! I thought the same thing: Nobody knows bandaging like Avna does. You've got this.


I was just thinking the same!


But glad that Brooke is back home - and feeling feisty enough to play with her bandages :wink:


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

SwissMiss said:


> I was just thinking the same!
> 
> 
> But glad that Brooke is back home - and feeling feisty enough to play with her bandages :wink:


The truth is, she never felt particularly bad. In fact once the initial worry about infection was over, the main challenge was to keep her bandages on for that month. I was grateful it wasn't me!


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## rambo99 (Nov 29, 2016)

So glad Brooke is home I'm sure you'll manage just fine with bandage changing. Hoping for a fast smooth recovery for Brooke and you. 

Reading about the accident gave me chills and made me sick to my stomach. Prayers and good healing vibes sent you're way.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

Rebandaged all the wounds today with my own vet helping. He agreed to just leave the hock bandage off as it is worse to have her rubbing the bandage off than to just leave it bare. It is nearly dry now and filled in to skin level. It worried me that the hock swelled some and she started favoring that leg but my vet told me that was just because the bandage was off, and that she'd be fine. He is an old dairy vet (he is so ancient that everyone knows who you are talking about when you say, "Doc came out"...). Not much bothers him. 

The other bad spots were SO much better than a week ago. Maybe two more bandage changes. 

I am slowly unclenching myself, level by level. She is so flabby! All her muscles have gone slack. And she has a simply terrible case of dandruff. All to be mended.


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## weeedlady (Jul 19, 2014)

Oh @Avna I have no words other than I am so sorry this happened to you. Thank you for sharing as a warning to the rest of us.
Sending healing thoughts for Brooke and for you. (( ))


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

@Avna I have not been on the forum in a while. I am so sorry to hear that your beautiful horse got hurt. I am so thankful that you were able to provide her with the best of care and that she will get well.


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

Oops. Double post. I'll use this one for extra jingles and prayers for your girl.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

Second re-bandaging today, which I did by myself with a little help from my husband (his job was to feed her pieces of carrot). Brooke has been home for a week. Of the three serious wounds, knee, hock, and rear fetlock, only the last one worries me a bit. The knee, which was spectacular, the whole front of her carpus laid bare to the bone, is now about the size of a half dollar, totally granulated over, no issues except some proud flesh that I hope I can treat. The hock is healing just fine, just an ugly scab. The fetlock though, is swollen, and has too much proud flesh probably for me to deal with by myself. I do not like the look of it. But otherwise, all things considered, I am pleased. 

When she nickers to me over the fence it just makes my little heart turn over.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

Yesterday, because I was concerned with some swelling and proudflesh on Brooke's rear fetlock, I asked the vet who did Brooke's field treatment and packed her in my friend's trailer for me, in September. But she was out of town so her office sent one of their other vets, a rookie a year out of vet school. Unfortunately, I am inundated with veterinary advice on Brooke, what with the head of sports medicine at Tufts continuing to follow her progress, my local guy, Doc, and the office I called in the emergency. Everyone has a different strategy and philosophy. Tufts sent me home with a ten page double sided description with pictures and video links about after care. Doc is like "looks fine! Call me if you need me." And this rookie guy, what a mess. 

I had already taken off her bandages that morning. Her knee was AMAZING, you would never even guess how bad that injury was. It is just a quarter-sized scab on her knee, nothing more. However she has a nasty surface wound on the opposite side of her knee where the bandage rubbed. Rookie Vet spent an hour and a half fussing with trying to bandage the front and spare the back, ruining a good bit of my bandaging supplies in the process, before giving up and going to my original idea (which he never acknowledged) of just leaving it unbandaged. He did debride the proudflesh on the rear fetlock and supplied me with another five day course of antibiotics since it remains swollen. 

He wants to come back out in a few days to re-inspect and bring special bandaging stuff for the knee that doesn't need any. Don't think that's going to happen.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

Brooke is doing well, coming up on three weeks back at home. I've given her full turn out on the pasture, both to help the residual swelling come down and for her emotional well-being. She needs a lot more healing than just her legs. You can see in these photos, the first one taken in August when she was rather plump but fit -- we'd just come home from a fifteen mile ride -- and four days after she came home, gray with dandruff, greasy mane and tail, and all her muscle tone gone. That beautiful behind, where'd it go? It makes me sad to see her this way. But she is home now and I can baby her. She's rolling in the grass and getting rained on, dozes in the sunlight, and bit by bit she looks a little more like herself. 

Still one bandage on, at least for a few more days. Her other wounds look excellent. Even though my plethora of vets do not condone this (except old Doc who recommended it in the first place), I put Manukka honey on the bad spots every day. It is sticky but I see results.


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## WildHorses85 (Oct 1, 2019)

I am glad that she is healing! How scary of an incident! Every horse owner's worst nightmare. Sending healing vibes your way!


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## lostastirrup (Jan 6, 2015)

Looks like she's well on the mend. I'm sure the "support chicken" in the background helps.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

Yeah, the chickens. If you followed the Great Pippa Disaster, you might remember that my efforts to get Pippa's mutilation wound to heal up were at one point stymied because even though she was prevented from chewing on it herself, she enlisted the help of the chickens to pick at it for her. Well, one of those very hens made an attempt to pick at Brooke's many chicken-height sores while I was watching. Brooke flattened her ears and snaked that hen all the way out under the fence. She was having none of that!


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

Yesterday I *RODE*. Red letter day as I had not been on Brooke since the day before her accident, September 10th. I'd been going on hilarious little hand walks with her, accompanied by Pippa pony, two goats, and my Hope dog. When Brooke easily walked several miles on a rocky trail with steep hills, I knew it was time. 

I spent twice as long tacking up as riding. Wrong reins on the bridle, hoofs needed some rasping before they'd go into her boots, and so on. I am grateful indeed to have a horse I can let sit for two months and then get on and ride away from the barn without a hitch, on a 38 degree day, her pony screaming over the fence, my husband running the saw out where he's putting up a machine shed, excited dog running back and forth behind her. 

Today will be more weather as it is fixing to spit a little "wintry mix" at us, but even warmer they say, and I intend to ride a little farther. Oh I am so grateful to have both horses sound again, despite the winter ahead.


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

Oh yay yay yay!!!! That's wonderful news! So glad you are back in the saddle and both horses are sound. It's been a looong journey.


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

Wonderful to read this update. Hurray!


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## SwissMiss (Aug 1, 2014)

Wohoo!!!! What an awesome update!


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## carshon (Apr 7, 2015)

That is such wonderful news. Do you trust Pippa pony to follow along on your rides? That seems to a thing now with minis and mini burros going along for rides but being free.

I am so happy for you!


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

carshon said:


> That is such wonderful news. Do you trust Pippa pony to follow along on your rides? That seems to a thing now with minis and mini burros going along for rides but being free.



Does anyone else follow Geoffrey The Conqueror on Facebook?! I want to be a pony on that farm, their adventures look so fun. I know we can't post FB links but here's an article about him, and you can easily find the page with a quick search.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

carshon said:


> That is such wonderful news. Do you trust Pippa pony to follow along on your rides? That seems to a thing now with minis and mini burros going along for rides but being free.
> 
> I am so happy for you!


Yes, Pippa is a happy and very intrepid traveler quite loose. Of course I don't take her anywhere there are roads to cross. She has not been out with Brooke and me since last year, since first she was incapable and then Brooke was. She tends to lead rather than follow but if we come to a fork she waits to see which way we are going. It's fun going on a gallop with her! 

Brooke has ... rope issues ... and I haven't figured out a one-person safe way to teach her to pony yet, which would expand our range.

Brooke does seem to be accident prone. When I got her she was recovering from a bad wire cut to her front pastern, which was left untreated and has some ugly proudflesh she'll go to her grave with. Then as soon as I got her home from being boarded, she got away from me while being groomed, ran down the gravel road, stepped on her rope and flipped herself, pretty nasty road rash from that, needed a week of stall rest but she came out fine (that's where the rope issues come from). And now this. 

I dunno. I'm not afraid OF horses or of riding, but I sure am getting afraid FOR my horses.


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Great update!!!!!!!  YAY!!!


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## Animalia (Nov 10, 2019)

Congratulations on the recovery--for both of you! This sounded just awful, yet it sounds like it couldn't have had a better outcome. So happy for you both that not only Brooke healed physically, but you have both healed mentally enough to be out riding again! You are both an inspiration.


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

I avoided this thread for quite some time because I didn't want to see what was inside of it. I'm so glad I waited so that I could see the happy news!


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## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

I'm very sorry you had such a dreadful accident, and glad the horse came out of it OK. There are so many cases where the horse does not...

On this point:



Avna said:


> Her knee was AMAZING, you would never even guess how bad that injury was. It is just a quarter-sized scab on her knee, nothing more. However she has a nasty surface wound on the opposite side of her knee where the bandage rubbed. Rookie Vet spent an hour and a half fussing with trying to bandage the front and spare the back, ruining a good bit of my bandaging supplies in the process, before giving up and going to my original idea (which he never acknowledged) of just leaving it unbandaged.


Not that you need to do this anymore, but in case anyone else does:

When we've had to bandage granulating injuries around the knee, one way is to use a large rectangle of one-foot-wide thick non-stick wound dressing and wrap that around, and then secure it by using Elastoplast to tape this to the leg above and below the actual knee joint. So you'll have plain wound dressing quite loosely all around the knee, and the top and bottom edge of that secured with Elastoplast, which then winds up on the leg / down on the leg from the wound dressing, without going over the actual dressing. That way the snug bandaging is over the bones and the looser dressing over the joint. I hope you can picture what I mean. It just lets the wound breathe better and avoids putting pressure on it and the back of the knee.

I've heard of people using nappies instead of wound dressings, in stages where things are particularly oozy; but anything you can use that lets the wound air as well is great, and leaving it open at the later stages of healing. Here in Australia, at certain times of year there is trouble with bush flies and stable flies, and then wounds like that tend to go under loose gauze longer than they otherwise would, just to keep the flies off.

I hope nobody has to do this. My family had a mare with a horrific trailering injury when she climbed over the breast bar of a two-horse float and ended up suspended over it just in front of her hips, with her forehead flat to the floor. She tore a huge chunk of muscle from her inner thigh, near the actual knee (not what we commonly call the knee) high up over the hock joint, near the belly, and had a gaping wound the size of two hands held side-by-side. It tooks months to granulate, and was a particularly difficult spot to bandage. Loose dressing, Elastoplast securing the edges, and at later stages, when left open, a wound-compatible fly repellent. These days it's a dark hairless patch the size of a dollar. It's really amazing how well horses can heal up these sorts of injuries...


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

SueC said:


> I'm very sorry you had such a dreadful accident, and glad the horse came out of it OK. There are so many cases where the horse does not...
> 
> On this point:
> 
> ...


Brooke's bandaging system was the Tufts standard. 

layer one: specialized 4"x4" nonstick fabric with wound ointment on it 
layer two: stack of 4"x4" gauze pads
layer three: stretch roll gauze, holding first two layers in place
layer four: stabilized cotton padding over entire leg from coronet to above knee joint
layer five: brown roll gauze holding the padding on
layer six: vetwrap over whole bandage save one inch top and bottom
layer seven: elasticon (probably same product as elastoplast) extending three inches above and below bandage

The above was the SIMPLE bandage, on three legs. Her knee injury also required a splint held on with duct tape and standing wraps, to keep her from bending the joint and disturbing the wound surface, for the first 30 days (I didn't have to deal with the splint at home though). That was the issue with such a deep wound to a joint -- keeping it from flexing. Every time she bent that knee the granulation cracked across again. As I mentioned above (way above), they ultimately used stem cells to get that fissure to close. 

You may have a different product where you live, but here, the nonstick gauze I can get always sticks anyway if the wound seeps and then dries. The only stuff that doesn't is this technical fabric they use at Tufts. It is not gauze, but some kind of lubricant-impregnated weave. Expensive little squares; Brooke was sent home with some, but I've not seen it in retail vet supplies.


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## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

Dear @Avna, if my post somehow came across as suggesting your mare didn't have the best possible care, let me apologise, because that wasn't the intention. Posts about injuries like your horse had make me think, and compare with things I've seen. Unfortunately I've seen horrific injuries due to floating accidents, fence accidents and falls at the track in particular - would you believe someone thought it was a good idea, in the 1990s, to put spiky bluemetal road base on the top layer of WA's fastest harness track, to make it faster so they could break all the speed records? What that did to horses when they fell was horrible (and it was hard on their hooves and legs too), and thankfully, they eventually resurfaced that track (but took a heck of a long time over it because a lot of people care more about speed records than horse welfare).

The nonstick product we were trying out (on the racehorse farm where I grew up) was based on seaweed, and biodegradable, and worked well, but really expensive. (We had connections in the Murdoch University Veterinary Hospital, and got to trial some different things. The best unconventional thing was that a horse of ours with an inoperable sarcoma invading the tear duct and skull was treated with TB vaccine straight into the tumour, and the tumour regressed completely and the horse had a normal life afterwards. It was experimental immunotherapy, it was 30 years ago, and it's still not made it into mainstream veterinary medicine, unbelievably. Won't be a cure-all but at least something that could be tried before euthanasia.)

But about nonstick dressings, here's a trick I tried out later on, when we started keeping our own bees: Slathering a wound / granulating area with raw medicinal honey stops the sticking, lubricates the wound, stops it being too wet or too dry (because of the osmotic gradient set up), and has excellent antimicrobial properties. We do this as standard now at our home, with animals and humans alike, and I hear a few human hospitals and veterinarians are trying it out for multiple antibiotic resistant bacterial infections in wounds, with a good degree of success.

A few years ago, a relative accidentally chainsawed his hand and narrowly missed tendons, but the palm of the hand was a mess, and they stitched what they could, and the rest simply had to heal as it could. This person had terrible problems with nonstick dressings sticking to his wound, and the wound cracking and oozing. When he told us that, we dropped off some tubs of raw honey to him and he used it liberally when re-dressing the wound every day, and it stopped the sticking, and the oozing and cracking, and anything getting infected. He was really impressed at how well that went, and how quickly things started to heal, and when he went to a review his surgeon had requested (the surgeon wanted to see how well this horrific injury would heal, whether it would leave thick scarring etc), the surgeon was amazed that everything had healed to just a faint soft hairline scar - so amazed he got his camera, and a floorful of junior doctors to come see this. He was very interested to hear about the honey. It's not a new treatment, of course, but it's not that established in mainstream medicine. Where it is, people tend to use raw Manuka honey, which is sold for the purpose (at a hefty price), but there are other raw honeys with excellent wound care properties, including WA Jarrah and tea tree honeys, which have a lower price tag - and those are the ones we use, as we produce them ourselves - and you'll have your own suitable varieties, in the States. Raw honeys, unlike most commercial honeys, are not heated during the extraction process, and therefore keep all their natural properties (including that some of them are apt to candy after a short time).

I thought it was really neat that they used stem cell therapy to help close over the deep wound your mare had. I enjoy hearing about different approaches to medical care, and always hope that such discussions will help someone else dealing with wound care down the track etc. Not everyone has the budget to afford top-line help (ourselves on our little farm currently included), so I like to also mention suggestions and tricks that may be generally helpful for people dealing with wound care. And, I think it's always good to know what other people do, and to compare different approaches.

Thanks for sharing the medical details of your case, I found them very interesting, and apologies again if anything came across in a way that wasn't intended. I'm very glad you two are back to riding.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

@SueC, no, I didn't take it take it that way, I just was thinking, great trick for a bit different kind of wound. And remembering all the bandaging, oh me .... I now have a small industrial rolling cart with tubs of different layers of bandages on it so I can just roll it into the aisle and lay out my protocols in order. Rather than trying to do all that out of a bin on the floor like I used to. The worthless tyro vet who came out to debride Brooke's fetlock watched me assemble my bandages and start to work and asked me, "do you have medical training?" That was amusing.

That manukka honey trick? I learned it from my old cow vet. He says it is one of the best things for minimizing proud flesh on leg wounds, and I used it copiously on both Brooke and Pippa. Didn't tell Tufts about it, they are all about specialized antibiotic ointments. The price is outrageous though, so I will use local raw honey next time. 

I don't think Brooke will have much proudflesh from her many wounds, except a little knot behind her knee where the splint rubbed despite all they could do. Definitely attribute that to the honey.


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