horses and heartbreak
So, a week ago Trinity came to the gate with a huge, gaping wound just above her forearm, where her leg meets her chest. She had a smaller laceration on her leg and a scrape along her cannon bone. The only thing I could figure was that she must have impaled herself on a steel T-post, and based on the shape of the main wound, the vet concurs.
OF COURSE it happened in the late afternoon/early evening, so I had to call the emergency vet out. And the next day I had my regular vet out because Teeny did not handle the pain well at. all. She ended up with stitches, antibiotics, bute, and 48 hours worth of mild sedation. (It was like she couldn't understand what had happened... like she thought she could run away from the pain, or fight it. That first day was HORRIBLE. Luckily, she did settle down, but yikes.)
Unfortunately, even though she's been good about not gnawing at the stitches, the wound has started to gape open again and it's oozing pus. Had to call the vet back, and he confirmed that the pus is just normal drainage and is a result of the location/severity of the injury. The stitches aren't holding, so we have to treat it as an open wound. Which means more antibiotics, cold hosing 6 times a day, and spraying with Vetericyn 4 times a day.
I've been worried sick about it, and guilty because OF COURSE she would find the small section of fence that isn't capped. I didn't think the T-posts would be a problem, because the smooth wire goes right to the top of the post, and I walked her around the entire fence several days before turning her out. She was out there for 2 months with no problems... I have no idea what happened. The vet was nice, though, and pointed out that if she was going to land on the fence, a capped post might just have broken her leg rather than puncturing it. As horrible as the wound is, at least it's treatable and should heal with only a scar to prove it happened. A broken leg... well, that would be something else entirely. He told me not to worry about it, that horses can find ways to hurt themselves, but... ack. I still feel awful. :(
But Teeny is a love. In the last week she has learned to a) take applesauce from a syringe, b) accept cold hosing on the legs while standing (mostly) still, c) accept weird smelling sprays on her legs (mostly), d) take crushed pills on feed, e) let strange men poke at her legs, listen to her heart, and check her gums, f) pick up her feet when I tap her fetlocks. She follows me around like a dog, and when I scrubbed out her stock tanks this afternoon she had her face right there with me, sniffing and blowing and trying to figure out what I was doing. :D She *is* pushy, but responds well to gentle reminders. She's a neat mix of spice and sass and sweetness, and I adore her.
I just hope I don't screw her up.
(Oh, and also? I've been a little worried about her not gaining weight and asked my vet what he thought. He pointed out that what I thought were visible rib lines are actually just brindle markings on her coat. Heh. You can _feel_ her ribs, but they aren't as visible as I assumed, when you realize her coat is striped. :P *facepalm* I mean, I could see shading in her coat, but somehow I didn't make the connection. D'oh! :P I've still got her on some feed supplements, but he was very complimentary and called her condition "near ideal." So, whew!)
OF COURSE it happened in the late afternoon/early evening, so I had to call the emergency vet out. And the next day I had my regular vet out because Teeny did not handle the pain well at. all. She ended up with stitches, antibiotics, bute, and 48 hours worth of mild sedation. (It was like she couldn't understand what had happened... like she thought she could run away from the pain, or fight it. That first day was HORRIBLE. Luckily, she did settle down, but yikes.)
Unfortunately, even though she's been good about not gnawing at the stitches, the wound has started to gape open again and it's oozing pus. Had to call the vet back, and he confirmed that the pus is just normal drainage and is a result of the location/severity of the injury. The stitches aren't holding, so we have to treat it as an open wound. Which means more antibiotics, cold hosing 6 times a day, and spraying with Vetericyn 4 times a day.
I've been worried sick about it, and guilty because OF COURSE she would find the small section of fence that isn't capped. I didn't think the T-posts would be a problem, because the smooth wire goes right to the top of the post, and I walked her around the entire fence several days before turning her out. She was out there for 2 months with no problems... I have no idea what happened. The vet was nice, though, and pointed out that if she was going to land on the fence, a capped post might just have broken her leg rather than puncturing it. As horrible as the wound is, at least it's treatable and should heal with only a scar to prove it happened. A broken leg... well, that would be something else entirely. He told me not to worry about it, that horses can find ways to hurt themselves, but... ack. I still feel awful. :(
But Teeny is a love. In the last week she has learned to a) take applesauce from a syringe, b) accept cold hosing on the legs while standing (mostly) still, c) accept weird smelling sprays on her legs (mostly), d) take crushed pills on feed, e) let strange men poke at her legs, listen to her heart, and check her gums, f) pick up her feet when I tap her fetlocks. She follows me around like a dog, and when I scrubbed out her stock tanks this afternoon she had her face right there with me, sniffing and blowing and trying to figure out what I was doing. :D She *is* pushy, but responds well to gentle reminders. She's a neat mix of spice and sass and sweetness, and I adore her.
I just hope I don't screw her up.
(Oh, and also? I've been a little worried about her not gaining weight and asked my vet what he thought. He pointed out that what I thought were visible rib lines are actually just brindle markings on her coat. Heh. You can _feel_ her ribs, but they aren't as visible as I assumed, when you realize her coat is striped. :P *facepalm* I mean, I could see shading in her coat, but somehow I didn't make the connection. D'oh! :P I've still got her on some feed supplements, but he was very complimentary and called her condition "near ideal." So, whew!)