Abcess on Mare's neck...

[Camelot Farms]

DS went out to move horses from one paddock to another and found my mare with a huge knot/abcess on her neck. Our horses range on 15 acres so we dont always see them up close everyday. In all of yesterdays busy holiday stuff, no one actually saw them up close. I saw them several times from the window on their range.

So it must have happened late in the day on Wednesday or early yesterday.

It is about the size of a golfball. It has popped open and I can see raw muscle/flesh in a spot about the size of a quarter. I cleaned it up really well and poured peroxide on it. Dh getting penicillin now. Anything else I can do to help her?

Thank the lord it isnt fly season!

What could have happened to her to cause this? Could my other 'witchy' mare have bitten her?

Poor girl.

Any suggestions for additional wound care are greatly appreciated!

 

[horsejody]

Was it possibly a hematoma that broke open? If so, just keep if clean and put some wound salve on it. We had a colt once that played a little too rough and ended up with a hematoma the size of a football. They are usually harmless and absorb back into the body, but sometime they do break open.

ETA: Try not to use peroxide on it. It dries the tissue and causes more tissue to die. Keep a wound spray or salve on hand for such things.

 

[Camelot Farms]

Thanks Jody!

I grabbed peroxide out of the 1st aid box but do have wound cream....furazone. Am waiting for my neighbor to drop over and take a look at it before I go coating it up with goop.

I really cant tell what the origin of the issue is. She isnt the type of mare to 'play' very much. She is the most sedate of our 3 horses.

My best guess is that 'witchy' mare bit her (the abscess is exactly in the spot that Sassy aims for when she bites) or she rubbed on one of the trees and created a raw spot that just turned nasty.

 

[horsejody]

A bite can cause a hematoma too. It happens when the blood vessels under the skin are boken, but the skin isn't. A pocket of blood is formed that looks like a swelling under the skin. They can rupture or be broken open if the animal rubs it. Any kind of a pinch or impact can cause them.

 

[Camelot Farms]

I have given her a shot of penicillin and cleaned the wound really really well... *gag*'

Then covered it in Furazone.

Once I got it clean, you could see it was a bite from Ms. Sassy. There were 2 distinct indents about an inch apart as though she grabbed on and tore back.

I am keeping her in the barn for now where I can monitor the wound better. And, she cant rub it up against a tree, which its obvious that shes been doing. Stinker!

The wound itself does not look infected. Its draining a bit of clear fluid around the edges which is probably good since the golfball size knot is still there.

Neighbor (horse guru) came over and thought it seemed okay for now. He pushed all over the area to make sure that she hadnt punctured herself and left something in there to fester and she acted like he was giving her a massage. No identifiable pain reaction. And she is one of those mares who will let you know...lol.

Poor CindyLu. She is always getting herself into some sort of trouble.

 

[chickenzoo]

A warm compress of Epsom salts is helpful also, then reapply with furazone. That has helped me heal some of the ugliest wounds on horses and other critters.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Sounds like you are doing well so far. The wound should heal up fine in no time. I definitely love Furazone. That stuff is a total life saver! It always amazes me how quickly wounds heal up when I apply it. Just keep gooping that on after cleaning and keep an eye out that it doesn't get infected. Sounds like you are already on top of that though.

 

[patandchickens]

Yup, basically you just want to keep it clean and keep it draining (not plugging up with crusty dried stuff, nor healing over the opening before the inside part has healed *first*). Keep an eye out for proudflesh, if it starts getting proudfleshy it becomes somewhat of a different project (I would strongly recommend NOT using any over-the-counter proudflesh remedies, most do more harm than good), but most likely it will heal well on its own without trouble.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Camelot Farms]

Update:

Getting lots of proudflesh so have started softening with Epsom compresses (thanks chickenzoo).

There was lots of crusty buildup around the wound so I used tweezer to pull off the dead flesh. It slid right off without pulling.

Switched from Furazone to WouldKote spray. The drainage was making the Furazone slide off.

Drainage is still clear so have not re-dosed her with any more penicillin. She is eating and drinking fine. And enjoying the extra TLC...lol

Thanks for all the tips!

Kim and CindyLu

 

[mekasmom]

There is a type of worm- parasite- that causes swollen necks in horses. Have you considered that as a problem? I will put some google links below.

http://www.google.com/search?q=hors...s=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a


I don't know a lot about horses at all. But I do know whenever a horse comes in with any neck swelling at the vet's office, the first thing he does is treat for parasites.