I like to think I learn something new every day. Today was a biggie!
Thursday night my old mare got kicked coming in from the pasture. It was a nasty blow that left her barely able to move. In fact she was not able to walk all the way to her stall. She finally made it in early Friday morning. I had the vet out that same morning and he just shook his head. She was in so much pain and 24 years old and has a bad knee to start with. He injected bute and told me to give her 4 grams on Saturday and Sunday and he'd be back today because he sincerely felt she would have to be put down. By Saturday night she seemed to be filling with edema--neck, shoulder, across her back, under her belly. By Sunday she no longer seemed to be in pain but the edema seemed even worse--now it was on the opposite side of her body as well.
So he came out this morning, armed to do whatever necessary. Except when he saw her, he was amazed. She is moving fine, is in no apparent distress, eating, drinking, making manure. We couldn't find any wet spots in her stall, but he said if she weren't urinating, she would be really, really sick by now. Most horses would be dead if they had not urinated in days. But since she looked so good, he felt she had to be urinating. Which only left the edema.
Except it is not edema. It is air trapped under the skin! This is quite painful and seems to be happening from a tiny hole in her skin from when she was kicked. The hole is under her elbow and the elbow has been acting like a bellows and sucking in the air each time she move it. I had never heard of such a thing and he said he'd only seen it once before. So he Super Glued the hole shut and put her on antibiotics and said it will likely take 4-5 days for the air to be reabsorbed. Otherwise she is doing super great!
Poor girl! In my heart I had her dead and buried, the very last of my Cee Bar horses, and I was heartbroken. I though her kidneys were failing or that she had congestive heart failure or both. But the vet gave her a thorough going over and does not find evidence of either thing happening. In fact, he said she is healthier than HE is and he was so relieved that he wouldn't need the meds he brought with him. He said he was dreading what he would find on the whole drive over here and now he is SO relieved, amazed, etc.
All I can say is, "Me too!"
Horses are just the most amazing creatures, are they not?
Rusty
Thursday night my old mare got kicked coming in from the pasture. It was a nasty blow that left her barely able to move. In fact she was not able to walk all the way to her stall. She finally made it in early Friday morning. I had the vet out that same morning and he just shook his head. She was in so much pain and 24 years old and has a bad knee to start with. He injected bute and told me to give her 4 grams on Saturday and Sunday and he'd be back today because he sincerely felt she would have to be put down. By Saturday night she seemed to be filling with edema--neck, shoulder, across her back, under her belly. By Sunday she no longer seemed to be in pain but the edema seemed even worse--now it was on the opposite side of her body as well.
So he came out this morning, armed to do whatever necessary. Except when he saw her, he was amazed. She is moving fine, is in no apparent distress, eating, drinking, making manure. We couldn't find any wet spots in her stall, but he said if she weren't urinating, she would be really, really sick by now. Most horses would be dead if they had not urinated in days. But since she looked so good, he felt she had to be urinating. Which only left the edema.
Except it is not edema. It is air trapped under the skin! This is quite painful and seems to be happening from a tiny hole in her skin from when she was kicked. The hole is under her elbow and the elbow has been acting like a bellows and sucking in the air each time she move it. I had never heard of such a thing and he said he'd only seen it once before. So he Super Glued the hole shut and put her on antibiotics and said it will likely take 4-5 days for the air to be reabsorbed. Otherwise she is doing super great!
Poor girl! In my heart I had her dead and buried, the very last of my Cee Bar horses, and I was heartbroken. I though her kidneys were failing or that she had congestive heart failure or both. But the vet gave her a thorough going over and does not find evidence of either thing happening. In fact, he said she is healthier than HE is and he was so relieved that he wouldn't need the meds he brought with him. He said he was dreading what he would find on the whole drive over here and now he is SO relieved, amazed, etc.
All I can say is, "Me too!"
Horses are just the most amazing creatures, are they not?
Rusty
