WARNING ..GRAPHIC PICS !!! I might have to put him down...any ideas ?!

[rnoyster]

To help with the shots......remove the needle from the filled syringe. Hold the needle between your thumb and forefinger TIGHTLY. With the same hand that you are holding the needle with, gently slap him three times with the heel of your hand. Not hard, just enough to get him to relax. On the fourth slap, do it with the needle in the same area. After you have the needle in, simply attach the syringe to it, check to make sure that you didn't hit a vein, and inject the meds. When through, just put your finger over the injection site and remove the needle from the muscle. Rub the knot down a little bit and you are all done. He will think that you are just letting him know what a good horse he is, since you gave him a good firm pat or two! Good Luck! It appears that you are winning the fight. Keep up the hard work!

 

[unionwirewoman]

This morning was horrible . Our rope trick and earing didn't work so I wasn't able to give him his shot . I went into town and bought stuff to make a twitch . We finally were able to get a shot into him tonight after that . Wound looks okay....not as much swelling and pus this time....still keeping my fingers crossed that infection doesn't set in . Here are the newest pics from tonight .

These are pics from before I cleaned the wound . It was 9:00pm....so I was tired and forgot to take some of after the wound was cleaned .

Thanks to everyone again for the prayers and well wishes.....He is putting more weight on it , which is a good sign !

On a side note , when I give shots I don't have the suringe connected when I start . He just doesn't like being poked I guess .

 

[txredneckmedic]

I personally would do the hydro therapy like several people have suggested....just try to keep him calm and maybe go with a lower pressure. Also Iodine is great for things like this and the most important things will be to change bandages atleast once a day and antibiotics. You might talk to your local feed store and see if they have penecillin. I know mine always has some on hand.

Edit....posted at the same time as you....its looking good actually. Im sorry if im repeating people....but I got to page 6 and couldnt keep reading some of the responses.

 

[BluegrassSeramas]

It looks a lot better! You are doing so well!

I always give shots, but maybe there is penicillin in pill form that you could crush and mix with applesauce or something? I dont know you would have to ask the vet...
You dont want to make this a traumatic experience for either of you.


I think that if you have time, you may try working on the "head-down" cue to relax him.
From Julie Goodnight--- A horse has to relax when his head is down low. There are many techniques for doing this. Light pressure on the poll will teach the horse to drop his head from the ground (be sure to release the pressure at the first hint of a drop)
. The rope halter is an especially useful tool for teaching a horse to drop his head. ((I sometimes just use a thinner rope behind the ears if they have on a nylon halter already)))
The first few inches of head-drop may be tough to get but after that he will take big drops all the way to the ground. Be sure to release the pressure and lavish praise on the horse when he drops so that he becomes addicted to this calm state.

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I know you dont have a lot of time, taking care of all this, but here are some good ways to get horse to accept needles.

http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/trainingtips314.html

http://www.horsewhisperer.com/hates_vet_shots.html

 

[unionwirewoman]

Here are the latest pics from today...again this is before it was cleaned....sorry , I just keep forgeting to take pics after cleaning . Still the same amount of pus.....he has not used the leg in over 24 hrs....so I'm not sure if it's because I quit giving him bute , or if he's getting worse .

My roomate holding the twitch . She holds him while I put the twitch on , then I give the shot once he's relaxed...poor guy .

 

[SangaChicken]

It looks like it's getting better to me, but maybe I'm just being overly hopeful! I still wouldn't even consider putting him down based on those photos. Keep doing what you're doing. Maybe try cleaning it a few times a day, rather than just one?

 

[unionwirewoman]

Quote:
I really can't afford 2 x a day cleaning....I know it sounds bad , but hubby and I have been laid off for 9 months now , and it costs me $25 a day in all of the materials I need for re-bandaging . I'm ordering on-line for the material tonight , but it will still be around $15 per changing . I'll have to do this for at least 2 months , and we don't even know when work will pick back up . At this point putting him down is far from my mind until he stops eating and drinking . All I can do is what I'm doing now . I wish I was working now so that I could have the money to do 2 changes ...but if I were working I wouldn't be able to take care of him like I am now...catch 22 .

 

[fremo]

My 83 yr old father in law who still trains horses spreads marmite over the wound and that works wonders. Also my sisters horse got its leg trapped under the side of a corrogated shed and ripped its foot in half down through the hoof. Vets advice all failed as did antibiotics until she used a magnetic bandage which speeds up the bloods flow to the site hence speeding up the healing. Only took two weeks and then horse could stand on it long enough to do a three hour float trip. Recovered completely. Goog luck.

 

[cochinbantam-lover]

Quote:
What is marmite?

 

[Sequin]

I wonder if you can find a more fine needle for injections. I know that whenever I have blood drawn I request a fine needle and then I don't feel anything. That might help some.

I guess, against infection, keeping the area clean and a good dose of antibiotics helps tremendously. As does good feed and circulation. You might need to find out the cause of all the pus/infection. Also, don't be afraid to allow some air access to the wound. If I am not mistaken, horses heal from the inside out. So, make sure your horse has every advantage you can possibly give it for survival.

Best of success to you!!! Sorry you have to go through this.