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

[Iowa Roo Mom]

Quote:
Ok, so I know NOTHING about horses, but in the pic of your roommate holding him, is that his nose clamped in that thing? If so, thats one way to make him not move!!!

 

[farrier!]

It looks really good. As suggested by others hose it down 2-3 times a day. If you do the water you do not need to bandage, leave it open.

 

[SangaChicken]

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 .

There is no reason you should be spending that much money. What is the cost coming from? Also, unbandange him, wash it.. (Hydrotherapy) leave it unbandanged exposing it to some fresh air and sunshine, re-wash it a couple hours later, maybe even expose longer, re-wash AGAIN.. then rebandage in the afternoon. I promise it's better for him.

 

[hippichick]

One of the best things you can do for a wound is wash it as often as possible with clear water. Just run water from a hose on the wound-the longer, the better. I've heard this from several horse owners and vets-works wonders. Good luck. It definitely looks much better than it did, I think.

 

[farrier!]

Hydro therapy will also keep proud flesh from forming. From the looks of things that will now be your biggest concern.

 

[CountryMom]

Give your vet a call and ask him to fill you a prescriptiong of SMZ tabs. That is an antibiotic that is of the sulfa nature and works wonders for wounds - from the inside out for long term. At this point he is probably just ticked off about being stuck so many times and with the pain of the wound he isn't taking much more. You will give him a lot of pills compared to a shot, but they will be better for you and him in the long run. Just crush up the pills and mix with karo syrup, then feed poured on top of his feed. They are bitter if you don't mix with karo.

I agree with taking that wrap off and hosing and letting it air out. From the last pictures I believe you already have proud flesh forming some. However, don't panic as you can use that development to continue to help close up that wound. In a couple more days you can start on granulax and stop the wrapping all together. You will be hosing and spraying for a few months I promise, but don't give up. It is going to take him a long time to put his full weight on that leg and not look lame. Wish I had pictures to show you the massive extent of our mare's wound. It was so like yours and it took months. Did leave a scar, but she healed and was fully sound - even without the tendon.

 

[hunterjumper999]

Ok- Im coming in late in the game but my horse got the SAME kind of cut about two months ago.

what I did is this-after of course you get a base of healing tissue- which it seems you have.

AM- un-bandage rinse wound for 20 minutes with cold water and towel dry . I put a generous layer of EMT gell on it ... its a bit pricey at 11.00 a tube but a tube will last about 5 days and you shouldnt need to use more than 5 tubes. It is essentially liquid bandage and its AMAZING.

I then turn out for the day.

PM- SCRUB SCRUB SCRUB with betadine or novalsan surgical scrub- I like the Novalsan...its more gentle in my opinion.

wrap the wound at night if he's pasture boarded . If he's not make sure he's in a clean stall and re apply emt gell... thin layer this time. make sure its dry. After about 2 weeks you should be able to just do the wound wash and emt at night.

Penicillin 2x a day for 10 days... thats what we did. . . but if you want to skip the shot SMZ is great, dissolve it in a 1/2 cup of apple juice and top dress grain.

 

[hunterjumper999]

and about your vet... maybe you need a new one if he's recommending pennicillian but not providing it to you and I'd get that proudflesh cut out ASAP if you want a useable leg.

 

[EweSheep]

Reading thru the posts, I could not help but wondering how you two managed to pull thru the mess! I was a pre-vet college student and it brought back memories and the education I received during the vet classes.

I agree with the others, fire the vet. It was unprofessional! All he could have said, Good luck! instead of putting him down.

And yes, hyro and air dry is the best thing you can do for him right now so the wounds can scab over.

Rehab is going to be a long one but with your determination and sheer guts to get this guy up and going will be rewarded once he healed up.

Keep up with the pencillin and less brute.

 

[siroiszoo]

I've seen wounds that bad & worse heal nicely with dedication from the owners to keep the wound treated & clean. I would imagine the reason he isn't putting weight on that leg is because it stretches the wound and causes pain. That is a huge area of damaged skin. I'm no vet so this is only from my experiences with my horses & others I pet sit for. The owners often call me in to care for their horses while they are at work & I get a lot of information directly from the vets. If in doubt, call your vet.

Keep the infection away with the antibiotics; The hydro (hosing with cool water) is also a very good idea. Let the area dry before medicating & wrapping if you choose to keep it wrapped.

I like to use Shreiner's Herbal Solution on all wounds, including ones as bad as your horse's. It helps keep the flies away but the herbs work wonderfully on wounds. http://www.schreiners.com/

If the wound starts to dry out too much and crack - by leaving it unwrapped, you may want to use some Fura-Zone.

Ideally, I'd hydro, let dry, cover in Fura-Zone, and wrap using a non-stick pad over the oozy part of the wound, followed by soft clean cotton over the entire area, and held in place by vet-wrap. I'd do this for at least 3-4 days. You will see improvement and will know when you can stop wrapping. Then I'd switch to the Schreiners Solution: Hydro, let dry, apply Schreiner's, & leave the wound open.

The trick to wrapping, besides wrapping in a manner that makes the bandage stay in place, is making sure you keep enough soft cotton over the wound so the vet-wrap doesn't irritate the wound & area where there is no hair. Most people don't believe it, but vets assure me that it is possible to get vet wrap too tight and restrict adequate blood flow to the area being wrapped. You need good circulation to that area so the wound can heal.

Sure hope your horse gets better!

PS: Vets have also told me not to use Betadine or Iodine after the first 24 to 48 hours of the occurrence of a wound. It kills the new skin cells forming to heal the wound.