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

[quiltnchik]

I had a horse years ago with a severe hock injury. My mom would go down several times a day and soak it with Epsom salt in warm water. The salt draws out the infection. Our vet didn't think my horse would ever be sound on that leg again, but after a few weeks of the Epsom salt treatments, plus a round of antibiotics, she was perfectly fine

 

[unionwirewoman]

I guess all have have to go by is the vets instructions . He has never told me to clean it.....only bandage every 2 days . When we first pulled up at the vets he gave me a look that said "it's over " and then when I called today he said if there's no weight put on it by the end of the week , he's done with . This coming from a guy who said he lived in Ohio and had never seen wire fences or cuts like this . Do I believe him or do I try to clean it everyday or more ? Keep posting everyone !!! I need more info and more help !! I've had him since he was just over a yr old and he's almost 10 now . I can't even describe how much this guy means to me....

 

[gaited horse]

put nitrofurizone andIchthamal wrap it hose it out every day change wraps every day

 

[TACEYPERKINS]

Yes your horse should be on some sort of antibiotic and you should use a drawing agent to draw out the infection. What is your routine right now ? What is he on? And how many hours ago did this happen? Is he still eating and drinking? Does he feel hot? Sorry for all the questions, need more answers to help you more. I have seen alot worse leg injuries and they pulled through. It is just up to you!

 

[Brindlebtch]

Clean it. Soak it with Epsom salts. Clean it every day and try to get rid of any pus or dead tissue. Hose it with dilute betadine. You are getting a lot of good advice on basic wound managment that your vet didn't give you.

You might even try a good wash with dawn soap and a hose, first, just to get rid of loose stuff and goo that needs to come off. The salt soak, betadine rinse, antibiotic ointment and then wrap. Lots of oral or injectable antibiotics.

Always remember half the vets graduated in the lower half of their class. Maybe your vet didn't get a good grade in wound managment.

I really hope it heals and don't really see why it shouldn't unless he has MRSA or something. Be proactive and kick germ butt!

 

[peeps7]

Unless our horse is suffering, I would attempt to clean it and rebandage it every day. My mother used to do stuff like this all the time, she saved countless animals by taking care of them herself instead of letting the vet put them down. If your horse is suffering then you know, but if not I say go for it and good luck.

 

[txbioteacher]

There's an exotic wildlife park near where I live and my husband and I got to visiting with the owner one day. My husband joked that they must have one heck of a vet bill. The old man just laughed and said, "Not at all." He told us that they mostly just use a spray that consists of 1 liter of water, one tablespoon baking soda, and 8 ounces of bleach. The old man also said he's been told by a few RNs that they're using it at hospitals to treat wounds. May be worth a shot...

Prayers for you and your horse...

 

[buck-wild-chick]

IMO, i would suggest hydro therapy...For wounds like that my vet would suggest, meat tendorizer(sp) and hydro therapy... And of course meds.

Your horse is gorgeous,Hope he gets better soon

 

[MariposaMama]

I had a horse who peeled most of the flesh of his back leg leaving about 6 inches of bone exposed. The first thing we did was stay ahead of infection with twice a day penicillin injections for 10 days. That was really hard for me to do, but I did it.

After that we used hydro therapy to slough off the dead tissue. Then it was several months of daily bandage changes while the tissue regenerated. Because it was such a large wound area, we had trouble staying ahead of the proud flesh and eventually the vet decided we needed to do skin grafts. It was amazing to see how fast it healed up once we did that, and the horse was completely sound on it.

My vet was willing to go as far as I was, so if your vet just wants to give up, you might think about finding another vet. It will definitely take some time, but with enough effort your horse could heal up just fine. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

ETA: I have a whole gallery of pics I can PM you if you want to see what I was dealing with and how it healed. It didn't heal pretty, but it did heal.

 

[Mrs. Glassman]

This is going to sound really gross...

http://www.healthaffairs.uci.edu/som/pathology/sherman/home_pg.htm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11705249


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggot_therapy

But I have seen it work WONDERS.

I hate to recomend it, because a lot of people really freak out. But it works.