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

[unionwirewoman]

Quote:
Good idea , I was raised with horses , but have never been through anything this bad . The property bought was from my husbands parents who used to raise horses....they told me it was too far gone and to put him down also ( his mother was a RN and about puked when she saw it ) . I do know quite a few people around here to get a second opinion . My husbands mother makes a paste called "green salve " that they used to use on their cows for infection....I used it once and almost peed my pants it hurt so bad . The next day the wound was healed up pretty good . I really don't want to use it because it hurts so bad that he might not want to be bandaged the next time . Should I use the home remedy which "works" Or should I just wash and doctor ? I'm afraid to go off of vet rules , yet afraid to not do something that will help .

 

[TACEYPERKINS]

1. The place I'm keeping him now is our corral which is dust ridden .We have 36 acres , but I don't want him walking up and down the mountain with his injury . I can rope off our lawn so that the wound can breathe . Should I do this ?
If he can stay there safely! Don't create another situation that will stress him out or cause him to get injured. Making his pen smaller would be helpfull. Also you can spray it down with water to keep the dust down.

2. wound washing 1-2 times a day ? The vet is going to give more bute , but I'm afraid he won't like the washing much ( doesn't like getting a bath , might make dressing him more difficult )
I wouldnt worry too much, make it warm and give him some treats at the same time eventually he will come around. Try to go out there with the frame of mind that you have a job to do. He may just follow your lead. If he is feeling bad he may just let you do what you need to do.

3. He HATES needles . Don't ask me why ...he was great up until 2 yrs ago . We had to twitch him at the vet to get a sedative into him and he still raired up . Should I twitch him if he starts really acting up while washing and dressing ( We've tried raising a foot...all he does is try to fall over on you , and getting his ear does nothing....he had 1/2 of them frost bit off when he was born .)
Only if you need to. Again he may not even give you any problems.Less stress is the best.

4. Do we think epsom salt is the best then ?
Yes that would be great, warm water and epsum. Then let air dry. Do this several times a day. You may notice that it ozzes. That is good, especially if it is clear. Puss colored is bad. If it is still pussy then you will need to put a drawing agent on it too. Do not cover it up if there is puss. You don't want to trap it in. In the deeper area of the cut, that was by the hock, Make sure that does not close up first creating a pocket. You want your wound to heal from the inside out NOT out side in. Also,you may need to squirt that deeper part out spacifically to make sure it is staying clean.
He needs an antibiotic to be able to fight this. A topical antibiotic isnt going to work as his only antibiotic. It can be used in conjuction with but not as a substitute for an internal. Infection travels fast you will need a good one to fight infection off and keep it away for a while.Also, if he needs the butte then give it to him. It will help if he is being hard to handle. Good luck please keep us posted~ TACEY

 

[TACEYPERKINS]

I KNOW YOU ARE AFRAID, I TELL YOU THIS BECAUSE I HAVE PERSONALLY BEEN THROUGH THIS,AND WORSE. I WOULD NEVER GIVE YOU HARMFUL INFORMATION THAT WOULD HURT A LIVING THING. That being said, you are physically there to inspect the injury. I, have only seen the pictures. Do what you think is right! This could be life or death for your horse. But, the thing is, it doesn't have to be. The more time that goes by, the worse it is for your horse.I can only help you with information. You have got to physically treat him. I will help you as much as I can. I know how hard it is to do this.

 

[unionwirewoman]

TACEYPERKINS..........what drawing agent would be best if he needs one ?

He's on Uniprim for the next 5 days , maybe longer depending on what the vet says . Is this enough of an antibiotic ? He told me it should take care of the gram positive and gram negative infections that would happen , and tomorrow he will be starting on penacylin . The vet said it's intraveinious , but someone up here said they gave it orally...is this possible ? Orally would be better , if it's possible , but I've never heard of it . I'll be going to the vet tomorrow to get more bute and silver sulfadiazine . Wal-mart for epsom salt .

 

[TACEYPERKINS]

Sorry, I didnt answer your question. About the homemade remady, what does it have in it? I am not sure I would use a sauve at this time. In the picture, he has alot or infection and I would use the salt first to clean and dissinfect the injury first. It does have some drawing properties to it. If It doesn't help, you can use something else. But the epsum salt should do the trick if you keep it uncovered to let breath and drain for a while. Also, how is your flies? Are they a huge problem right now?
Go with the vets I.V. penacylin. I know he has had needle problems, but IV will work faster. He may also give him a sedative to settle him if he is using I.V FLUIDS. And, Yes , to anwer your question. Penacylin can come in pill/powder form but is a pain in the butt to administer and works slower because it has to travel thought the digestive system to work.

 

[unionwirewoman]

Quote:
Sounds good , I'll hold off on the green salve , then try to give intraveinious shots of pen . The vet won't be doing anything....just me . We live 45 miles away , so I'll have to buck up . I was never and still am not scared to give shots to other animals .....just my little terd . Flies are a VERY big problem here right now . That's why I have 3 people helping to bandage . One to keep flies away once bandage is gone , one to hand me materials , and me who applies the materials ....forgot that any of the 3 will handle the lead rope/soothing when needed .

 

[AkTomboy]

You can use pantyhose to go over the leg with vetwrap at the top and bottom to help keep dust and such off of it plus it lets air to the wound along with sunlight. Also you can do the cleaning by hand with gauze if he does not like bathing as of yet.
We had a horse at one of our 4-H camps spook after a saddle slid under him and he went to jump the fence except the saddle caught and he ripped his chest muscle off. We stopped counting at 47 packages of inner stitches. It took lots and lots of soaking, medicating and wraping for him to heal. But all in all you wouldnt even know it now when you see him.
You said he is bad about shots you can always ask for pill or powder form for your meds. Then you mix them in his rations or I make horse treats if anyone around us needed them. I agree with the other post that said he will tell you when he has given up and needs to be put down. Good luck our thoughts are with you and your boy.

 

[toredano]

Nothing else to add really exept.. be very very diligent about the cleaning. Its a good thing its a open wound tho.. air , cleaning and meds will make it heal faster. It needs to stay open cause of the infection and give the skin to regrow.
This is a long term deal now.It will not heal in a few weeks or months. I seen less injuries and they took a year or more to heal.
The tenton is a issue also. And maybe him not beeing able to be ridden anymore is also an issue.But its not a given. Therapy is something you will have to deal with at a later stage.
I hope he makes it. You doing good , keep it up

Dont take this a the wrong way but get rid of the fencing you have now. Barbwire is a big no no.I know people will say .. i had my horses on barbwire for years nothing ever happend. It will happen.. just a matter of time.

 

[lockedhearts]

Antibiotics are essential and penecillen is inexpensive. Not sure if you can find it locally but search the internet for "Underwoods Horse Medicine" this stuff is awesome. I had to very severe injuries and kept the wound clean used Underwoods and neither horse hardly had a scar.
First horse nearly took his front leg off, it was cut to the bone from where it went into the body down to almost the knee, he went on to win in the show pen and there was about a 4 inch scar in the crease of his leg, hardly noticable.
Second was a colt that cut his side from his girth area to his stifle, stitches held for 3 days then had to treat as an open wound. When I sold him as a yearling, if you didn't know he had the wound you could not tell it.

Underwoods is messy to use, but it will keep the infection down and stop proud flesh from developing, something that you want to prevent especially in the area this is. You need a spray bottle and baking powder. Clean the wound, pat dry and then spray with Underwoods and coat with Baking Powder. Trust me it works.
I would keep him on Penecillen for at least 10 days and I would give 10CC each day, you will have to rotate injections sites as it will make him sore.

 

[MrsCountryChick]

Have you ever heard of Witch Hazel? It's a disinfectant like peroxide or alcohol but it's a more natural way to cleanse a cut, & it has almost No pain like using peroxide or alcohol on an infected cut. It can be found at Walmart or any drug store in the band aid isle near alcohol or peroxide. I use it as an ingredient in my dog's ears homemade cleaning solution & she readily comes for ear cleaning. I use it for us humans too, why deal with the pain when cleaning a wound? Iodine is a good disinfectant they use in human skin sterilization for surgery, but not sure if it would burn or not while killing germs.

If you're confining him a small area to stay in why not get fly bag traps to be near his 'pen area'. Like the ones people hang to be near their gardens. They make them for bees, beetles, or flies. I even see a 3 pack of fly trap kill/catch bags on a As Seen on TV commercial for $14.95, not bad for 3 of them. That way you'll be cutting down on flies near him to help his open wound heal. Walmart should have some or any gardening store.... like Lowes, etc.