Aghhhh bloody horse!

[MagicMelon]

Was meant to be show jumping today so went to yard to find my horse standing in the next door paddock..... NOT where he was when I left him!! Standing there looking very sorry for himself holding up a bloody front leg. Took him in and cleaned him up to find 2 lovely long hefty cuts and about 4 other scrapes and smaller cuts all on one front leg. And of course its swollen up.

Was EXTREMELY confused as to what the hell had happened but then realised the metal gate was down on its hinges (heavy to open), on closer inspection found some hairs on the edge by the hinges! So we worked out he'd bloody well jumped the hinge end (basically the massive strainer bit) and smacked it with his front end - no scrapes at all anywhere else on his body so dont know how he got his back end over so cleanly! This bloomin' horse has gone through (or unsuccessfully tried to jump) about 6 or 7 fences/gates now! Even last week, he got a spook and from a stand still popped out over our wooden fencing!

Just cant believe it, the field is large etc. yet this moron decides to leap over the huge metal gate (its huge because its much lower on the take off side!). I assume he just got spooked.

Aghhh why do horses do this to us? Only just got him back into work and he goes and does this!

 

[johnsongreyhorse]

Oh dear hope he's going to be ok, loads of hugs for both of you

 

[brightmount]

Have you got any Norodine, or could you lick some up from the vets, in case of infection? I just recently dealt with a nasty infected cut that didn't look initially like it was going to amount to anything, but took ages to clear up

Hope the neddy is OK.

 

[ThomasTank]

just a thought but have you tried electric fencing a foot above the fence ??

 

[brightmount]

Note to self, spellcheck post! I mean pick up don't I?

 

[Fiona]

Sounds like another accident prone neddie, just like mine.
Hope when you had got him all cleaned up he was OK and not needing stitched or anything.
Will he be off for a while, or will you be able to ride?

FIona

 

[MagicMelon]

ThomasTank - Yeah, the whole top line of our fencing is electric! He doesnt seem to "choose" to jump / go through fencing, the times he's done it have always been when he s been spooked, so I dont think the electric helps.

Nahh, he doesnt need stitches luckily, they couldnt on the biggest one anyway as its right on the front of his knee. I cleaned it all up with loads of salty water and put heaps of Cut Heal on the cuts (I swear by this stuff!!!) and gave him a bute yesterday and one today to try and get the swelling down.

He seems perfectly perky now and just wants out of his stable, but I cant decide what to do! He lives out 24/7 normally so doesnt tend to be stabled often. He's been in since yesterday morning and clearly wants out although he isnt charging about or anything. Im paranoid about keeping the leg clean and dry though? Ive got one paddock which isnt used so is non-muddy, do you think I should put him out there even for an hour? Im worried he'll thunder about which wont help! What do you think?

 

[ThomasTank]

You could try him out for an hour or so but mind the cuts dont get dirty. its a really difficult one i think. is he spooky to ride too? perhaps changing his feed or every one seems to swear by pink powder on here. is the electric just along the top or a foot above and on high voltage!! has he got enough grass/hay to keep him busy, perhaps he needs to move feilds more often to keep him interested in his surroundings ( does he get spooked after he has been in the same field for a while) i hope some of these opinions/suggestions are helpful. good luck

 

[MagicMelon]

Hi,

Thanks. Ive let him out just now into the smallest paddock I have with one of our dozy ponies (to keep him calm!). What was the FIRST thing he did when I let him go? Well trot off and roll THREE times. I couldnt catch him to stop him doing it. So will be taking him in very soon and washing his leg off all over again. I did put a thick layer of Cut Heal on so Im hoping thats kept any dirt out of his wounds.

Yeah, I cant ride him as he is a little bit sore on it (not lame as such, but I can see he's a bit wary on it) and yes he'd be spooky as hell to ride today in this wind!

He's been on a few feeds regimes over the past 4 years and TBH the jumping out / going through fences has been spread out over this time (ie. he hasnt suddenly begun doing it on a change of feed or anything). There is some grass, I mean his field isnt massive but he does have stuff to pick at and gets hay all the time. I cant move fields as we only have 1! But its split into one big part and 2 small paddocks (for summer use by the lami ponies) and they're in the biggest part already.

Hopefully his cuts will heal up quite quickly, as long as I try bloody hard to keep them clean! Im wondering would tubi grip work as a sort of cover-up whilst he's turned out for an hour or two a day right now? His cuts are basically his whole leg! But especially his knee. The top part of his leg isnt so bad as mud wont tend to get up there. Its a very difficult place to bandage..... so I thought of tubi grip? Anyone tried it?

 

[brightmount]

Tubigrip is an interesting suggestion - I've no idea if it would stay up. Maybe you would need to use vet wrap around the top (with gamgee underneath)? You need some kind of horse garter lol! Let us know if it works.

I don't want to scaremonger but cuts on the knee can turn nasty. If you ever go on the ebay forums they have an "adopted" horse called Deno who got bacterial cellulitis in a knee cut and ended up in horsepital. It was very expensive and a long process.

My horse had a bad cut on her leg a couple of months ago and someone on this forum recommended Equaide from here: http://www.equinefirstaid.co.uk/

This product could be really good for an injury over a joint as it forms a flexible seal when you paint it on, and promotes healing as well as protecting against any muck getting in. I found it really good, and there's a money back guarantee on it anyway.

The trial pot is quite small, you'd probably need a big pot if you've got a lot of cuts to deal with.

 

[MagicMelon]

Thanks, off to look at the site now. Is it any better than Cut Heal do you know? My vets always recommend it for cuts etc. and its done amazing things to one massive gash and an infected sarcoid - both healed up so quickly and neither left any scar (which is amazing when you saw the size of the gash!!). Thats why I swear by it. But obviously if there's something better then I'll always look into it!

 

[ThomasTank]

I think tubi grip is a great idea. see how you get on. i would use it to turn out in and then give a good clean when he comes in.. I wonder if he needs more work to stop his mind wandering into naughty thoughts when in the field !!!