Further to my horses cyst being removed.. we have been back to the vets.

[showjump]

My lad had a sinus cyst removed three weeks ago, all went well with him coming home the next day, and me flushing him via the drain his head. Drain came out 7 days later, and stitches out 3 days after that..
Over the last week however the discharge out of his nose increased and over the weekend sores formed on his nose.
Vet came Monday, and removed scab from the drain hole.. and you could see a sinus full of puss. :-(
So took him in yesterday, they tried to flush it and nothing much was coming out his nose, pus was too thickened. So after a dig around via the hole with some forceps, another flush was attempted, this time much more successful. So after several flushes and a few x rays later hes back home on a mixture of drugs!

However i have to flush him twice a day (at the least) keep drain hole clean and with plenty of vasaline around it, and sudocream on his sores. BUT major problem is he will NOT let me near the hole in his head (not that i blame him he must be so sore, and fed up) but i have no idea how im going to get it done. This morning at 7am i was balancing on a bucket in his stable trying to get him sorted, and failed miserably.
Heres the cyst they removed;

 

[dianchi]

Wow thats pretty big no wonder your boy isnt too happy!

 

[ihatework]

Ooooo grim! Poor lad.

It's going to be pretty essential to keep this flushed, so you really are going to have to find a way to do it.

How does he react, and how strongly when he says no?
Things to try ...
Tight cross-ties
Jamming him in a lorry partition (depending on his nature and potential reaction)
Blindfold (with care)
Twitch (not my favorite thing, but in this instance possibly the answer)

 

[showjump]

I know not pleasant, poor boy.

He is letting me flush it (without too much problem once i get going) however the real problem is getting the hole cleaned and plastered with vasaline, he puts his head as high and possible then just shakes it nn stop preventing me doing naff all. I did try and cover his eye this morning (on my own tho) so struggles and he naffed off around his stable. However i do think its the thought and the sight of someone coming towards his head with their hands. (evil people have done nasty things to him!)

Lorry ideas might work, however his a bad traveller so dont want him to associate the two together? Twitch will be tried tonight again. Vet tried twitch yesterday and monday and it didnt work. Im super worried i cannot keep its clean and looked after that infection will reappear.. I have tried being nicey nicey, treats, bucket of feed, and even shouting stearnly as he likes to be told whats what, but neither works..

 

[measles]

That is some size... What a difficult time you are both having. It sounds as though you definitely need a second pair of hands to deal with this effectively - is there someone tall, strong and horsey who you can agree a plan with in advance and then deal with the first aid swiftly and safely?

 

[showjump]

Well we have had a breakthough this afternoon, my horsey friend (think you have been speaking to her recently has been just to see if she could help.. he let her do it all no fuss i had to stand back and watch! Refused to eat his breaky with medicine in, but being fed by my friend was much better!! Horses eh!!

 

[Supanova]

Poor you and him! Sounds really nasty. Pleased to hear you got it sorted this afternoon!

 

[showjump]

Only sorted while my friends there, so will be struggling alone tomorrow. Eek.
You out at any shows soon? I may go Aintree or southview at the weekend.