Good vibes desperately needed - and calling all detectives out there!

[Leg_end]

Last night I received THAT phone call whilst I was at work - you know the one all horse owners dread

Panicked friend (who is always as cool as a cucumber) told me to leave work immediately and we needed the vet ASAP as Legend had a hole in his neck. Called OH who was nearer to get up there and give me all the details and ran out of the office and drove at maximum speed limit - praying that my baby was going to be ok.

Got to the yard and as OH hadnt called I knew it was bad but I didnt realise how bad. Poor horse had a cut under his neck and a from left to right, finishing in a hole that was bigger than my fist in both width and height and depth - in fact if I'd put my fist in there I would have had plenty of room

Vet came and the first question he asked was whether I was insured

and that he'd never seen an injury like it which is never a good sign. Luckily he missed all vital structures very narrowly but missed them all the same. The only issue we may have is that he could have a roar when he does fast work which will put his eventing career on hold before its even begun

Poor pony has been all stitched up and is now on box rest with daily visits from mr vet for anti-biotics. He seems to be ok in himself but is clearly subdued.

Reason I want detectives is that we have no idea how he managed to do it... his neck rug is totally fine apart from some blood.. theres nothing in the field that obvious that he could have done it on.. the only evidence that he was injured is about 5 spots of bloos at different points around the field

The wounds are very clean and dont look ripped if that makes sense. I do have pics post stitching but will load them later. He is in a field on his own, its post and rail fencing and a total mystery!

Please send your good vibes for my poor little monkey and ideas welcome on how the hell he has done it!

 

[Walder]

OMG you poor things! I cant begin to think how frightened you all must have beeen
Could it have been an intentional injury (sorry, but that was the first thing that popped into my head) what about a firework? Or am i way off!?
Good luck anyway - keep us posted about progress - hope its good news x

 

[Worried1]

Sounds nasty! Hope he continues to make a good recovery.

 

[Agent XXX999]

KM So sorry to hear this poor pony! xxx Hugs for you and the hairy one, sounds like something out of a horror film!

 

[*hic*]

Sending vibes for his fast recovery.

I've seen some horrendous injuries from post and rail so my first port of call would be a really good look round the tops of all the posts.

 

[Morrigan_Lady]

(((Good vibes))) coming at ya.

Could he have done it on a fence post?

 

[carthorse]

Sorry to read this and healing vibes being sent.
It is amazing how they get injured one of ours is a nightmare and has to have electric fence on the post and rails or he tries to decapitate himself

 

[Leg_end]

TBH I dont know if it was intentional or accidental

I've never seen an injury like it. All fencing has been checked and there is nothing to suggest that he spiked himself. Odd thing is the place where the hole is.. its on the LHS about 4 fingers up his neck and about 4 fingers from where his neck joins his body... although I am sure from the size of the hole it would be pretty obvious where it had happened.

 

[hadfos]

Oh my god,that happened to my horse

He only just missed his windpipe!!!I never thought i would here of another,thought it was just a freak accident!!He did it on a 5 bar metal gate!!He managed to somehow come down on the end of it,wasnt sharp either!!

He to was wearing a neck cover!!

 

[Leg_end]

Could you give me a bit more information - if you have any?? What has been the long term prognosis?

 

[kerilli]

poor horse, what a nightmare. he didn't do it on the catch of the gate, did he? i know 2 horses who have impaled their chests on gate catches.
my Int eventer had a scar like that on one side of his neck, and a huge lump in the muscle where he'd sliced a big bit of it out. missed his jugular by about 1/2 an inch according to vet. this happened in a field in Ireland as a 2yr old, before i bought him. he was fine, it never affected him at all other than making that side of his neck a tiny bit tighter for flatwork, so needed gentle warm-up and gentle stretching. did not affect his breathing at all.

 

[Luckylocalian]

Oh my god - that is horrible! Thinking of you and hope that he makes a very speedy recovery!

 

[lexiedhb]

Ohhh ouchy!! Masses of healing vibes coming your way

{{{{{{VIBES}}}}}}

 

[Chumsmum]

Sounds horrific!! Healing vibes on the way!

 

[Tia]

Could he have done it on a protruding nail? One of my horses ended up with a hole due to a screw-head which had not been screwed in properly on one of our field shelters. My vet chose not to stitch and instead pack the wound with Furacin.

Good luck - hope Legend makes a good recovery.

 

[jumpthemoon]

There was a horse at a RS near me that got impaled on a fence post. It had a flap of skin hanging from between its front legs about 8 inches by 8 inches

the vet had to stitch it part way round but leave a hole so we could keep it clean and you had to put your whole hand inside the open bit to flush it out each day. Horse recovered, no ill effects in the future.
Hope your horsey is ok - things like that usually look worse than they are, especially as you know he has missed all the major structures.

 

[Leg_end]

kerilli I did look at the fence catch and I couldnt see anything... plus its on the other side of the gate.

Am thinking about getting an animal communicator in to find out what happened!!

 

[Ravenwood]

What a terrible shock - poor horse. Get well soon Legend.

 

[Eccles]

Poor Legend! My first thoughts would be intentional/firework which I think someone else suggested, but I spose horses being horses anything is possible! Was it raining yesterday, could the rain has washed any evidence away from fence posts/etc?

 

[watakerfuffle]

I couple of years ago I had a mare that had a swelling under her jaw/neck in the morning. By the evening I checked her and she had a huge open wound there which was like a round hole. I knew that it was the swelling burst i.e an abcess but my vet had not seen anything like it before and said it was a wound. There was a large hard swelling there in the morning so I knew it was an abcess but the vet wasn't having any of it!!

Anyway just to let you know that although it looked awful it soon healed up and you would now never know she had had it and made a full recovery.

 

[Leg_end]

Jumpthemoon - yep I'm dealling with a similar thing although I cant fit my hand in the drain hole thank god!

The more I think about it the more I'm considering that this was done intentionally and that thought makes me feel physically sick

I am going to speak to the vet about it this evening and see what he thinks.

EJ123 - yep it was raining last night but I could see remains of blood and gunk there this morning

 

[YorksG]

Have you checked your horses back shoes and clenches? It's just a thought that having seen ours scratching under the neck that this is possible, expecially when wearing rugs. Hope your horse recovers well. (We always wash wounds with garlic in the water, seems to promote hair growing back the right colour)

 

[Leg_end]

Well vet has been and he thinks it was deliberate

I feel sick

YorksG - what a good idea I will try it!!

 

[Gonetofrance]

Could it have been a bite from another horse?
In the course of what we're seeing in France, there was a mare with a hole the size of a rugby ball, where you could see the suprasinous ligament and the top of the spinal casing, and it was ONE bite, from a vicious stallion..........

 

[Puppy]

[ QUOTE ]
Well vet has been and he thinks it was deliberate

I feel sick

[/ QUOTE ]

I feel sick on your behalf.

Is your horse the type who would allow strangers to handle him?

(((((((((((((((((tonnes of vibes)))))))))))))))) Hope me makes a speedy and sucessful recovery. H. xxx

 

[HeidiBoo]

I had a coloured colt in a paddock about a mile from where I usd to live. One afternoon we had some 'undesirables' turn up on our doorstep, adamant they were going to buy him. When I kept saying no they got quite nasty so I called my Dad round. My Dad saw them off and said we ought to get the pony moved (I'm not saying they WOULD have stolen him but it was better to be cautious) He went off to get the trailer and by the time we got to the paddock we found Pluts with a hole carved in his chest (my Dad could easily get his fist in)

We could find nothing he could have done it on and even the vet said it looked to have been cut rather than torn....

Coincidence? Maybe, but I still think they did it...

 

[hadfos]

Basically he was stitched around the edges and the vet had to leave a gaping hole for drainage,very unpleasant!!The only thing i had to worry about was how it was healing,vet came out regularly!healed well but then there was the possibility of abcessing after the wound had healed,if that had happened he would have to have gone to hospital!

!However,it all healed very well

,(he had to be acp'd as he was on box rest and to try keep him away from stable door,that was a challenge!)The only thing to tell of his ordeal now is a scar!!

 

[S_N]

Oh good lord!! Poor horse and poor you!! I have dealt with a couple of horses who have had similar sounding injuries - both happened by the horse failing to stop for the fence when hooning around the paddock (different places, both post and rail though) and the horses practically impaling themselves on a post!!! Was discovered to be the case in both instances, when searching the fields for explanations and discovering blood on the posts...... You've obviously done a thorough field check though, so not the case. I really hope that your horse heals really quickly and well! Sending healing vibes!!!

 

[YorksG]

I am so sorry to hear that it looks as if it was deliberate, hope he recovers soon and that you do too.

 

[Leg_end]

Gonetofrance: A horse bite was one of the options that I was left with but because there is a clean slit under the throat and the position of the wound makes it unlikely.. not impossible but highly unlikely.

I am just completely gutted about it and feel stressed and emotional! The worst thing is that I cant do anything about it and I dont know how I could stop it from happening again. thje only thing I can do now is to make him as comfortable as possible but he is getting very grumpy already.. and I'm only at day 2