Hole-In-Head Horse Update (Warning - graphic)

[Tia]

I took some photos of the mare this morning to let you see her head injury without the gauze stuffed in the hole. I couldn't put fly cream or Furicin on this morning until after vet had been, hence the moment the gauze came out the flies were all over the wound. Anyhow, new gauze was put in place and area totally surrounded with Furicin to keep flies away. Vet is very pleased with wound - no infection so far - yaaay!

Edited to add - for those who don't know how she did it; she smashed into a gate post and shattered her skull.

And another photo for Law and others who wanted to see how our little Appaloosa was healing up after his horrific injury.
This picture was taken this morning.

And for those who don't remember what it looked like when he first became caught on the bale feeder, here you go.

 

[GinaB]

I wasn't quite prepared for quite hoe deep that wound would be

Hope the healing continues.

Great how well the appy has healed up

 

[Ellies_mum2]

O.M.G

That hole is bloody huuuge

Nice and clean though. Can understand why the vet is pleased with it

That leg is healing up nicely too

 

[Law]

Oh My GOD! Tia, that made me wince but you seem to be doing a marvellous job of looking after it and that nasty feeder injury has healed a treat!

 

[Keltic]

OMG!! that is deep... jees was not expecting that, poor horse, hope the healing continues to go well.

 

[RLF]

aarrggh, i just want to flick the flies off looking at that,
what happend to cause that??

 

[Tia]

The app has done really well.

The hole is very deep - she has it stuffed with 8inches long gauze, which goes downwards towards her nostrils via her sinus cavity. It is interesting to see inside and unfortunately I couldn't get the camera to get right in there so this was the best I could do. If you look closely you can see the white tubes which carry the optic nerves.

 

[Tia]

She smashed into a gate post and shattered her skull. The skull was hanging off and vet decided it was too damaged so sawed the hanging bits off.

 

[Skhosu]

. ery lucky horsey, is there much internal damage? How long will it take to close?

 

[lauraanddolly]

Wasn't quite prepared for that! Gosh that is a huge hole, how did it happen?, sorry if i've missed a post!
Glad the vet is pleased with it.

 

[antiantianti]

Wow! Amazing photo. I'm trying to get my bearings.

 

[Tia]

No internal damage - vet tried to find her brain but I guess it fell out years ago!

No the biggest challenge he had was having to dig in there to make sure he had managed to get all the bits of skull which broke off. He had his whole hand in there trying to fish around.

I would think that it will probably close over within a couple of months, providing the skin keeps up the progress it has been doing so far. My big fear is it getting infected though as this would obviously be a complete nightmare, particularly with this mare as she is such a nasty beggar.

 

[vanessadud]

wow thats a little more than expected poor you and poor horsey!! it looks neat and clean thou!! hope it heals up soon x

 

[Colleen_Miss_Tom]

Is it just me that finds this pic fascinating ?

Obviously not fascinating for the horse or for you tia .

I didnt realise it would be that deep especially in the head .

Im weird I know

Looks really clean , I do hope it heals well and the little mare makes a speedy recovery , Wee foal is healing beautifully

Col x

 

[Nudibranch]

That really is amazing. It looks nice and clean and healthy though. What happens next? I assume she'll need surgery to cover it eventually?!

It is incredible how resilient they can be, one of YO's mares had a very similar accident (caused by her and one of mine haring about the field like idiots). She slipped and fell right onto a wooden post, and it literally skinned her down one side. Everything came off so the ribs were exposed, like something out of a butcher's. We thought she'd have to be PTS but some surgery, drains, and antibiotics later and she came through. She still has a big scar, it looks like a shark bite, but she is fine to be ridden again.

I still reckon yours wins the prize for sheer horror though!

 

[Tia]

It's even more fascinating in real life - such a shame I couldn't stuff the camera down there as there really was so much more to see.

 

[dozzie]

Sorry i couldnt post earlier. I have just recovered and pulled myself back off the floor having keeled over. I think it is against T&Cs to post things that could be harmful to other people.

Looks pretty horrendous but just shows what can be achieved.

Next time you update can you warn me though!

 

[jnet]

Will they put a plate across the hole in case she ever stabs that area again with something or just let the skin cover the hole?

 

[eekmon]

[ QUOTE ]
Wow! Amazing photo. I'm trying to get my bearings.

[/ QUOTE ]

Me too, just on what would be her forehead ?

 

[Colleen_Miss_Tom]

[ QUOTE ]
It's even more fascinating in real life - such a shame I couldn't stuff the camera down there as there really was so much more to see.

[/ QUOTE ]

See thats my kind of thinking

You can always get a lapraoscope type camera

 

[Donkeymad]

It's deeper than I expected but does look in a healthy state. I do find these sorts of photos interesting being an ex veterinary nurse.

 

[Hornby]

Blimey Tia, if anyone can sort this out you can, your posts show what is possible in horrendous accidents - I would have thought " only one option" in both cases,

but will try to remember your example if I ever have to deal with anything like that. Good luck with her.

 

[only_me]

that hole is incredibly deep - i didnt think it would be that deep!!

is her vision still ok?

hope it heals without any complications.

carla x

 

[merlinsquest]

OMG that is truly horrible.....

How do horses manage to be so silly

 

[alwaysbroke]

Amazing that wound looks so clean you are doing a good job, hope it carries on healing as well as it is. It amazing what horses can put themselves and us through!

 

[guisbrogal]

Now you see if I had found my horse in the field with that sort of injury I would be certain I would have to have her PTS....it just shows!

Can they not put a wire mesh in to help it heal over Tia?

 

[Kallibear]

You can see all her sinus

For those worried about how deep it is - it's not - it's only missing the very outside layer. Their skull is hollow with only a thin shell over the front. Underneath is all hollow cavities called sinus.

That looks like it's healing well. She might not even be left with a scar.

 

[Ellies_mum2]

[ QUOTE ]
You can see all her sinus

For those worried about how deep it is - it's not - it's only missing the very outside layer. Their skull is hollow with only a thin shell over the front. Underneath is all hollow cavities called sinus.

That looks like it's healing well. She might not even be left with a scar.

[/ QUOTE ]

Phew thats a relief then

Was worried by the depth of it

 

[Eaglestone]

Oh dear ... after seeing it bandaged up with the nice gauze stuffed inside the other day ... I am feeling a bit queeeeeeezy now

... I did not expect it to be so bad yuk

 

[thedunthing]

christ that isnt what i was expecting to see i know it says hole in head but i didnt think you meant littrally lol , poor little thing what a silly girl it looks awful and im another one that if i saw one of mine like that i would straight away think thats it he or she is going to have to be PTS, even though it looks awful i did have to have a close look to see what was on show lol! the leg has healed very well that also looked terrible!