Horrific injury to my broody - query prognosis

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scarymare

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I'm not sure whether this link will work. In all my years of horses this has to be the worst injury I've seen - unbelievably I walked this mare in from her field. Now stitched up but as 'degloved' then the bits don't meet - will try to post another picture of the stitched version. I'm just wondering from those of you with similar, if this will ever heal and also what are the chances of her now carrying her foal to term (5 months gestation). The vet seemed pretty pessimistic tbh.

http://s1093.photobucket.com/albums/i429/scarymare1/
 
we had a mare that did almost the same. It has taken almost a year but it has healed- you will be amazed. We had a problem with proud flesh at first but the vet came and scraped it off! It has now almost closed over and we do ride her. There is a scar but not too bad.
Poor you!
why does the vet think she can't foal?
 
charlie76 said:
we had a mare that did almost the same. It has taken almost a year but it has healed- you will be amazed. We had a problem with proud flesh at first but the vet came and scraped it off! It has now almost closed over and we do ride her. There is a scar but not too bad.
Poor you!
why does the vet think she can't foal?
Click to expand...

Stress apparently plus if it gets infected and her temperature raises then often causes spontaneous abortion apparently. First I've heard of it though.
 
Our mare never had any infection, vet actually said it was easier to treat than a puncture wound. Fingers crossed that yours is ok too. I will try and get a pic of healed leg. Ours was a bit further down than yours.
 
As long as you can keep it clean (but you don't need me telling you that!) flesh can heal amazingly. I would advise copious amounts of salt water as often as possible. It's very under rated but works amazingly.
I had a mare who made a dash through an electric gate as I was bringing another one out, and the gate hook bounced up, got caught in her chest and tipped her up. The chest was ripped open about 18" plus inches and full of gravel. Wouldn't stitch back as too much skin had been damaged. My then vet was a bit old school and advised the salt water, and he was so right, and 8 months later you struggled to see where it was. Sadly never took pics.
 
:eek: Good lord!

Where I used to work a little filly did this to her chest, was 1 inch from the main nerve/artery supply in her armpit and killing herself. it was about half a foot deep and needed 3 layers of stiches.
Do not look if you are squeamish!!

This was the view from standing infront of her
http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u232/RadioDamnation/?action=view&current=Rhonascam131.jpg

And this is the view from underneath her.
http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u232/RadioDamnation/?action=view&current=Rhonascam132.jpg

She pulled through and was fine :) being broken in this year :D
 
Horrible wound, have seen a very similar one and that one healed slowly but well. Proud flesh was an issue, but manageable. Mare went back into work.

I can confirm that a high temperature in an in-foal mare will cause abortion. I expect your vet will put your mare on a long course of abx. If she goes off her food call the vet as an emergency.

Hope it goes well.
 
Once the wound is starting to heal try using some stuff from a company called Well-animal-uk. Woman at our yard has been using it on her mare who ripped open 2 artuaries (sp!!) and had the most horrific wounds and it's helped it heal amazingly. The vet was very impressed with the way it was healing.
 
That is quite horrific looking, what a shock you must have got. My mare had one quite similar after going down a ditch and getting it ripped on a pipe lurking there.
She went to horspital as it was really deep too and they needed to check the tendons. Luckily it missed but she did have a huge rip like yours. She was in plaster to keep it stable. Once that was off and the stiches were out i used honey to stop the proud flesh and then used camrosa to encourage the hair growth. It all worked well and it is fine now. The skin there is quite vulnerable though so when she is in stable she has wraps on to protect it. It is all fine though. I hope your mare is ok and the pregnancy continues to full term.

link to honey website http://www.honeyforwounds.com/index.html/
 
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Poor you (and horse!!)
I had a polo pony in New Zealand that had a similar injury on it's hind leg. Healed amazingly , you need Manuka Honey. Honestly you could hardly tell he had done it. It did take a while to heal but did heal beautifully without complications and hardly any visible scarring and he went on to play that same season.
You can get medical (veterinary grade) manuka honey now which is already on the bandage, but I know that costs a fortune...........I used stuff from the supermarket but I was in NZ and it's much cheaper out there.

This summer a friend of mines polo pony ripped open it's stomach, a huge flap of skin was hanging off underneath the poor thing. Looked horrendous. They managed to speak to the veterinary people who produce the Manuka bandages and got it all for free as the wound was so awful they wanted it as a 'study'. Again healed amazingly and the pony was also playing the same season.

I know horses get stressed and shocked and it can have all sorts of affects on them, especially when pregnant. BUT I think we forget how resilient they are, I'm sure your foal will be fine and she will carry it to term. Fingers crossed for you :)
 
As mentioned above, shock is the worst thing at the moment... can the Vet give her something to mildly sedate, just enough to get her relaxed.

This will get her over the first 24 hrs... after that assuming no infection, she should be fine.

The leg will heal in time.
 
We had a horse how got a horrfic injury to his shoulder which we thought would tack forever to heal. Vet advised sea water and a pump spray(like you would use in your garden-one you can adjust the nozzle on for a fine or large spray). It worked wonders! Vet predicted 8-10weeks to heal. It was nearly closed in 5! Apparantly there is something in sea water that's not in salt water that's great for healing! So if your near the sea-it's free and it worked for us! Using the pump spray also allows you to get the water deep into the wound without poking around too much! Best of luck.
 
Damnation said:
:eek: Good lord!

Where I used to work a little filly did this to her chest, was 1 inch from the main nerve/artery supply in her armpit and killing herself. it was about half a foot deep and needed 3 layers of stiches.
Do not look if you are squeamish!!

This was the view from standing infront of her
http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u232/RadioDamnation/?action=view&current=Rhonascam131.jpg

And this is the view from underneath her.
http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u232/RadioDamnation/?action=view&current=Rhonascam132.jpg

She pulled through and was fine :) being broken in this year :D
Click to expand...

My four year old did something almost identical to herself about a month ago. She bolted in the dark through two fences at full gallop and finished up whamming into a thick hedge which stopped her in her tracks. Blood everywhere where she finished up and she was in a very sorry state for about a week but she's sound now (:eek:) and the wounds are healing superbly well. Although, I should add, she's still on field rest until fully healed. But it's quite incredible how such horrible things can heal themselves so well.

OP: I had a 4 months in-foal 4 year old back in the 90's who got away from her handler on the way to the field and bolted (seems to be a theme running through my post... :rolleyes:). She ended up skidding over as she turned sharply from the field exit onto the paved drive back towards the yard, and skinned her stifles and fetlock joints right back to the bone as her hind legs went out under her at speed and skidded along the tarmac. She then got up and bolted on over the fence into the menage skinning the flesh from the inside of her os hock - rather like yours in the photo. Long story short - she was scarred but recovered after more box rest (she'd been on box rest after a hock arthoscopy when the incident happened) and went on to have a healthy (and HUGE) filly foal the following spring. Fingers crossed for a good outcome for your girlie.
 
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I wonder if your vet's prognosis is because of the proximity of the wound to the joint? Its amazing that the joint capsule is intact there - it can be hit and miss with degloving injuries as the capsule (partic of the tarsocrural jt) lies just beneath the skin surface. Also the possibility of infection causing a temperature and abortion is a possibility. As for the healing of the wound - its an upward flap so much of it will probably die off and it will take a lot of time to heal but it shouldnt be that bad - had it been lower down the cannon I wouldnt have any concerns about it really (as there is no joint to worry about!). Did the extensor tendon get damaged too(cant see it)?

We had a mare completely lacerate her DDFT and SDFT a few years ago when 28 days in foal. She had a GA surgery to repair it and many many casts and 6 months box rest and despite all the worry she had a normal healthy foal. There were many times in the first 3mths that we were sure she had aborted/would abort but she didnt.
 
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I once worked somewhere and found a poor mare in the field in that state. We had to walk 1/2 a mile back to the yard with her. It's now healed amazingly well with just a small scar.
 
My god, I'd have had a heart attack finding that! Poor you & horse!
I know everyone recommends different things, but if she's insured, I'd without doubt send her to somewhere with a hydrotherapy spa. The water in them is mega cold & full of salts & stuff. Im not very technical! Google it! It works though, trust me. good luck :-) x
 
Firstly I’m sorry this happened to you I know what a shock it is to find your beloved animals have injured themselves. My mare had an open fracture her leg so was detached and dangling!!! Ive been there I know the shock and panic! Unfortunately in my case she was not going to get over it – in yours I would be hopeful or an almost total recovery if a little scared!
Secondly GET THIS STUFF! http://www.camrosa.co.uk/ - expensive and a little complex to remove but just what you need! Works wonders!
Thirdly someone once told me “Foals are like a parasite” eg they suck all the good stuff out the mares system before the mare gets it hence why mares in horrendous emaciated states still often foal down with quite strapping foals! Concentrate on keeping your mare well and she will hopefully look after your foal :)
Finally big hugs for the tough time you’re going though.
 
Bless her heart :( I'm sure it will heal just fine and she'll be a happy mummy next spring.

My mare carried her foal through colic surgery. she had 2 abcesses, a perforation and peritonitis, underwent 4 hours of surgery under GA, had her bowel resected. she then endured 2 weeks at the vets with all the comings and goings and so many drugs... all un-licensed for pregnant mares of course. After that she did 4 months box rest, then 2 months restricted turnout.

And she still produced this.
Jazmineday3outside076.jpg


so yeah, don't give up! Baby is absolutly fine too. Very strong and growing like a weed. she's 4 months old now :)
 
Thanks so much everyone for your replies. I have never heard of the manuka honey bandages but will google them now. Well she's got through the first 24 hours and seems remarkably happy. Refusing to eat her bute (vet coming tonight to change dressing so will get Danilone then). Will be interesting to see how it is going - will get update photos. Thanks again x x
 
Ask your vet about Covidien Anti Microbial Foam dressings. They are expensive but worth every penny as they seem to help prevent proud flesh formation. I have been using them to treat a horse with such a severe ulcer on his leg he was going to be pts. He got the injury at a different yard, is now sound, nearly healed and will be back in work in approx two-three weeks and hopefully will race in Jan. They are relatively new but our vet pushed us to try them and they are amazing! They can be left on much longer than normal dressings too so less disturbing of the wound...ten days into using them our fella was turned out in a paddock the size of a stable....having been incredibly lame he had started to come sound and jumped a 5 foot stud railing for fun just because there was nicer grass on the other side...not bad for a horse that 2 weeks previous was so utterly depressed we thought pts was the kindest option!
 
Damnation said:
:eek: Good lord!

Where I used to work a little filly did this to her chest, was 1 inch from the main nerve/artery supply in her armpit and killing herself. it was about half a foot deep and needed 3 layers of stiches.
Do not look if you are squeamish!!

This was the view from standing infront of her
http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u232/RadioDamnation/?action=view&current=Rhonascam131.jpg

And this is the view from underneath her.
http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u232/RadioDamnation/?action=view&current=Rhonascam132.jpg

She pulled through and was fine :) being broken in this year :D
Click to expand...

I had a 4yrs old donkeys years ago had exactley the same injury as this we had no idea how it happened, she was found about a mile from home looked like she ha dbeen attacked with a knife it was such a clean cut hardley any blood as too deep they said she may have done it jumping out or something we will never know ,but on the up sid eshe recovered in months no stiches either vet said too deep and wante dit to heal from inside to outside daily cleaning and antibiotic cream and not even a scar excellent result
 
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