Sam has had an accident, vibes and hugs needed

LauraBR

LauraBR

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Got the kind of call we all dread at work today... "Went to bring your horse in but we can't get him to move, he is stood in the middle of the field with a huge knee and won't budge, please get here asap". By the time I had got there several people had managed to pull/push him into the nearest stable and the vet was called.

Just got home after a nightmare evening with vet etc and I'm very worried indeed about him. We don't know what he has done or how he has done it but his knee is very big and the swelling has spread out from the knee up to his shoulder and down to his fetlock. No sign of a kick and no cuts. Vet was most worried about a joint infection so he has had samples taken from outside and inside the knee- just waiting for a call with the results (although what came out looked good apparently). Next on the list to rule out is a fracture somewhere within the knee
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Sam is no wuss, never sick or sorry. He stood like an angel while he had needles in his knee, whatever he has done must really be hurting him for him to be as lame as he is. In the past he has had very nasty deep cuts and not even looked lame. He is now dramatically bandaged shoulder to hoof (bright green and only for the two needle punctures!) and we'll have to see how he walks out in the morning. If no better straight to horsepital. TBH I think unless he is visibly and markedly better I'll be getting him straight over there- based on the way he is and how it looks I am fully preparing myself for them to tell me it is fractured and I've no intention of faffing about with it
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Poor Sam
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On the plus side it may just be that he has had a nasty blow to it (or something else less sinister) made worse by the cold etc and also if it is a fracture it would most likely be a very treatable one apparently so the prognosis on that front is a lot better than the one I was blinking back the tears thinking about before I asked the vet the dreaded question!

So, any good vibes going spare- please send them his way. Would be interested to hear from ayone who has had a similar experience?
 
Patches knee suddenly went really large that L last year.

She was pitifully lame too, but the swelling was only localised to the front of her knee.

When her tendon sheath was tapped, it was immediately obvious it was full of infection. She was operated on less than 20 minutes later! In horsepital for 5 days on IV antibiotics after the tendon flush, 3 weeks box rest and then gradually brought back into work.

However, it seems your vet may have ruled that out as my vet didn't even send any fluid off for testing. It was clearly obvious the instant it was tapped.


Healing vibes for Sam, hugs for you xx
 
Oh honey, my heart completely sunk when I read your post!

Could he have twisted or sprained his knee in the field? I completely agree with you though about not faffing about and getting it sorted asap if it is no better in the morning.

Lots of hugs coming your way!!!
 
I really don't want to worry you, but my friend's 38 year old did something similar in the field, no idea what happened, but his leg swelled upwards from the knee. He would not move and four men practically carried him into the trailer and we trailered him onto the yard.

Vet thought it was a tendon injury at first, as the whole leg was swollen on the first day, so they treated it for that, then vet was unsure as it was swelling upwards, had a good feel and decided it definitely wasn't broken, but couldn't figure out what it was. Had another vet out and he diagnosed a blood clot that was rising up his leg. By this point it had been 2/3 weeks and it was too late to sort, and eventually it would hit his heart and he would die, plus the fact that he was 38, and he was put to sleep...

All I can say is I really hope he will be okay, and please discuss the option of a blood clot with your vet
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((((HUGS))))
 
That is interesting Patches. The vet said if the fluid had come out as it did tomorrow (ie a day on) then she would rule it out there and then but as it has happened today we need the test results. Expecting a call in the next hour from her with them. The possibility of infection is far more serious than a fracture but based on the appearance of the fluid/blood that came out she was pretty sure it looked to be trauma rather than infection.

Thanks everyone for your kind words x
 
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All I can say is I really hope he will be okay, and please discuss the option of a blood clot with your vet
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((((HUGS))))

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Thanks for that, I really appreciate you mentioning it- will definitely mention it to the vet.
 
Patches had been rumbling for a few days. She was lame, but no swelling. Vet thought abscess on it's way. Then she had swelling, but wasn't lame and on the third day she had the swelling and was dog lame. She was x-rayed to check for damage to joint from infection/trauma as well as the tendon sheath tapped.

It was quite a straight forward procedure to flush the tendon sheath. It was just critical that it was done immediately as the infection can eat through the tendon. If that happens, it's goodnight horsey. Luckily, it hadn't progressed that far with Patches, which was lucky considering she'd been offside for three days.
 
Hold onto the fact that it looks hopeful judging by the fluid he took but prepare yourself in case its not such good news. Thoughts are with you and fingers are crossed.
 
I just saw your status and came running in here to see what was up. Poor Sam
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(((((((((((((((loads of vibes))))))))))))))))))) and (((big hug))) for you. H. xxxxxx
 
I saw what you had put on Facebook and hot footed it to here to see - and to send my love and very best vibes that Sam isn't too badly hurt and recovers quickly. How worrying.
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Oh god! fingers and everything crossed for you and Sam.
The only thing I can tell you is that ages ago Pidge had a tiny but deepish cut on his leg. I foolishly chose to listen to others rather myself and not call the vet out. Needless to say the next day his leg looked like it should be attached to an elephant so I got the vet out. Valuable lesson learnt by me to go with my gut instinct. Even though it was only a small cut the leg just ballooned up all the way from top to bottom.
 
Just had call from vet with results- good news as no infection present
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She's handed all the details over to the weekend on call vet who is calling me first thing. They had discussed it and now think that basically if he is not skipping out of his stable tomorrow they want him taken over for x-rays and to be kept there for a while.
 
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