Natalie_H
Well-Known Member
Hi All,
Need a few opinions on this one as my Mum is currently on holiday - and as she is the voice of reason & general sounding board for equine ailments - I do have a tendency to over-react to things in her absence!
Scenario is this. Last night, when feeding & checking our horses, I noted that my horse has a small laceration on the inside of his leg at the fetlock. It is a v-shaped laceration, and the flap is about the size of a 20p piece. I believe that he has been playing with his fieldmate through the fence, and in the "kicking our front legs under the fence" phase of playtime, he has caught it on the fence & caused this tear.
He is completely sound, there is no swelling, and there is no heat. I have flushed the wound with a saline solution, and spoken to my instructor describing the injury. She advised that I had done the right thing, and would come and have a look tonight.
Having looked at it this evening, she said to keep an eye on it, and to keep it clean. He is still sound, allows me to clean it & touch it, and it does look quite clean, but I am concerned that a) it is close to a joint, and b) the flap is not lying flat to the leg due to the damaged tissue underneath it. I am obviously concerned about proud flesh, but more concerned that any bacteria could have got into the wound, travelled upwards, and be causing a more serious infection.
All the above screams at me to call the vet. However, as previously mentioned, I have a severe tendency to over-react where my "precious one" is concerned - whether that be a graze, watery eye, or fly bite. My mum is a district nurse, so she is good with wound management - be that human or equine! - so I feel a little lost without her advice! So the more opinions I can gather, the more I feel I can make the right decision.
Please don't scream at me for not calling the vet! I would really value your general consensus on what you would do under the same circumstances, and of course any experiences of a similar wound in a similar place.
Thanks in advance!
Need a few opinions on this one as my Mum is currently on holiday - and as she is the voice of reason & general sounding board for equine ailments - I do have a tendency to over-react to things in her absence!
Scenario is this. Last night, when feeding & checking our horses, I noted that my horse has a small laceration on the inside of his leg at the fetlock. It is a v-shaped laceration, and the flap is about the size of a 20p piece. I believe that he has been playing with his fieldmate through the fence, and in the "kicking our front legs under the fence" phase of playtime, he has caught it on the fence & caused this tear.
He is completely sound, there is no swelling, and there is no heat. I have flushed the wound with a saline solution, and spoken to my instructor describing the injury. She advised that I had done the right thing, and would come and have a look tonight.
Having looked at it this evening, she said to keep an eye on it, and to keep it clean. He is still sound, allows me to clean it & touch it, and it does look quite clean, but I am concerned that a) it is close to a joint, and b) the flap is not lying flat to the leg due to the damaged tissue underneath it. I am obviously concerned about proud flesh, but more concerned that any bacteria could have got into the wound, travelled upwards, and be causing a more serious infection.
All the above screams at me to call the vet. However, as previously mentioned, I have a severe tendency to over-react where my "precious one" is concerned - whether that be a graze, watery eye, or fly bite. My mum is a district nurse, so she is good with wound management - be that human or equine! - so I feel a little lost without her advice! So the more opinions I can gather, the more I feel I can make the right decision.
Please don't scream at me for not calling the vet! I would really value your general consensus on what you would do under the same circumstances, and of course any experiences of a similar wound in a similar place.
Thanks in advance!