Time to get vet out ...?

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pnap

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Jack came in from field lame a week past Sunday. He's had what looks like a kick to the top of the front left which has resulted in an approx 3" long cut - the middle 1" or so is probably half an inch deep with what looks like a small hole in the middle. I've been hibi-scrubbing daily and he's been on 2 bute a day until Sunday just gone - so 8 days. Went out in the field on Monday and galloped about like a loon bucking and farting quite the thing. Rode Monday night and he was a bit lazy but nothing unusual. Got shod yesterday and he's now lame as ever again. Sort of drags the leg round when walking but is weight bearing on it. I gave him another couple of bute last night and left him in. Do you think it's time to get the vet out to check it? Cut is healing nicely and there is no evidence of any infection - it's draining freely and the liquid is clear but sometimes a little blood stained.
 
Think I will do - it is probably just bruising or something but guess you never know - I don't want to keep him on bute indefinitely if there is something else underlying.
 
i would get the vet, if it was a kick worst case scenerio is a star fracture to the bone, best to get it checked.
 
I'd have had the vet out a week last Sunday.
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I'd definitely get it checked - I'd be surprised if a small cut was causing lameness after over a week.
 
definatly vet.

I have the vet coming out this morning to see my horse who is only showing low grade lameness now, no heat swelling anywhere however he is still lame after a week!

Better safe than sorry
 
I think it sounds like it needed stitching to help it heal, but that's gone now so no point dwelling and it may be that it wouldn't have helped anyway as leg wounds are notoriously difficult to heal, even with stitches in (I had a hard enough job getting one on the head to heal).

Are you putting a hydrogel over the wound after you have cleaned it? The vet told me not to hibbiscrub over a prolonged period and to go onto saline solution. The wound was covered with intrasite gel and I just cleaned round it daily, but the intrasite kept any bacteria out and helped it to heal.

You do need to be getting the vet out now, as the lameness would be concerning me hugely (although it could be a case of him being aware of how walking correctly pulls ont he wound and makes it painful so he is over-compensating by dragging - just grabbing at straws here).
 
I would def get the vet, our pony was kicked whilst on loan, tiny wound but she had a star fracture of the tibia
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However she was not able to weight bear on the leg so hopefully your lad isn't anything so drastic, but I wouldn't leave it any longer .
 
Please get the vet - my best friend lost her horse yesterday to a broken leg - ok hers was in 2 bits, but when I lost my horse to a broken leg all he had was a very small cut on his leg not even an inch long.

Sorry not trying to worry you but if 2 bute a day isn't helping then I would imagine something is not right.
 
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I'd have had the vet out a week last Sunday.


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I'm afraid I would have too if it is below or on the knee, yo don't specify. By now your horse could have a life treatening joint or tendon sheath infection.
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A clear but sometimes blood stained fluid could mean a joint injury. Having him shod would have meant he had to flex his leg, which could have made him more sore again. I would have already had the vet out myself.
 
The liquid didn't start until 2-3 days afterwards and is just part of the healing process - the leg is bruised and a bit swollen but he has been weight bearing on it since it happened and has managed to cavort about the field quite happily at full speed bearing weight on his front two legs and throwing some impressives bucks. He's also rolled right over and got up fine - hence why I didn't think it was too serious. He might well be a bit foot sore having just been shod yesterday. Sorry - but I'm not one for calling the vet out for every nick he gets.
 
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It's right at the top of the leg - just where it meets the chest. Vet is coming out this afternoon.


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From what you say it sounds like it could be right on the elbow joint. At least higher up there is more flesh, glad the vet is coming today and I hope it is nothing serious.
 
My TB had a kick to the knee last year - vet out that day and put on antibiotics - although wasnt allowed bute to see how it went. Have you given him bute today / yesterday - just it could affect the vets diagnosis?

Even after antibiotics, 2 weeks later (he came sound as well) the side of his knee burst open - it was badly infected and he ended up having an op to remove the diseased tissue - he was 9/10 lame due to this. He was not allowed bute to monitor his lameness, bless him.

Im sure yours will be fine!
 
it's on the inside of his leg - his armpit if you like so don't think it's going to have affected the joint as such. Will see what vet says later on.
 
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Sorry - but I'm not one for calling the vet out for every nick he gets.


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Any wound on a horses leg, on the hock or knee or below or on the joints that is more than flesh deep has the potential to be very serious. Most won't be so most people are lucky, but do you really want to take the risk?
 
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Sorry - but I'm not one for calling the vet out for every nick he gets.


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No of course not. However from your description of the wound it sounds as if he would have benefited possibly from a stitch and / or antibiotics. Also the lameness for me would have been an issue.
 
I would of had the vet straight away to be honest, with a wound like that, puncture type wounds can quite serious and its usually the wounds that look clean and not too 'scary looking' that cause problems and if he was lame after an injury, again that would sounded alarm bells to have the vet.

Anyway so long as you have the vet out now, hope everything will be ok.
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Yes but as it's on the inside of the leg it's not on or near the joint or below the knee or on the hock or on any of the places that if it had been I would obviously have got the vet right out. The wound isn't deep enough for stitches - this advice was got on the day from a very experienced equine veterinary nurse who's daughter also has a pony on the yard. She said it might be a viable option for supergluing but the vet would want to leave it open in part to allow any fluid build up to drain away and not be held in there to become infected. I'm assuming it was a kick - but it could as easily have been caused by him getting himself stuck on a bit of fence or rolling on a stray stone or whatever.
 
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Yes but as it's on the inside of the leg it's not on or near the joint or below the knee or on the hock or on any of the places that if it had been I would obviously have got the vet right out.

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No worries, obviously we can't see the wound or know your experience, sounds like it shouldn't be to serious, but as you say the new lameness is a worry so hopefully that turns out to be nothing nasty.
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I work on the principle that if I would take myself off to A&E due to a gash or cut on my body - then the same principle applies to my horse. A 3" long, 1" wide cut is, I would say, enough to take me off to A&E.


Interestingly the most expensive treatement that a previous horse of mine recieved was due to a very inoccuous cut on her leg.

But clearly we all do what we feel is necessary - and if you didn't feel it warranted the vet at the time - then that's your decision.

Good luck today. I'm sure a course of antibiotics rather than self medicated bute will ensure he is as right as rain in no time.
 
Glad that the vet is coming out to see your horse today.
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Unfortunately, wounds like this are often puncture wounds, where the cut penetrates further than you realise, and causes infection. Due to your horse still being lame, I think you have done the right thing calling the vet. I hope that a course of antibiotics clears this up and he will be better soon.
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I am sure your horse will be fine but guess a vet visit can't hurt - he could have done it on a fence or something. Could he have even have done it with his own foot - say when lying down? Mine had an odd cut just udner his elbow last week - I can only think he caught himself iwth his own hind foot god knows how!!!

Maybe he has something in it if he has caught it on something that the body has not flushed out successfully itself.

I wouldn't worry too much, in my experience most cuts/injuries (some that look horrendous) generally aren't as bad as we think!
 
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i would have had the vet the day it happened especially if there was liquid coming out of it!

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It sounds like it's only now that the wound is secreting liquid other than blood. If that is the case then it's quite normal and beneficial for the wound to 'leak'.
 
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Yes but as it's on the inside of the leg it's not on or near the joint or below the knee or on the hock or on any of the places that if it had been I would obviously have got the vet right out. The wound isn't deep enough for stitches - this advice was got on the day from a very experienced equine veterinary nurse who's daughter also has a pony on the yard. She said it might be a viable option for supergluing but the vet would want to leave it open in part to allow any fluid build up to drain away and not be held in there to become infected. I'm assuming it was a kick - but it could as easily have been caused by him getting himself stuck on a bit of fence or rolling on a stray stone or whatever.

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But my boy had a wound on his head that wasn't that deep because obviously there isn't much fatty tissue on the forehead. His required stitches (so my equine vet told me) because of the length and width of the wound, in order to pull it together to help prevent scarring. Oh, except my eejit of a YO decided she knew best and didn't tell me til the next day, by which time it was too late for stitches. Healing took longer and was more complex, and every day I faced this almost 18hh horse becomi8ng aggressive when he so much as SAW cotton wool.

The thing about fluid and bacteria being held in there - this is in part why they have to stitch within hours of a wound and also why hydrogels should be applied to the wound asap.
 
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