Update Re Lump on horses face !

[chestnutcob]

Not sure if you remember but a few weeks ago I asked about a hard lump that had appeared on my horses face just under his eye !
Anyway I had the vet out and his dismissed it as trauma to the bone which had resulted in the bone growing erratically !!! (A bit like a splint is how it was explained)
Over the Christmas holiday this lump was growing in size almost daily. Today I called the vet out again as the lump had gone right upto his eye.
Even the vet looked shocked at how big it was and estimated the size to be the same as half a tennis ball. I was convinced the way it had grown it was cancer or something, the vet tried to touch it but my horse wouldn't let him near it. So he gave him plenty of sedation and then decided having felt it that it was probably an abcess.
As he cut into it yellow gunge came pouring out, I am now left with a 1 and half inch cut which has been left open to drain, each day I have to clean it and make sure it hasn't closed over !!!! God knows how I'm gonna do this as it took plenty of sedation to let the vet near it, any idea's?
So this is just to let you know on a good note its not cancer, vet thinks it could possibly be caused by a thorn, but he said finding it maybe easier said than done! If it needs fetching out it will be a GA and then a bit of a fishing trip to see if he can locate it, but he didn't sound too hopeful !

 

[dieseldog]

Yuk, sounds very painful. The torn probably isn't still in there and would have floated out with all the pus. That is what happens to me anyway when I get splinters in my fingers

 

[scotsmare]

Gross

I'm soooo squeamish with this kind of thing - I'll never forget the vet lancing my then yearlings strangles abscesses and the gunge oozing out!!

Hopefully, now that the pus has come out and therefore the pressure released it will be less painful and he'll let you clean it. If not then a twitch might come in handy.

Good luck

 

[Mrs_Wishkabibble]

I bet the smell was special!
Bet poor horse glad to get rid of that lot

 

[wishfulthinking]

Oh these are so ick when they are lanced. I imagine that he'll let you clean it without too much fuss as now the pressure is off he should be more comfortable. Good luck!

 

[chestnutcob]

I must admit I;m like scotsmare a little squeemish when it comes to things like that ! Give me a dead human body no prob, any injury to an animal especially mine and I go all queezy !!
He still looked a little sorry for himself when I left but I hope after a nights sleep he'll feel better. The odd thing is that this lump really felt like solid bone not soft or anything ? It was only when the vet shaved the fur that you could see it was like the top of a vulcano, I do hope that if the thorn was still in there it did flush out with the puss ? He has had a lump on his face for months so it could be quite deep seated.

 

[MrsMozart]

Poor pone

Hope it heals quickly!

 

[PapaFrita]

Eeeew, I bet it was a huge relief for your horse though. You might find that now that the pressure has been relieved it's a LOT less painful and he lets you clean it without a fuss.

 

[chestnutcob]

Today I went up and couldn't believe how much it had healed over! A friend who is on the yard is a nurse so i roped her in to help me to open it up and clean it out.
We struggled for ages and he was not a happy chap. I decided to give him a little sedalin ! Thankfully it chilled him enough to let us near it. (or my friend to be honest!!) Once he realised we weren't going to hurt him he was fine. My friend was brill she pushed her finger into it to get it open again, i could of probably done it for someone elses horse, but just couldn't do that to my own horse, i know it sounds whimpy but I just couldn't.
Fingers crossed the more he realises were helping he'll chill out.
Thanks for all your kind comments.