Brownmare
Well-Known Member
Dash disappeared after a pair of deer this morning and i lost him (or he lost me) for half an hour 
When i got him back home he was acting very agitated and felt hot although he wasn't panting and kept flinging himself on the floor and whining and rubbing himself on the floor. He wouldn't drink (although there is a pond he could have drank from before he came back) or eat kibble but did have some tuna.
I thought he must have got some kind of irritant on his skin so I bunged him in the bath for a wash to see if that would help and while I was doing this I found a blackthorn embedded in his tail
about 15cm from the tip. There was only about 1mm showing out of the skin or I'd have spotted it before but I managed to pull it out and it was about 1cm long and it wasn't just under the skin so i reckon it must have been in or very near his spinal cord
He is much calmer now but still acting agitated but the vets are fully booked tonight (the receptionist said come down at 5 and they'd try to squeeze us in) so is there anything I can do for him until then? For a horse with a thorn I'd bathe or poultice with epsom salts to draw any dirt / infection out but would that damage his spinal cord? Should I put wound gel on to stop it drying out? Aaargh, please give me a virtual slap and tell me not to be such a panicky daft cow
When i got him back home he was acting very agitated and felt hot although he wasn't panting and kept flinging himself on the floor and whining and rubbing himself on the floor. He wouldn't drink (although there is a pond he could have drank from before he came back) or eat kibble but did have some tuna.
I thought he must have got some kind of irritant on his skin so I bunged him in the bath for a wash to see if that would help and while I was doing this I found a blackthorn embedded in his tail
about 15cm from the tip. There was only about 1mm showing out of the skin or I'd have spotted it before but I managed to pull it out and it was about 1cm long and it wasn't just under the skin so i reckon it must have been in or very near his spinal cord He is much calmer now but still acting agitated but the vets are fully booked tonight (the receptionist said come down at 5 and they'd try to squeeze us in) so is there anything I can do for him until then? For a horse with a thorn I'd bathe or poultice with epsom salts to draw any dirt / infection out but would that damage his spinal cord? Should I put wound gel on to stop it drying out? Aaargh, please give me a virtual slap and tell me not to be such a panicky daft cow
- & over heated. If it happens again, cool her down using cold, wet but wrung towels.
