Consequence: he got his leg caught in the middle wire of a 3 row wire fence (thank heavens it's plain wire, and thank even higher heavens that the electric fence was OFF!) ... We think he'd been there few atleast an hour or 2, judging by the marks on him. He'd been trying to free himself, but he wasn't struggling in a blind panic (also thanking the heavens he's a sensible boy)... He was freed from the fence by one of the Equestrian Centre staff, and the owner called me straight away.
Result: I was at the paddock for 2 hours bathing it in cold water trying to reduce the heat and swelling... The wound was only superficial, and the swelling seemed to reduce so I called it a night and decided if it was swollen in the morning, I'd call the vet.....
Oh yeah, it was swollen!! It had blown up and there was quite alot of swelling on the knee. Not good. Time to call the vet..... They were excellent, and said they could fit me in immediately. So off I go, to meet the Vet out at the paddock (lucky I have a great boss, who understands).
Treatment: consisted of; wrapping his leg from fetlock to almost elbow, a tetanus and strangles booster (2 in 1) shot, a shot of penicillin, and some Butalone paste.... The vet also left me with 2 tubes of bute paste, 2 tubs of antibiotics, more wool padding and more elastic bandage - and left with about $450-$500 of my money. haha. His vitals were normal, good gum colour, and he was not lame. The vet commented he was tough as nails. Most Standardbreds are, and that's why I love em.
Oh well - I'd spent $5000 on this horse if I had to. He's one of the best horses I've ever owned and will be with me till the end of his days. I've had him almost a year and this is his first injury, so I really can't complain.
Total cost of vet visit: $485.15 ...(but in the grand scheme of things - it's nothing compared to the pricelessness of our partnership)
Here's a piccy of him, looking sorry for himself:
2 comments:
Yikes...thats one hell of a wrap job. What did the wound look like before? Vets always seem to come out ontop...even if the horses die, the vet wins cuz he always gets the money! But they mean well. I'm glad he was able to help you.
The wound itself was very minimal ... Less than an inch long, and I'd say largely superficial ...
However, his whole cannon had grossly swollen from his fetlock to well up over the knee - with his knee being double the normal size...
He was walking almost as usual, and he isn't off his feed (he'd have to be dead not to eat I'd say!!)... So he's soldiering through it...
Horses eh? Taking our money one way or another, haha.
Post a Comment