” How should we treat the cut? Should we call the vet?”…, “My 9 yr.old Quarter horse has a slice/wound on his left hock area.”…, “My horse cut his foot in the pasture yesterday.”…

 

 

“My 9 yr.old Quarter horse has a slice/wound on his left hock area.”…

It is warm to touch and a bit swollen. Would putting ice on it, help the swelling? I put wound save on it and am waiting till tomorrow to see if it looks better. It looks more like a good slice more than a wound. Is doing the ice o.k.?

Dr. Kimberly Gryl’s Answer:

Renee:

Icing is best for a wound or swelling in the first 48 hours. After that, the benefits of icing alone are there but decreased, and alternating with heat and ice may be more beneficial. Keeping the wound wrapped and clean will definitely help, and anti-inflammatories will also aid in pain and swelling relief. However, it is most important to consider that this wound is over a joint, and that means that the joint could become infected in the near future, or the horse become lame, even if it is not affected right now. I always advise you have your veterinarian look at wounds over joints, no matter how trivial they may look. He/she may feel your horse needs to be on systemic antibiotics, and these are prescription only. At the time of the examination, any other pertinent medical advice will be given, as well as the need for recheck exams. Good luck.

 

” How should we treat the cut? Should we call the vet?”…

Right front leg in the area of the cannon bone is swollen and tender to touch. Looks like there is a small cut. How should we treat the cut? Should we call the vet?

Dr. Kimberly Gryl’s Answer:

Fran:

Scrub the cut with betadine and wrap the leg to protect the cut so it will stay clean and heal. May be best to limit activity to avoid leg soreness (lameness). If becomes swollen, bleeds a lot, oozes pus, or other abnormalities, definitely call the veterinarian. Also, make sure she has had a Tetanus vaccine within the last 12 months. Good luck.

 

“My horse cut his foot in the pasture yesterday.”…

I don’t know on what. It is deep on the hind foot just above the hoof at the back. (but under the joint.) He is limping and when he walks the wound opens and closes. The joint above is swollen. I have washed it out and put some black caking stuff on it that is supposed to keep the dirt and flies out of it. (sorry, the bottle is at home and I am not – I don’t remember what it is called.) I also gave him a shot of antibiotics. Is there anything else I should do? I was told that stitching it up is no good because the stitches will just pull out. How then is it supposed to heal when it opens every time he puts weight on it?

Dr. Kimberly Gryl’s Answer:

Shelley:

While not having seen your horse’s wound, from your description sounds like you need to call a veterinarian ASAP. ANY wound that extends into a joint has potential for becoming a life-threatening condition, in a matter of hours. Your horse may not be lame at this time, but in a few days you are looking at a different situation. There are many vital structures in that location of the foot, and I highly encourage you to have him examined immediately. At the very least, bandage that foot/leg completely and he needs aggressive antibiotic treatment. Good luck.

 

“1 1/2” gash and it seems to go in and up. His leg was very swollen, there wasn’t much distinction between his knee cap and the cannon bone. “…

 

I have a 5 yr old OTTB who either late last night or this morning managed to sustain an injury on the outside part of his front right leg. It is a 1 1/2″ gash and it seems to go in and up. His leg was very swollen, there wasn’t much distinction between his knee cap and the cannon bone. But he was not at any time favoring the leg. I squeezed pus out of what seems to be a pocket, and obviously that was painful. I flushed the wound out with a syringe with a combo of iodine and peroxide about 15 times, I hosed his leg down with cold water for about 10 min. I also took him on a long walk in hopes that the swelling would go down, and it did quite a bit. I packed and slathered the wound with nitrofurizone (sp) and rubbed DMSO all over the leg (below and not in gash), and gave him 2 grams of Bute. I am a little strapped right now and am hard pressed to call a vet out, but I was hoping that there was something I could do, say give him a penicillin shot. I have given them in the past, but that was a long time ago. If I do give the penicillin, I give it it the “Triangle” on the neck, pinching the skin, making a “tent” place the needle in at a angle under the tent, draw back to make sure I’m not in a vein and finish the injection correct? Should I have a worry about Tetanus? Could an antibiotic powder be less risky? Please help!!!!

Dr. Jack Sales’ Answer:

Hi Joanne,

You have described an intramuscular injection very well and if you have given Penicillin injections to your horse before it should be a safe procedure for you. An antibiotic like Penicillin would be very helpful to treat and prevent infection in a leg wound such as you described. The horse should also be protected from tetanus, as you mentioned. If your horse is up on his shots has had a tetanus toxoid injection yearly, and the last one was within the last six months, this would be sufficient to protect him from getting tetanus. If his vaccination status is not up to date, he should be vaccinated against tetanus as well. continue to treat the wound as you have described on a daily basis and it should heal up well. I hope this helps and good luck.

 

“My 9 year old thoroughbred had a small puncture that overnight swelled up.”…

My 9 year old thoroughbred had a small puncture that overnight swelled up. He was put on antibiotics and my vet locally inserted some antibiotics 2x, it has been almost 3 weeks and there is no end in sight. At first there was some drainage of infection. He is also taking medication for ulcers. It is as if he is not responding to the antibiotics. What can I do before it gets too late to do anything.

Dr. Kimberly Gryl’s Answer:

Emily:

Probably the thing to need to have happen is to recheck him and culture the draining wound. You may need to switch his antibiotics. Also, there may be a foreign object of some kind embedded in the wound that will continue to prompt drainage unless it is removed. These chronically draining puncture wounds are frustrating.

 

 

“My horse has a bad cut on her leg.”…

We have been giving her penicillin shots twice a day. How long can you give a horse penicillin?

 

Dr. Kimberly Gryl’s Answer:

Amy:

Your question is kind of open-ended, as there is no true specific answer. This depends upon the dose (hopefully you’ve checked with your veterinarian for the right dose – do NOT ask anyone else), and can also depend upon the horse, and if the Penicillin is actually working on the wound. Penicillin given over several days can be very irritating to the muscle tissue it is being injected into, and therefore it is my preference to not use it long-term. Usually the horses become very intolerant of it after a few days. If the wound is not healing, you should definitely have her examined, if you have not already.

 

“My horse has an abscess and is draining puss from his left front shoulder chest area.  “…

 

He has no cuts or any other injuries. He has swelling, and hard spot under his stomach right in-between his front legs.  Could it be Flies? He is generally a healthy horse and not under weight at all.  What could this be from?  Parasites? Does he need an antibiotic?  It is a small tiny hole dripping out clear pussy fluid about the size of a bee hole or smaller.

 

Dr. Jack Sales’ Answer:

Hi Pamela,

If the abscess is located on one side of the chest, it is very possible that it is a condition caused by bacteria and is sometimes referred to as Pigeon Fever. It usually will resolve more rapidly if a Veterinarian opens it up to drain adequately and is able to be flushed out with an Iodine solution. Antibiotics are also very helpful for the resolution.

 

“..we found a tear in the DDF ligament and adhesions between the check ligament and superior ligament. “…

 

I have 6 year-old Quarter Horse gelding who had his second check ligament surgery in December.  He came out of it well and we showed heavily from March through July.  Then he went into intensive Western Riding training and began to exhibit a kind of “walking on eggshells” kind of lameness.  We then had him bone scanned (Nuclear Scintigraphy), ultra sounded, and x-rayed and what we found was a tear in the DDF ligament and adhesions between the check ligament and superior ligament.  The advice was that we would be in a constant struggle with the check, but that the DDF would most likely heal.  The doctor administered EST electro shockwave therapy and recommended that we return him to a lesser workout (back to regular loping, etc) but no Western Riding.  He emphasized that rest was good for the DDL, but not the check ligament.  We also injected his bursas in both front legs.  Butte also seems to help him.  I can’t help but wonder, isn’t there some kind of laser therapy or something in some part of the country that we can do to rid him of the adhesions and help our cause.  Any suggestions would be hugely appreciated.

 

Dr. Kimberly Gryl’s Answer:

 

Kelly:

Unfortunately, adhesions are always a possible consequence of surgeries where there is separation (or cutting) of tissues.  The body finds this as a healing mechanism, and when tissues have freshly separated edges and are in close proximity to each other, they sometimes stick to each other, causing an adhesion.  In some cases, adhesions may be broken down; this requires a second surgery.  It is up to many factors, among them the recommendation of the surgeon.  You should seek advice from him or her as to the next step.  This situation is too complicated for me to give you any advice.