my dads horse fell into a cattle grid!!!

^^ exactly

WE HAVE CONTACTED A VET. He says he can't do anything because thers no flesh to STITCH! So even if we packed her off to a vet (there are no horse vets in our province) he wouldnt be able to do anything. We've had all her madication sent to us by the vet, so we have it and she's getting it and so far she IS getting BETTER. Its been just over a week and so far she has only had improvements.

Agreed, Kevin.

I was absolutely horrified when I saw the pictures, and it takes a lot to upset me.

If it was one of my horses, I'd have had them put down.

Koobean, there's such a thing as being inadvertently cruel by trying to help an animal who's that badly wounded.

Your father's emotional pain is immaterial. If he truly loves that animal, he'll do what's right for her and not worry about himself.

I'm so very sorry, but that poor creature needs to be put out of her misery. Keeping her alive is something you're doing only for yourselves, not her.

I hope she gets better then. I have seen some pretty bad wounds on horses that healed up without a trace. Whenever the skin is gone and that much flesh it will take a very very long time to heal and the muscle that is gone will never come back. The best you can hope for is that skin eventually covers the bone. I couldn't stand to see a horse like that every day and know that she was never going to be right again.

^^ I definitely agree

I agree with Kevin. I have seen horses recover from some really big holes before, but NONE of them had bone showing. There is no way to close that hole, and the risk of sepsis is extreme. She might look like she's getting better at first, but I'd bet that's one of those things where it just won't ever close, no matter what.

I understand how hard it is to put a horse down, believe me. But I just don't see any way for this to heal. Even if that wound were to miraculously close, she will never be comfortable again, forget feeling good. Unless there's a vet on here that looks at that and thinks I'm wrong, I would definitely put her down.

I'm sorry, but I think trying to "save" her at this point is incredibly selfish. I would put my most beloved pet down in a heartbeat (have, in fact) rather than put them through the kind of suffering you are expecting her to endure.

Amen, mac.

I put down my beloved, once in a lifetime gelding for him. If I had been selfish, I'd have made him continue to suffer. I couldn't do that to him; he deserved better than that.

We need to remember that being good stewards sometimes means letting them go when they're ready, not when we are.

Yes. This WILL get infected. Normal PenG will not even begin to counter the infection.

The horse must be watched extremely carefully for any sign of infection; which is why I recommend a vet - can you tell normal flesh from infected flesh? Signs of infection other than appearance? What medications did the vet send?
I can understand wanting to try your hardest to keep a special horse alive, and you must be very stressed about the entire situation. Please do not allow your sorrow cloud your better judgement, though.