Need some healing prayers for my boy Red (some graphic photos -- beware!)

Oh my, poor baby! I really hope he heals up soon! Proper bandaging will help the healing process, so I really hope he starts behaving for you soon!

Okay! I think I'm set up with my "new" vet for Tuesday so she can take off that hunk of skin, and make sure he's healing along.

I myself haven't been out there did 2 days because his bandage has stayed up and because I have the flu.

But I'll be forcing myself out there tonight because I can't go 3 days without changing the bandage.

I hope it looks good when I take off the bandage!!
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I'm surprised actually that your first Vet has advised you to change the bandage every day. When we have wounds like this, we use a compression bandage (as per your first photos), and leave for about 5 days. Horse is on antibiotics twice daily, and a little anti-inflammatory paste. Unless the compression bandage came off (too loose), then that bandage would stay on for about 5 days and then the next bandage change would be about 3-4 days later. Multiple changes will irritate the wound, and the horse.

At the stage you're at now, we would use disposable baby nappies/diapers over the wound, then bandage over the diaper. As with the maxi-pad, the diaper absorbs excess fluids that are seeping from the wound.

Your horse's wound now looks rather dirty :( Very best of luck with the new Vet & wishing your horse a very speedy recovery!!

Hmm, I had even asked the vet if I should leave his first wrap on for more than a day, but he said no, and to change the bandage every day so I can moniter and wound healing.

When I checked in with him a week later, he then said I could change it every other day.

Well I was still changing it every day anyway, because I wasn't doing a good enough job of getting it wrapped tightly, so it would fall down. But! Now we finally got it figured out (or I do anyway) so that we're getting him to stand still, and I"m getting it nice and tight.

Dirty? I didn't think it was all that dirty ... mostly just bloody. Although I do agree it tends to look that way in the photos, which is never the same as seeing it in person.

So we got him bandaged good on Monday night, and we changed it last night. So it was on for 3 days. I was actually home sick with the flu during that time, so I"m glad it stayed! But last night was COLD!!! The air temp was -12 below, with a -50 below windchill. Even inside the barn where we changed him, that was about the fastest bandage change I have ever done. My fingers were instatly cold when taking off my gloves, and you just can't bandage properly with gloves on.

The wound was somewhat smelly and green-looking last night, which I did NOT like at all, but I wasn't going to go a heck of a lot with it when it needed to be changed and it was -12 below. So we just re-did all the bandaging.

And the maxi pad idea worked great! He'll have some nice padding and absorbing over the wound this time.

It is supposed to be a normal temperature tomorrow, so I got some betadyne and some saline wound wash, and we'll clean it up good tomorrow and re-wrap it.

The vet will be looking at it on Tuesday, so if he needs any further antibiotics (if it really is infected), we'll get it taken care of them. But betadyne usually does the trick.

And I'm just so happy he was a very good boy standing still last night, in the sub-freezing weather! I think he understands now that Aunty boarding lady and Mommy Brittany mean business, when we've got to change that bandage, and he is not to move! He gets his sweet feed and medicine after, so he's a happy camper anyway.

Okay, it is DAY 17 after Red's injury.

We re-did his bandages today and here's how they looked:


This was before I cleaned it up.




Then I used water first to get some of the "goop" off (which is mostly the wound cream), and then we used betadine to gently clean the wound a bit, and then rinsed with water. I had planned to rinse with saline solution, but the saline I purchased had the spray top missing.... So water it was. But it still worked okay.




I actually think it is looking GREAT compared to what it was looking like before I got this bandage-to-stay-on business.


And here is Mr Happy Red in his "stall". He actually prefers staying inside (the little stinker) so he's got no problem going back in when we are done!





Can't wait to see what the vet says on Tuesday!

The vet came out on Tuesday night and we have a good report!



Although it is still going to be MONTHS until this is completely healed.

The vet was late (figured that, as things always run behind when you are one of the last appointments of the day) so while I was waiting, I thought I'd give Red a little space outside in the open, since he's now been cooped up for 3 weeks, and he is a high energy horse.

Oh lordy. I so wish I had someone video'ing! It was hilarious. I took him over to some snow (so that he wouldn't slip on the ice all around) and I just had him on his lead rope and halter. He kept going through these little crow hop -- buck in place -- throw my head -- little spaz episodes. All while being on the end of the lead rope and never taking the slack out of it. When he's be done with his little "rant", he'd stop and look at me, walk to me, and wants some scratches.

He was just BEGGING "Mom please let me go so I can run around and play and buck in the pasture, puuuuleeeeezzze!!!"

It was so funny. But the vet said at least one more week of stall rest, at the minimum, so he'll just have to wait.

And I guess encouraging that that leg is not bothering him in the slightest, if he feels good enough to jump around on it.

I did need the vet to cut off a lump of tissue that was near the bottom of the wound. It'd never heal that way so it had to get cut off. He does have a little bit of proud flesh starting, so of course cutting that tissue out BLED like crazy.

But I learned something new --> COLD HOSE TREATMENT IS NOT ALWAYS GOOD FOR A WOUND. As it can lead to worse proud flesh.

In Red's case at this moment, since tissue is filling in, the vet told me that you should NEVER cold hose the wound at this point, nor even touch or rub it at all. Any stimulation to the current tissue and current proud flesh will make it grow even more. This is news to me because you always hear about the old cowboys saying "cold hose a wound". The vet said that before the wound fills with tissue, yes! Cold hosing is great. But once it starts filling in, then you have to stop the cold hose.

She said just to keep it bandaged yet and I can continue to email her photos and we can keep tabs on his progress.

She also said what ointment to put on will vary. If I see the wound raised higher than the surrounding skin, that's proud flesh and we need to suck it back. If the wound is flat to the skin, then I can put on the silver sulfate.

Eventually, she said we'll do a dry bandage (no ointment at all) to help transition to using no bandage at all. She said we do want the wound to "dry up" because that is how it heals.

So there was a lot of new information that I'd never really heard before, but she is fresh out of school from a great lameness vet clinic residency, so I trust her word 100%.

I will be changing the bandage tonight and maybe will get some photos up!

Oh wow, this is the first I have read of this. I am so sorry for your baby! Looking good tho. Good to know about the cold hosing, thanks for that info!!! Did you ever figure out what he hurt himself on???

Wow sending healing thoughts to your boy! He is a cutie! My guy is on his 3rd week of stall rest so I know how you feel.

Yea, I was totally surprised about the cold hosing thing. I think I'm going to make a general post about it, because it's certainly worth spreading the word!

And yes we did finally figure out what he got himself on. My two horses stay in their own corral. The is one pasture directly off of it, and then there is an "alley" that leads to two more far pastures. All of the pasture and "alley" fencing is smooth wire, 4 strands, plastic caps on the T-posts, and we kept it HOT the whole summer. Again, very "safe" for horse standards!! (But never safe enough........)

Well, we found a lot of clips off on the 2nd to the bottom wire in the alley, and noticed it last week. The wire was not broken but tons of clips were off. I suppose Red and Shotgun were goofing around like they always do, and I'm guessing Red maybe kicked out in play and got his leg in the fence.

Ah man, you too?



Maybe we should start a "my horse is on stall rest" thread, lol.

What did your guy do to himself?