Sunday, February 16, 2014

Where's the Bubble Wrap?


image stolen from internet

Yesterday afternoon, after snow-blowing again(!), I took Tessa and Co. for a walk.  Much fun was had by all in spite of the ever deepening snow.  When we returned into my back meadow, Tessa and Ramsey had a rousing gallop in two feet of snow.  There was much bucking, kicking and general hilarity (although poor Emma had to stay with me and help keep order).  I finally managed to coax my reluctant herd back to the barn and all was well - except....why the HELL is there a spot of blood on the snow?

My first panicked thought was that Ramsey's foot had fallen apart again, but no, he is well as is Emma.  I picked up Tessa's foot though and found this....

If you are wondering what that is, it is a God D*****, F******!! stem from a Golden Rod plant.  A bleeping, bleep FLOWER STEM impaling her foot .

Sorry about all the swearing, but sometimes, it really is the only thing to say. 

In dealing with puncture wounds in the hoof, it is usually a good idea to get x-rays before removing the offending object.  However, it was late Saturday afternoon, the road conditions were terrible and the nearest vet with a portable x-ray is at least two hours away in good weather (which i can't even remember at this point).  All that also assumes that a flower stem would show up on x-ray, which I don't think it would (although I may be wrong there, I am no expert on X-ray technology). 

Added to all that, every moment the stem was being driven deeper into the hoof and shattering into splinters.  The only hope of getting it out intact was to do so immediately.  As it was, the part you can see in the above pictures broke off as soon as I touched it.  I had to use my hoof knife to pare away enough frog to be able to get a forceps onto the stem.  This is what I pulled out, it was buried 3/4 of an inch and the splintered end was inside the foot...
The wound bled profusely when this was removed, which is a good thing.  The only other good things are that I had kept Tessa out of the barn and in the clean snow, her foot was as clean as a hoof ever gets and the stem could not have been in her foot more than a few minutes.  I left her in clean snow until the bleeding stopped (there has to be something good about snow) then applied a thick layer of Magic Cushion and wrapped the foot.

I have mixed feeling about soaking a fresh puncture wound.  Some vets recommed that , some don't.  In my experience, soaking can help draw out infection, but in a wound this fresh, soaking was likely to just introduce bacteria and create a problem where one might not have developed.  I've done the best I can, all I can do now is to keep treating her and hope that all the pieces of stem came out intact and did not leave anything behind.  Looking at the above picture, that seems a slim hope.

Tessa was sound on it this morning, but slightly lame this afternoon, which I would expect one way or another.  Time will tell at this point.  

I've always known that horses are prone to inadvertent suicide, but a flippn' Golden Rod stem?!!!  Seriously, a FLOWER STEM???  That is just too dammed much.

 

24 comments:

  1. Oh, not beautiful Tessa. What a nasty, woody flower stem. Seriously, that really is too damned much when you were all just trying to take a walk. Fingers crossed she heals fast and well.

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  2. Oh no, hope poor Tessa isn't too sore. xx

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  3. Oh my goodness! It's always so upsetting to me if anything happens to my animals. You did a great job taking care of her and I bet she'll be just fine. The waiting is hard, though, I know.

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  4. O Tessa! O YOU!!! One might expect this to happen in the Fall…. maybe, but not in winter! I started a search yesterday on how cowboys took care of their horses in the 19th c. because, like everyone else, I grew up watching movies where horses were ridden over the roughest terrain for hours or days, but we never know how those horses lived without water or hay or how their hooves were maintained.

    My search was interrupted, but going back to it now. Events like Tessa's had to have happened a lot, and horses were valuable then too.

    Hope you are able to stay home on this holiday with your herd. I'll look forward to an update!!!

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    1. A lot of how we treat these kinds of injuries now is pretty much the same as it was then. Horses haven't changed all that much except that they are mostly pampered pets rather than working animals. Check out a book called The Log of a Cowboy by Andy Adams, I think you will enjoy it and learn a lot as well:

      http://www.amazon.com/The-Log-Cowboy-Narrative-Trail/dp/1603862668/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392652576&sr=8-1&keywords=the+log+of+a+cowboy

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  5. Oh no! So sorry to hear, poor Tessa. Yep our vet had us soak Nemo's hoof in iodine solution right after x-ray & extraction, then started a series (4 days?) of penicillin & more soaks - but he stepped on a rusty nail. Maybe with a softer living flower stem, whatever small parts might remain will just wither away? Best wishes!

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  6. So, so sorry for Tessa, and for you. Doctoring hooves has really become your specialty -- not that that was your life's ambition.

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  7. Years ago my horse stepped on a screw, we got the screw out...it was in the hoof not the heel. We opened the hole up as much as possible and the vet had me soak a cotton ball in iodine then vet wrap the foot and change daily.
    This was the summer time and things were dirty.
    All ended up well with no infection.
    Who would have thought a golden rod stem? But they are very woody and tough.

    Hope all stays well.

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  8. it is ALWAYS something. i hope she will heal up okay w/o infection.

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  9. This is almost like the straw that broke the camel's back - both figuratively and literally. Your experiences this winter also remind me of the Li'l Abner cartoon character Joe Bfstplk. You're too young to know who he was, but he sort of had a black cloud over his head all the time; nothing went right. You, though, are very well prepared to deal with all of those misfortunes and bring everyone through safe and sound. It takes a strong woman to do what you do and more importantly, an very intelligent one who is determined to make a life for herself and her animals where everyone thrives and enjoys life. I'm a believer that everything happens for a reason; we may not know what it is, but God does. My mantra is "This, too, shall pass". Here's hoping that this passes fast. It's time for the fun to come back.

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  10. Wow Kris- quite a story! I was impaled by a bracken fern stem once (thumb) so I know it's possible! I am always interested to read your treatments - good luck!

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  11. Oh my gosh, if it isn't one thing... Kris... I am so glad you caught it early!

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  12. You are such a good vet. Sorry this happened, but glad you knew what to do.

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  13. Oh, Tessa, I hope that your hoof feels better very soon and doesn't get infected!

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  14. Darn it! That's a scary sight! Glad it wasn't longer, and I hope it heals up just fine.

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  15. They really are very talented! Only a horse could find a way to hurt themselves badly with something as innocent as a flower.... I am so sorry you both at having to deal with this, but it's so comical at the same time!!

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  16. Yegods! Tessa and crew, stop giving your mum heart attacks! For what its worth, my expereince re an x-ray of a splinter in my finger was that is didn't show up. After I'd driven a splinter deep under a nail mixing feed in a wooden feed bin, I was in so much pain after a few days that we went to the hospital and got it x-rayed. No nothing showed, but it wasn't healing or stopping hurting. Local doc useless, just wanted to give me more antibiotics. In the end hubby and I did daily surgery on it, poking it open and cutting back into it with a scalpel to let the infection out, then soaking in disinfectant before re-wrapping it, and after a few days of that, we found a decent-sized piece of wood still in the wound. It healed up fine once that was out!

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    1. Yes, that's what I thought and I can see this scenario happening with Tessa's foot. I sure hope not though. I am glad your finger is OK, I know just what that is like.

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    2. Fingers crossed Tessa's is ok. At least her foot is bigger compared to the splinter! I still remember those nights of trying to sleep with my finger throbbing as if it was swelling up to twice its size and down again with every heartbeat!

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  17. I'd be optimistic that with the freezing temperatures there, there wouldn't be live bacteria on the stem? Fingers are crossed for you.
    Flurry did something similar but not so deep with a sturdy twig in his frog. I was able to dig it out with the hoof knife, opened up the hole (no blood) and sloshed some iodine in. He wasn't lame at all - the farrier said that's the advantage of enormous frogs!

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  18. O no!

    The bubble wrap photo had me rolling. Wish I could do that to Dancer!

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  19. Just when you think you've seen about everything.......so sorry this happened to poor Tessa and poor Tessa's mom. Fingers crossed that all will be well.

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