I have been treating the large hole in his hoof with a product called Equisilver with very good results. This is a chelated silver solution and, while I had never heard of this product prior to Ramsey's surgery, I was glad to see it when I was presented with it at Cornell. I have had near miraculous results using silver solutions on bad and non-healing wounds in the past.
I was even more intrigued by this product as it is labeled as a respiratory treatment for respiratory infections and allergies. I spoke with the vet at Cornell about it and he said they have been having excellent results as both a wound treatment and respiratory therapy. I intend to talk with my own allergy doctor about it, if it can do miracles for horses with chronic breathing problems, it ought to be able to help me.
As I hope you can see, the wound in the hoof is clean, dry and showing some healthy tissue growth.
The extremely painful blistering around his coronet band and his heel bulbs is also healing. While it still looks rather awful and is sensitive, it is no longer terribly painful to him and there is some nice healthy tissue appearing there as well. It would really benefit from some time in the open air, but that still isn't an option. I have been using some of my homemade beeswax salve on it recently and that seems to be helping. It moisturizes without being gooey and the wax provides a protective, antimicrobial barrier.
I spoke with the vet at Cornell this afternoon and since Ramsey is doing well and is no longer in pain, he is cleared to get more exercise as long as I can keep the foot clean and dry. That is a challenge in this miserable weather and my search for waterproof footwear continues. His Build-a-Bear shoes aren't up to the standing water and the snow storm expected this weekend. I'll figure something out though, it is high time that Ramsey get to go out and be a baby donkey now and then.
