# Horse has puncture wound in thigh



## freedomfrom4 (Jul 27, 2009)

Our saddlebred somehow got a puncture in her thigh that my hubby can stick his 2 middle fingers all the way in and not feel bottom. I'm getting ready to call the vet for some banamine and antibiotic. We are going to irrigate it and maybe pack it. Anything else before I call him?
Last night when it happened she was walking fine now she doesn't want to put weight on it. We have her stalled right now to keep her out of the mud.
Oh and we can't figure out what she got hurt on.


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## SFM in KY (May 11, 2002)

Keeping it open to drain is probably the most important issue. If the puncture angles "down", so that any infection drains "down" rather than "out" it may be something that will require a vet to put a drain in so you don't end up with a nasty infection.

If it is goes straight in ... or better yet "up" ... that shouldn't be necessary. Make sure the tetanus is current, maybe ask the vet if a tetanus booster is advisable. Personally I would likely irrigate this once or twice a day ... hose and plain water ... so it stays open and is draining but unless there is major swelling (in which case I suggest a vet look at it to see if it does require a drain) I would not do anything else.


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## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

Old horsemen used to pack a puncture wound with mastitis treatment: it comes in a plastic syringe with a cath-tip, and you can get the medication deep into the wound. That said, when my filly got shot (yes, _shot_) by some kids rabbit hunting in the woods, she had a wound just like you describe; I had to hot-pack it and deep-tissue massage 3x per day to massage out all the pus and ick before it ever started to heal. (I had to massage up & out, as the wound was at her shoulder but the bullet near her knee, if that makes sense). FYI, the bullet massaged up & out on the 2nd day..... what a mess.....


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## rean (Nov 18, 2008)

We've always had good success in packing a wound with a mixture of sugar and iodine. Bandaging it, and changing the bandage every day. Sometimes twice. Also hose it down like crazy when changing the bandage. Bute paste for the pain.


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## Linda J (Oct 13, 2002)

Banamine and antibiotics are in order, but maybe the vet will want to see if there's something in it? When I read this, a bullet wound was what I thought too. The vet will probably have you pack it too, sounds like everyone is on the same page here.


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## freedomfrom4 (Jul 27, 2009)

Called my little vet and can't get hold of him. Might drive over and drag him out of bed tomorrow morning, his office is in his basement.  Called the larger guy and they gave me bute and said give pen and wash with water hose. So the bute and pen is on board and the wound was washed out with the hose. Her whole leg is swelled and she keeps rubbing her butt against the wall. My husband really likes his horse and he is afraid this is going to kill her it looks bad all swelled up and she doesn't want to put weight on it. I was going to pack it, but the large vet wanted me to leave it open to air. I'm like that is so stupid air can't get into it. Hubby doesn't think it is a bullet wound cause there is no exit wound.


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## rean (Nov 18, 2008)

Not all bullets exit. Hence the reason for x-raying of gunshot victims. :0) It's amazing how much horses can take. Our horse got torn up bad by something one time, and it took a good couple weeks of doctoring, but he pulled through fine. Ask other horse owners who the good "horse vet" is. I know in our area we have hog vets, cow vets, and the horse vet is a lady. She knows her stuff.


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## Linda J (Oct 13, 2002)

We had a dog that got shot and the vet xrayed and removed the bullet, no exit wound. I'm just thinking something may be in there, but with the pen and bute, the swelling should start going down in 24-48 hours. Get a vet out there tomorrow, if you can. Sounds like you're doing a good job.


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## freedomfrom4 (Jul 27, 2009)

We had the vet comeout. He says its goes in the turns up and that it looks like she fell back on something. He has us twice a day giving her 18cc of pen g, flushing the wound with iodine wash, and giving her 2 grams of bute. If flys start getting bad then we are to start putting salve on it. He sedated her and checked he teeth while he was here and said she is most likely about 13 and that her teeth need floated. We are going to float her teeth when she recovers froom her leg injury. 
We also talked about nutrition and said she is underweight. We showed him what we were feeding which was high in fat but not as high in protien as he wants. This is the skinney horse that I was having problems with her thinness. Hopefully we can get her all healed up and looking healthy soon. Since she has been hurt she isn't eating like she was and has lost even more weight, so now she looks real bad. I took me feeding her by hand yesterday before we could get her to eat her grain. I guess she just feels bad. I think I should get her some probios since we are giving her all this antibiotic, but she hates anything in her mouth. We are doing good to get the bute in her. I is amazing how fast she can drop weight. I guess carring around 1000 lbs burns alot of calories. 
The vet was suprised we called him early and didn't wait till it had tons of puss pooring from it and her leg swelled up like a blimp. I guess most people around here find it hard to spend money on vets until things are very far gone. For me I guess having her injured is scary cause we want her to be able to be all the horse she can be, even if she is a whitch. 
Thanks for all the help and I'll keep ya updated.


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

One thing I found when I had to give my mare bute is that it did interfere with her appetite. Probios should be easy - get the powdered form and put it in her feed. Bute is awful, I guess it tastes horrible. If you are using the powdered form you can mix it with applesauce or peanut butter and use a dosing syringe, but she's going to hate that from the sounds of it. We had to do the bute thing for some time as Star's feet got worse. It was a challenge and she was really good about most things. 

I'm glad you got the vet out. It is so much easier to heal them up when you go right after it, before your poor horse is really sick. I hope she's going to be ok for you.


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## Linda J (Oct 13, 2002)

Oh Freedomfrom4, what a job you have. I'll be praying for your strength to keep up with this chore. Granny had some great ideas about the applesauce and the medicine. Maybe even mix honey in with it. Sounds like her teeth being floated will have to happen soon. I'm glad nothing's broken and no punctures to organs. I hope she heals quickly.


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## freedomfrom4 (Jul 27, 2009)

I gave her the bute tonight without my hubby help. Her one one side of the door me on the other. But I didn't get it back far enough and she spit it out. So I gave her just a little sweetfeed and put it in a big glop on top. She decide she was hungry enough to eat it and didn't spit it out. The swelling has gone way down tonight. I'm so glad we were proactive instead of reactive. And she wanted to eat. I know it will take a while to heal, but it looks like we are going to be able to keep it from getting infected.

Should we keep her stalled or let her out to exercise?

I can't believe how fast the swelling is going down. As fast as it swelled up I thought we were in for trouble. I wish we had taken pictures.


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## Linda J (Oct 13, 2002)

Great news! You all most likely saved her from getting a massive infection. If she was mine, I would keep her stalled until the wound seals up a little, you don't want her to start being frisky and have it open back up. The wound should stay cleaner. This way you can watch her hay, feed and water intake closely and she won't get a chance to start running from you when she sees you - thinking you're going to doctor her some more. (I have a mare like this - maybe your's isn't like that). Shouldn't take too long to close up more. And maybe she'll put on a few pounds.


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## Tiempo (May 22, 2008)

Sounds like things are moving along well. Good for you for getting the vet out pronto.

After her teeth are floated you should see her gain condition quickly.


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## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

Just make sure she's on the antibiotics for the full duration. This can lead to depression, so watch for it. Bute is amazing stuff, but don't let it "fool" you that she's more healed than she really is; her body is _fighting_ right now with the _help_ of the antibiotics. A small amout of discomfort during healing is a good thing; it tells the horse to baby themselves and not do too much.....


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## freedomfrom4 (Jul 27, 2009)

I don't know how long to use the meds for! He didn't tell me a duration, but I figured I would keep up with them till her wound healed. That is one of the reasons I thought the probios would be good for her. Antibiotics kill so much good along with the bad. I just figure that this is going to be a longterm thing until she is healed up. 

I will talk to the vet again as things progress to and he knows it, maybe that is why he didn't give me specific time.


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## farmergirl (Aug 2, 2005)

Good for you keeping such a close eye on her. Bute is nasty, bitter tasting stuff to be sure. The bute tablets are FAR cheaper than the paste and IMO should be a part of every horse owner's medicine chest. Sometime a puffy leg is just sore enough that a horse resists moving around normally so then the puffiness gets worse and worse. One of mine had a swollen lower hind leg with no discernible wounds about two weeks ago. He was gimping around like he was mortally wounded  I gave him a few doses of bute over the course of two days, which alleviated the discomfort enough that he started to cruise around again, and low and behold he healed himself. Probably just hit it hard rolling too close to the turn out fence or something. Since horses have no way to elevate their swollen legs like we would if we had swelling, their legs tend to swell up fast and big when they get injured.
As to the probios, with a hard keeper you would be wise to feed it as a part of her normal maintenance diet. I have both of my TB's on Fastrack brand probiotic granules and it really does seem to make a difference.

Glad to read the mare is on the mend!


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## pcwerk (Sep 2, 2003)

freedomfrom4 said:


> I don't know how long to use the meds for! He didn't tell me a duration, but I figured I would keep up with them till her wound healed. That is one of the reasons I thought the probios would be good for her. Antibiotics kill so much good along with the bad. I just figure that this is going to be a longterm thing until she is healed up.
> 
> I will talk to the vet again as things progress to and he knows it, maybe that is why he didn't give me specific time.


Most antibiotics you are supposed to take until they are gone. Good luck!
pc


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## freedomfrom4 (Jul 27, 2009)

Husband broke shoulder tonight. I don't know how I'm going to do all this. This horse has horriable ground manners and he is the one that keeps her in line


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

Oh no!! That's really rough on you. Do you have any friends you can turn to for help? 

I sure hope your husband is ok - that's more important than anything at this time. Do what you can and don't stress over what can't be helped.


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## SFM in KY (May 11, 2002)

Oh, dear. And shots are not easy one-person situations. Hope everything goes okay with that.

I'd call the vet, explain and ask if there are oral antibiotics you could switch her to. I often use what they call TMZs here ... they dissolve quickly in a little water, I mix that with dark molasses and stir into the grain. Most grains have molasses as a binder and horses usually like the taste. You can do the same with the bute paste as well.

If all else fails, with flushing the wound, you may be able to drop the iodine flush, tie the mare (heavy halter and lead, just in case) somewhere within reach of the hose and flush it with plain water from the hose.

I've raised horses, a lot of years when I was single, and a lot of the time have had to figure out ways to get things done without help.


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## Linda J (Oct 13, 2002)

Wow, you have a lot on your plate. I hope your husband heals up quick. 

Perhaps your vet might have a vet tech that lives near you that would stop by and help you with your horse during med time? Sometimes they are willing to do it just for the medical experience. Those TMZs sound like a dream, see if you can get them to feed in her food. Are you still flushing the wound? Is she stalled and if not, can you stall her and just keep her there for just a few more days?


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## freedomfrom4 (Jul 27, 2009)

Horse has been stalled since the accident and only out to exercise on a lead. We didn't think rolling in the mud would be god for it. She is a hassle. Her neck is sore from the antibiotics so she dances when given her shot. Her leg hurts and now she is kicking it when we are trying to wash it. blah 
We used the water hose on her today. I think it is healing


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## Linda J (Oct 13, 2002)

Granny Carol is right, just do what you can and don't stress over what you can't. You're doing a good job, just take care of your husband. That horse will feel better soon, and this will be over with.


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## DamnearaFarm (Sep 27, 2007)

I third (or fourth?) the request for oral antibiotics. She's been on injectibles for a week, so perhaps it's *safe* to move to orals by now? Hope your husband heals soon and doesn't hurt much.


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## freedomfrom4 (Jul 27, 2009)

There is tissue sticking out the hole! She is not limping and it is bleeding occasionally from it. There is a small amount of sweeling down towards the joint just above the hoof. Oh and we got smarter. We now cross tie her so she won't kill us when doing stuff to her. I will try and get pics of it later.


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## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

Sounds like proud flesh. There is powder (called proud flesh powder) or you can use a bit of meat tenderizer on it every-other day and let it crust-over. Is the swelling gone?


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## deineria (Aug 22, 2009)

What we did to work with proud flesh on a wound on a pony we had that look like this:








Initially. . .
and I don't have a photo of when it started to look like proud flesh staring, but after treatment with sugar. . .it start to heal better and look like this:








the vet had us cover it in sugar and wrap it. . . leave the wrap a few days, change and do sugar again, then we left in unwrapped and used Collasate spray, and it healed perfectly, no scar that could be seen unless right down by the leg.
I think your injury sounds a lot worse, but the same treatment might work for the proud flesh.


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## freedomfrom4 (Jul 27, 2009)

It was to dark in the stall to get a good picture and the rain is dumping here today. I try and not let her in the field when it is wet to keep her from tearing up the grass, plus the top part of the hill is slick.

So I will take my good camera out when the rain is gone tomorrow. 

With the location I can't put a wrap on it, but we can treat it with a topical agent pretty easy.


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## nikko (Feb 7, 2007)

dear freedom--

i have 2 rescue saddlebreds and one was so hard to put weight on....you name it i tried it. i have tried a new feed and the results are nothing short of a miracle for him. it is Sentinal LS. he gets a scoop and a half twice a day(4qt scoop). he went from looking like death warmed over to almost perfect in about 2 months. i had been trying so many different things for over a year and this feed has made all the difference in the world. i will be cutting him back soon....i never thought i would have to say that!

good luck and god bless!


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