My poor pony is lame!!

Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins

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Oct 10, 2004
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Well, it should really read my huge horse is lame!

Got to the yard tonight to find Ben had either been kicked, or had an accident in the field. Apparently him and his best friend escaped last night and it looks like he may have jumped something (there are loads of x country jumps around) and caught his back leg. He has a gash of about an inch on his hind leg. There is some swelling and it was obviously sore when he picked it up. We trotted him up and he was lame.

I didn't really know what to do as I was on my own, so I got the yard manager out (at 8:30pm at night!) who advised that I cold hose it for 15 minutes and then turn him out as normal. They will look at him in the morning and go from there. Hopefully he will just need a few days rest and it will be OK, otherwise I will get the vet to look at it.

Does this sound about right? I have never dealt with a lame horse before and I feel like a total novice. What it has done is made me realise just how much I have fallen in love with him. I just want to make him better and not in any pain.
 
Oh no, poor boy... It's hard to say as havent seen the injury - it totally depends on where the wound is, how deep it is etc etc .....

I take it his tet jab is up to date? I'll assume it is as I think you're like me in that respect!

The one thing I will say is, if your gut says its not happy and is telling you to seek a second opinion - then do so.
 
Yep, jabs are all up to date. I'm not overly worried, the YM is very experienced and thinks that it just needs some rest. He wasn't hopping lame, just obviously uncomfortable. I watched him graze for ages and he seemed very happy out in the field with his friend. It's not really very deep and had scabbed over by the time I saw it.

The YM was very cross that it wasn't spotted when the yard staff got him in during the afternoon. He is on full livery so really they should have dealt with it earlier. They have been very good to me so I'm not going to make a fuss, but I hate the feeling that he was standing in his stable for 5 hours before it was attended to.
 
Well, if YM says it looks ok and you trust her - all sounds good to me. Yes, the staff should have noticed it, but we all make mistakes now and again and am sure that they will be a bit more aware from now on.

Fingers crossed that he's a bit more comfy by tomorrow:smile:
 
He's probably bruised the bone in his leg, hence the lameness.. I'd be very annoyed if my horse had been left in his stable with an injury like that, that needed immediate first aid.. would have made all the difference too, being cold hosed and treated, he might not have been as uncomfortable..
 
Poor Ben. I have been in that sitution too but my boy was hopping lame and I had to keep him in as he could not defend himself against the horse that did it (new horse to herd).

I would think it would be fine if your YM is happy for him to go out and graze. She will be over cautious after the first error in staff not noticing earlier.

Hope Ben makes a speedy recovery
 
Dark Storm said:
He's probably bruised the bone in his leg, hence the lameness.. I'd be very annoyed if my horse had been left in his stable with an injury like that, that needed immediate first aid.. would have made all the difference too, being cold hosed and treated, he might not have been as uncomfortable..
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I know. I got home and told my husband and he thought that I should put in a proper complaint. He was more angry than I was - his point is that we are paying for him to be on full livery because he is my first horse and I need some help in looking after him. His feet really should have been picked out by the yard and they weren't - you couldn't have failed to spot how uncomfortable his leg was if it had been picked out. Ben isn't the type of horse to complain, even if I had ridden him (which I obviously didn't!) I don't think that he would have been naughty.

I have been awake all night worrying about him! I hope that it is just a bruise and nothing more.
 
Good lashing of sudocream on it probably too :)

To be fair, a cut like that its been caught early enough. If its going to get infected, it's going to get infected - whilst the staff should have noticed it, I know I certainly haven't noticed injuries on my own straight away. Just make sure there is nothin in the cut (wood etc) and keep it clean. You want it to scab over which sudocrem can slow the process of, keep it clean and if it reopened use some antiseptic wash and wash it down and use sudocrem as a barrier cream - or Vaseline if it's open when he is turned out :)
 
popularfurball said:
Good lashing of sudocream on it probably too :)

To be fair, a cut like that its been caught early enough. If its going to get infected, it's going to get infected - whilst the staff should have noticed it, I know I certainly haven't noticed injuries on my own straight away. Just make sure there is nothin in the cut (wood etc) and keep it clean. You want it to scab over which sudocrem can slow the process of, keep it clean and if it reopened use some antiseptic wash and wash it down and use sudocrem as a barrier cream - or Vaseline if it's open when he is turned out :)
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Thank you. My YM advised not to put on sudocream as it wasn't actually bleeding. It's more of a graze where he has scraped his leg on something rather than an actual cut - like when a child falls on their knees. I think that the lameness is more due to bruising. Luckily there is very little mud in the field so hopefully it should be OK to let the air get to it without it getting dirty.
 
I hope he`s a bit better today MP .... I would be upset that it hadn`t been noticed, that is for sure. As already said, it could have been hosed and attended to sooner. You`ll probably find that it is bruised, if he`s been hooleying around he may have just tweaked something which will heal over the next few days ... sending healing vibes his way.
 
Thanks everyone. The YM looked at it this morning and while the swelling has gone down slightly, he is still lame so she advised me to get the vet out. So, the vet is coming between 1pm and 2pm today.

I'm trying to stay positive and think that it is just a bruise and nothing serious. Please, please let the vet say that he just needs a few days off and will be fine. I have been worrying all night and am so tired - really hope that I don't cry when the vet comes and make a fool of myself again!
 
Hope Ben gets the ok from the vet today, Poor ponio...they don't half give us worry sometimes!

Scarlet's old field mate did similar leaping a wall and hurting herself...1 wk box rest and 2 weeks off work and she was back to her old wall leaping self.

healing vibes from me and S x
 
liz_scarlet said:
Hope Ben gets the ok from the vet today, Poor ponio...they don't half give us worry sometimes!

Scarlet's old field mate did similar leaping a wall and hurting herself...1 wk box rest and 2 weeks off work and she was back to her old wall leaping self.

healing vibes from me and S x
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Let's hope that is what she says that Ben needs, although I would prefer him to have field rest rather than box rests (just as long as she doesn't escape again!). I'm not bothered about not riding him, I just can't stand the thought that he is in pain and I can't do anything about it.
 
Fingers crossed he's ok - sure all will be fine. Might be worth you having in your first aid kit something like an Armadillo cool pack? We find them very helpful instead of cold hosing - or indeed something like Tensolvet - if you apply it more or less straightaway it can really help bring down swelling and limit the damage.
 
Just wanted to add - Don't think you should apply the TEnsolvet to wounds - but its ideal if you think they've been kicked or banged.
 
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