The Injury Post

     It has been a while folks.  Mort had some vague and mysterious lameness (always the best kind).  He had a couple weeks off in total.  I had the chiro out as well as the farrier.  Mort now is rocking some new kicks as I decided to put front shoes on him.  I've been back on him for over a week now and he is sound and going well.  During that week back to work, I have been trying out the new dressage saddle!  It fits Mort fairly well; and I think it will fit him very well after a re-flock.  It is a teeny bit too small for me, but I think that it will work for now.

     Last night I typed up my final update for New Vocations.  On July 4th, I will have had Mort for one full year and he will officially be mine.  It is really fun to look back and see how far we have come in our training and how much more fun I get to have with him now that we know each other better.  

Mort's update picture:  I'd love a few more pounds on him (he's on a hay buffet, lots of grain, beet pulp, and alfalfa pellets)

     Since we have no really new and exciting stories I am making the the injury post.  Last October Mort came in from turnout one morning with hamburger meat for legs.  So if you enjoy watching ugly injuries progress then this is the post for you.  If you don't like gross pictures you probably shouldn't continue to read.  

 

View isn't too bad from this angle....

 

But here it gets worse....

 

And then worse:  full hamburger meat

 

Lower leg flap

 

Pony had to be knocked out for stitches 

 

Top stitches didn't hold, but the bottom ones looked good

 

These pictures were a few days after injury I believe

 

Swollen upper legs; we used standing wraps and removed them for his hand-walking

 

Stall rest--lots of stall rest

 

Lots of dying stuff--he was on antibiotics and biozide gel (made into a spray for easier application) 

 

These pictures were probably between about a week into injurgy

 

Further into healing--less swelling but more upset flesh

 

Wound was washed twice a day and he was on two times a day hand walking and grazing

 

Still a lot of dying flesh around the wound, but the wounds themselves looking better

 

This is what was under the standing wraps to keep the flap in place

 

Gross stuff

 

Finally granulation tissue!

 

Bottom flap stuck, but we lost the top

 

These stitches didn't keep either--too much dying flesh around the wounds

 

Things are slowly looking better

 

All of the dead flesh is gone and his flesh is up to good stuff

 

The dark stuff is biozide.  Starting to think about proud flesh prevention

 

Tinier

 

So much smaller.  At this point he was going out for small amounts of time in a small, individual turnout

Our proud flesh treatment.  I have used it once before and I highly recommend it (Equiade http://www.equaide.com/ )

 

Sorry for the poor quality

 

Almost there

 

His little, lonely turnout--and his cute face

 

Started very light riding--power walking to work on keeping scar tissue stretching  

 

At this point I would massage his scar tissue daily and we would do our power walks

 

Small scar, but zero proud flesh issues

     Overall things turned out really well.  Luckily Mort didn't hit anything too vital or long-term.  It took about 2 or 3 months for everything to get back to good.  It also took daily care (and twice daily at the beginning) and lots of patience and of course money because these creatures are not cheap.  I am glad that my boy is back to being completely sound with zero complications from this injury.  Unfortunately horses are injury-prone and things like pain meds and stall rest often lead to more problems.  Fortunately, Mort had a dedicated owner and we had a dedicated barn manager--two things that make injuries a bit easier on the horse.  

     I didn't go too deeply into the care and treatment--if anyone has questions feel free to reach out!  I love brainstorming and sharing what did and didn't work for us.