On the mend

Last week we went to the vet. He said it should/could abscess and once popped open, there will be relief and smelly goo drainage, but will still require watching it and treating it to keep it clean to prevent infection. Take the wraps off and let everything drain down the leg- so what if it swells -> cold hose it, cold hose it, cold hose it some more. Two to three times a day if possible. Easy on the banamine and watch for ulcers. Watch the right front for heat & swelling like you're doing and bring her back in 10 days. If her shoulder hasn't popped open we will look at helping it. I asked about shots of antibiotics to help reduce the size of the abscess? Nope, this one will be a wait and see. Only if it gets infected once open. There will be a soft spot and that's where it should open up.

Sunday there was a spot on Mazy's shoulder where what shoukd be an abscess is starting to come thru. There's a small area about the size of a quarter that about 2 layers of skin has opened up. Of course the flies are on it like white on rice. After hosing her shoulder and getting the skin to soften more, I tried to feel for the soft spot and help open it up more. Mazy was not thrilled about this and kept turning circles around me in protest. She doesn't like anything even touching her shoulder.

After a good soaking I sprayed it with some antiseptic mouthwash and a light mist of fly spray. I also enlisted the help of another boarder to spray it in the mornings to help keep the area clean and fly free. Payment of shavings in her stall was well received and super appreciated.  

Her lower leg swelling has gone way down and right front no longer swells. She has started to move on it more and last night was actually loping around in the arena. She seemed glad to finally be able to run again, one of her favorite things to do. While she may have been running around on it, she still showed some degree of lameness so not totally out of the woods yet but her spirits are definitely up. 

I'm relieved she shouldn't have any long term effects from this. The vet told me that had it happened in the back end, sometimes after the abscess the muscle can atrophy and scar tissue sets in. This will limit the range of motion in that limb and they are pretty much done as a performance horse. Whew! So glad we dodged That bullet!