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  Discussion on Update on Mare's Accident in Round Pen
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Member:
kpaint

Posted on Saturday, Apr 25, 2009 - 9:47 am:

For those who asked how my mare was, she is going to be fine. She rolled too close to the galvanized steel panels in the 60' round pen and got hung up in a strange way. (This mare...) I heard a clang, clang, clang when I was cleaning her stall and poked my head out the exterior stall door thinking she was kicking the gate which would cause the closing chain to clang. (Although she never kicks, couldn't think what else it might be--as I have a Haflinger who is found of doing this...) Uh, no. Why in the world she choose to go down so close to the fence and then roll over into it is beyond me. Her right hind stuck through the second rung clear up to the inside thigh! She was near a joint of two panels and the chains that connect the panels, she peeled the hair off her inside thigh. No blood, just a scalping the size of a jagged basketball. She must have thrashed around to get backed up and loose and got her other feet under her somewhat because she drug the the two panels into a V by the time I saw her, and these panels were in the ground pretty good. (Moving the panels resulting in the connecting chains clanging.) She was standing on three legs and had her leg still through the panel up to top of the cannon. I said Cowgirl, No, but of course she wasn't in any frame of mind to stop at this point. She jerked the leg free and scalped four places on the front of her cannon. And I mean scalped. By the time I got inside of the pen she had taken a few steps, limping. I'm sure that she was stinging something fierce. No blood. She walked a bit but kept pulling the hind up tight. I was afraid she had done damage to the tendons etc. behind the cannon...egads. After about 10 minutes, when she was putting weight on the leg, I took her back to the barn. She let me gently feel the leg and I inspected all her scrapes. She even had a scalp on her stifle. Put her in her clean stall with no bedding. Didn't want anything to stick to the damp exposed skin injury. She has a dry run on very small stone chips attached to her stall. So she could walk. And walk she did. As I left the barn to go inspect the pen and do some thinking before I called the vet, She trotted out into run neighing at being left with high tail swishing. So, I thought, is that good news for the leg or bad news...

Checked her again in 15 minutes. No swelling. Still no blood. She was moving pretty well but did put her weight on her other back foot whenever possible and didn't pivot on that foot.

Called vet. He came. She had Tetansus (sp?) in March. He watched her walk, felt her leg all over. Still no swelling. He recommended leaving it exposed so that it would dry, then scab. No riding for a week then recheck. She wasn't happy about his hands on inspection and did a small teeth click as if to bite, but she only bit air has I had her head. No injury to tendons, etc. behind the bone. Whew.

This morning she has swelling below the cannon scalping; however, some may be stocking up due to less movement/weight bearing? She moved fine in the stall. Good attitude. Good appetite. Whew.

Given my lack of knowledge regarding injuries, I err on the side of caution. Our Haflingers, KNOCK on WOOD, are much better about not hurting themselves. No nicks, no cuts, no rolling too close to anything, etc. easy keepers for six years.

Mare...another story. In a year, bruised front soles, scalping on forehead (which grew back nicely/no scar, scrapes on withers rolling on grass--but managed to find rocks???, bloodies front ankles--finally caught her going down on her ankles to try to reach grass--got rid of grass in that spot so she wouldn't be tempted, ...I'm thinking she is much, much more thin skinned than any fourlegged creature to ever live on this place. ANd perhaps clueless where her legs are...

No antibiotics prescribed. Hmmm.
Member:
mrose

Posted on Saturday, Apr 25, 2009 - 10:26 am:

I'm glad she's going to be o.k., Vickie. It sounds like a similar incident to what my old mare did a couple of years ago, only she managed to injure a tendon and has now developed fibrotic myopothy (sp?) due to what she did. At her age, 27 when she did this, you'd think she'd know better than to lie down so close to the pen panel and barn!
Member:
scooter

Posted on Saturday, Apr 25, 2009 - 10:44 am:

Yes Vicki keep and eye out for heat and swelling, when my old girl tore her tendon the vet checked her over that day, there was no heat or swelling, it took 2-3 days for it to show up, she just moved stiffly, but was very willing to do anything. I wish I had known, as I think I made it worse by not limiting her steps more in the beginning.
Member:
vickiann

Posted on Saturday, Apr 25, 2009 - 4:37 pm:

It sounds like your mare is very lucky to have not been injured worse and I hope that she will heal without any setbacks.

She sounds like one of my geldings who is very accident prone and manages to find trouble for himself in any setting.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Apr 27, 2009 - 8:05 am:

Vicki, would it be possible to post this with your original discussion, keeping the information together helps those following the original.
DrO
Member:
jowidner

Posted on Monday, Apr 27, 2009 - 11:07 pm:

I'm glad things sound favorable for your mare Vicki. There seems to be one in every crowd. That is, one horse, or cat, or dog, or kid, that is always getting into trouble!
Member:
kpaint

Posted on Tuesday, Apr 28, 2009 - 10:35 am:

JA, Isn't THAT the truth! Kid #4 was the most accident prone of the tribe.

Diva is going to be fine. She has a bit of swelling below the scalping on her cannon, but never has there been any heat. The swelling goes down during the day and appears again by morning. No lameness. Hand walked her only. She pivoted on it this morning of her own accord and everything seems to be fine.

Lucky. Could have been a real train wreck. No sign of infection yet.
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