Graphic wound photos before and after

[motorgypsy]

I'm posting this of friend's horse to show just how amazing the healing ability of horses is IF you can avoid infection.

The wound was the result of a kick. It split the neck but didn't break the skin. A lucky break because the wound was clean. The skin however died and the outside of the wound went necrotic.

The owner flushed with saline and clorox 50 to 1 for about five days after the skin died and the wound opened up completely. Initially the horse was put on gentomycin, SMZ tablets, bute, DMSO drip and some vitamin that is given because muscle damage can cause kidney problems and penecillin by the vet.

The first photo is about five days after the injury. The second one is about a month later.

I'll go over today and get one showing that it is totally healed but does have in indented spot. The entire time the horse was able to move the head and neck but the photo doesn't really show just how horrendous this wound was. When the horse turned his head you could see all down into the neck, shoulder joint, tendons, ligaments, muscles, the whole thing. The owner just kept it covered with the heavy drainage pads you can buy at a pharmacy and rigged up a breast collar type thing using duct tape to hold it on and put a neck fly sheet on top of that to keep the area covered and clean. It took about three months for it to heal with no functional problems. Everyone thought that horse was a hopeless case and he's back to his old self.

about 5 days after it happened and the skin died leaving an 8 inch long about 6 inch wide and deep wound. This photo is when the head of the horse was straight in front. When the horse turned his head it opened up completely along the dark center area showing a horrendous gaping hole. I didn't get a picture of that - it just freaked me out too much for one thing.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v99/motorgypsy/IMG_3215.jpg

this is about a month later and you can see that it has almost totally closed up although it is still draining a bit and it is not only about three inches long and an inch wide.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v99/motorgypsy/IMG_3217.jpg

So don't give up on a horse just because it LOOKS really bad. They are totally amazing animals when it comes to wound recovery.

[Valrory]

That must have been one horrendous kick.

[Cindy]

Blunt force trauma, ouch. That first pic looks like some kind of alien mouth thingy.

[motorgypsy]

it was a bigger horse striking out with a front hoof and the smaller one moved the wrong way at the wrong time. Freak accident really because the two never had any problems and had been together for several years.

it did indeed look like an alien mouth. You should have seen it when the horse turned his head to the left. The mouth thingy opened up big enough to swallow you. You might remember that I chainsawed my own knee through the bursa so i could see into the joint and indeed had to fish out pieces of my long underwear from the joint before I flushed it and it was NOTHING like this wound. When the skin died and I could see down into it for the first time (the owner and I took turns changing the dressing and giving the shots) my knees almost buckled and I'm far from squeamish. I really didn't think this horse would make it but he's healed up and his same old cranky self and friendly (over a fence now) with the one who inflicted the damage.

[Linda Y]

It is amazing the power a horse can put behind a kick. Sky kicked Bueno in the forearm 6 weeks ago. He is just now getting to be a 4 legged horse again. I watched him move out today and he still limps on it. The vet told us it would be around Thanksgiving before he would be sound again. I thought that was an awful long time, but it looks like he is going to be right. He only had a small hole, but very deep tissue bruising. And yes, their healing powers are wonderous.