My Poor Horse!

[sassysmama]

I have an amazing horse that I got from my trainer because she didn't have time for him. He's a big saddlebred, named Black. (Yes, he is black, I guess my trainer isn't too creative with names.) He's a complete spaz, but he is very sweet and gregarious, so we overlook his dorky side.
So I was hauling him from my house to a barn that has an arena and several trails so I can ride him more. He has always been totally fine in a trailer, and he ties well, so I wasn't worried. We loaded him in, tied him to the front, and started to close the door. Apparently something spooked him, because he hopped out of the trailer backwards and was freaking out because his head was still tied. My husband grabbed his knife to cut the rope when Black suddenly jumped back in, scraping his head on the top of the trailer in the process. So after we got to the barn, I had to call a vet out, and now the poor horse has 14 staples in his head and no skin on his face. I mean, most of it is pretty superficial and just took off the hair and the first layer of skin, but right where his forelock grows in had to be shaved and stapled back together. You could literally lift it up and see his skull.
Soooo, now I have the fun task of medicating this nutty horse. Does anybody know of a really good fly spray? The flies out here are just bad and nothing seems to be keeping them away. Also, he will given plenty of bute and cold compresses, but any well wishes are very welcome. I'm sure he'll have a headache for a couple days. As much of a spaz as he is on the ground, he is the best horse to ride, I always know he'll take care of me. He's my buddy and I feel so bad that this happened to him. Horses! They always seem like they get into trouble!:wall: Please think some good thoughts for Black. I'll try to take some pics of his frankenstein face tomorrow.
-Ally

 

[Aurelia]

Can you put a fly mask on him, or will it rub the wound?

 

[hardlucktattoo]

I am so sorry to hear that best wishes and I hope for a speedy recovery for him

 

[arachyd]

A fly mask would probably be the best thing to use as long as it isn't rubbing on a sore spot.

 

[OTwolfe]

poor baby! I would try a fly mask, as suggested. If you put a bit if vinegar in the horse's water, it helps repel flies as well. I hope he feels better soon, and I wish you the best of luck.

 

[Laceface]

Aww, poor guy We had one that mysteriously hit her head on something ( a miniature) so bad the vet put his HAND in it to make sure there was no foreign matter before sewing it up. She also apparently seizured and is now basically blind in one eye.

I wonder if natural fly spray would work well? We always got a natural spray concentrate, that you could make stronger and weaker as desired, plus no chemicals. I can't remember the name though Hopefully your Black gets better soon, and doesn't have future trailer problems!

 

[olablane]

This may sound dorky, but... AVON SKIN-SO-SOFT is a really good insect repellant. Just dilute it in water and apply around the wound. Keeping it out of the eyes. Dilute it in equal amounts. We use this on all our animal as well as ourselves. Good luck!!!

 

[equuskat]

SWAT is good stuff, too...but don't put it ON the wound...just around it and all over his face. It will NOT help with healing. I love the pink! lol My mare has swollen eyes from gnats. Coupled with a fly mask, the SWAT should do the trick. As for the wound itself, I would just keep it clean as per your vet's instructions and not put a bunch of crap in it.

My horses and I wish Black a speedy recovery! I'm sure he'll be fine...Saddlebreds are tough cookies.

 

[hardlucktattoo]

Any word on how Black is recovering so far?

 

[sassysmama]

Black is such a dork! The antibiotic cream I put on him makes his face all sticky, and a piece of hay got stuck to the middle of his face, which spooked him, so I'm out there trying to catch him while he's bucking and galloping all over the pasture, only to finally catch him and remove a tiny piece of hay. Sometimes I wonder if that horse has a brain.
Unfortunately I can't put a fly mask on him. His face is one big abrasion, and until it heals a little, a fly mask is just going be miserable for him, and with all the cream I have to keep on it, the mask will stick, making it even more uncomfortable. He's very bruised, and even though he's getting a lot of bute, I suspect he's still pretty sore. He doesn't want to move his lips or his face much, but he's starting to feel a bit better and eat a little bit.
The worst part is that my other horse, Finny, apparently not wanting to be outdone, spooked while he was being led by my trainer and kicked himself in the chin. Thankfully he didn't need any sutures, but with the way he was bleeding I was pretty worried about him.
I swear, horses are born with a natural ability to cause harm to themselves and others. Before I owned Finny, he was kept in a pipe coral with no horses next to him. One morning they went out and he had a large cut in his neck, and his jugular was hanging out in a loop! When the vet stitched him up, he said that Finny should have died from that. He obviously cut his neck, then got his jugular caught on something. How he managed to free himself without rupturing it and bleeding out, we'll never know. I guess it just wasn't his time. Feel free to share any crazy horse accidents, it's always nice to know that I don't have the only two spaz's out there.
-Ally

 

[Aurelia]

Oh my gosh! What a scary thing..glad Finny survived!

My crazy horse story is when I was in 4-H a few years ago, I was leasing a horse from this family. The family took their horses camping and Matt (my horse) spooked in the middle of the night and ran into a pole and had to get stitches in his chest. He was a calm old guy too! You'd think one of his more rowdy pasture mates would have done something instead. Needless to say, I couldn't ride him while his wound healed, so we didn't get much practice in for the fair.

 

[OldHag]

We had a spaztic horse too.. He was tied to a wooden rail fence and decided satan himself was after him and he should RUN as fast and far as he could. Needless to say, he pulled the rail off of the fence which then spooked him more and he bolted flinging the fence rain into the side of my truck and denting it. Then he took off down the hill with this 12 foot pole attached to him, tripping and rolling all the way down where he finally decided it would be in his best intrest to stop and have us help him out.
That was just ONE of his many MANY incidents....