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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
   
Location: Phoenix | I've never had this many horse problems in my life until now. UGH. Does anyone have any experience with cactus spines getting stuck in a horse? What happened?
I went on an easy trail ride out in the desert, as I do every weekend, about 2 hours long. We get back, I pull his saddle off and as I'm hosing him off, I see a cactus spine sticking out of his right rear pastern area, above the coronet band but below his fetlock. I firmly pull the entire spine out. Then I notice his fetlock is super swollen and pretty warm. I try to back him out of the wash rack and he only wants to put weight on his toe, doesn't want to flex his lower leg. Once you get him walking he works out of it, but once you stop he rests it, and to get going again he's stepping with his toe.
I cold hosed it, buted him and put some clay poultice on it. Came back 3 hours later to soak with warm Epsom salt....going to get the vet out if no improvement by tomorrow evening but I figure I should see what happens overnight. I feel terrible.
I know cacti have a bit of poison (like a bee sting sorta).....just didn't think he would be LAME from it...geez. =(. so frustrating. |
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Veteran
Posts: 129
Location: Sanderson, TX | Some spines have a sheath that will stay behind when you remove it. Give it al little time. After I adapted to life in the ranch, I didn't even pull all of them out. |
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Veteran
Posts: 129
Location: Sanderson, TX | Mind Bender - 2015-04-25 10:18 PM Some spines have a sheath that will stay behind when you remove it. Give it al little time. After I adapted to life in the ranch, I didn't even pull all of them out.
Oops, forgot which log in I used on IPad. Not trying to be sneaky. |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Mind Bender - 2015-04-25 10:19 PM Mind Bender - 2015-04-25 10:18 PM Some spines have a sheath that will stay behind when you remove it. Give it al little time. After I adapted to life in the ranch, I didn't even pull all of them out. Oops, forgot which log in I used on IPad. Not trying to be sneaky.
LOL I was checking out this post when I saw this user name I was thinking hummm who stole KMC's studs name and it was YOUuuuu, LOL  |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| On thing I would be concerned about is the tendon if it was at the back of the foot as it could become infected especially if hot and swollen |
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Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | It was stuck about halfway around on the side. Not the very front, not the back. It was in about a centimeter or so...I've been looking at tendon diagrams and I don't think it would have hit anything with where it went in. Crossing fingers it looks better tomorrow!! |
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Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | The culprit...
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 597
| Icthamol
Drawing salve, you should be able to get it an your feed store. Just slather it on and whatever is still in there (if anything is) will come out. |
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Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | I went out today and he WAS walking on it and wasn't using his toe to start walking. The swelling went down a bit but had dispersed throughout the entire lower leg is so it looks like his leg is stocked up. Firm palpatation on the entire lower leg didn't warrant any response from him. I turned him out in a small pen so he can move around some more and get the blood flowing while I rode another horse. After, I soaked it in cold ice water for 20 to 30 minutes and poulticed with SNM and turned him out. Hopefully it's nothing more than soreness from the **** cacti and not a coincidence that he injured himself the very day he gets stabbed by a cactus. Vet is coming out next weekend; I think we'll be able to hold off until then because he's walking comfortably on it now. |
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Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | I'll have to find the Ichthamol stuff...sounds like it's good to have on hand. |
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