I think if I had left her out in the field to graze, she wouldn't be hitting her ear and it may have stayed closer together as it healed. Hindsight!The other day it rained and really cleaned it up so I finally got a good look at it. Does it look infected to you?
I'm thinking it might be. I may have to make that appointment with the vet after all. Unless I can get pennicillin and give her a dose myself.We've been having quick, violent thunderstorms every day or so. The rain may have washed off her ear but it also gives her the opportunity for a good mud bath.
It's so slashed and torn - song: Under Pressure, artist: David Bowie and Freddie Mercury
10 comments:
Eek! I would call a vet. There might be a way to bandage it to make the two halves come together.
I'd see if I could wash it gently with Betadine scrub, and then use Dermaplast on it to seal out any debris. You won't get it to grow together at this stage.
I have to agree with Sydney. Unless there's pus coming out, it's hard to tell if there's an infection because of the hair around the split.
I would call the vet just to be sure.
Dan
It looks pretty granular ,I wouldn't say I thought it was infected though,is there any heat,or swelling?? If you can break down some of that granulated tissue and somehow tape it together ... Cactus has a split in his one ear from before I got him ,a similar looking injury
Maybe. Looks like she could use some debriding, though. The dead tissue builds up and slows down healthy healing.
I agree about the vet. Maybe the vet could remove some of that dead tissue and possible infection, create a fresh base, and help form a bond with vet tape between the two sections so they still might be able to heal together.
At the least he could dope her up a little, so that the wound could be cleaned up really well.
It's worth a try anyway. Annie will be pretty whether she she has a split ear or not, but I bet that you'll be happier if she heals intact.
As for hindsight and her healing better out in the field. You just never know. Wounds get itchy as they begin to heal. Even in the field, she could have scraped her ear against a tree or cholla, or even by rolling on the ground. And of course, she could have rubbed it against the barb wire again, too.
With those couple hundred acres on the ridge, and all the hazards over there, natural and man-made, there are just more opportunities for horses to get hurt. As you know I had Baby Doll just over 2 years and the only time she was ever injured, with that huge gash on her back leg, was when I had her pastured over on the ridge.
Baby Doll, as well as Scout and Nadia, really thrived over on pasture that summer, physically and mentally, so I guess you just have to weigh the benefits against the risks, when pasturing your horses over there.
~Lisa
I know it's not possible to call the vet for everything but I would just to see if they could fix it. Maybe give you some antibiotics in case it gets infected. Hope she's doing better soon.
Ouch! It hurts me just to look.
Oh no..it is NOT looking to be doing good. Vet probably would be the best, you'll feel better too.
Poor gal...bet it itches, maybe stings.
KK
Youch! It does look pretty bad. Poor Annie. I'm glad you had the vet look at it.
Well..it doesn't look infected to me, from the pics.. I am a registered nurse. I would take her temperature and see if that is elevated. If she has an infection that is significant, she'd probably have an elevation if that was present. Second, call the vet, and see if you can give her some prophylactic antibiotics just to be on the safe side. Oh, and, if you could get her still long enough...try to cut the hair from around the wound, and use superglue to stick the ear back together. Actually, the 3M company made superglue back when we were fighting in Vietnam...and it was used as a surgical glue to hold guys together.. they could do this then, since it was the military and outside of the USA...so the FDA rule of testing for ten years didn't mean anything to them at the time. Then, when the war ended, rather than lose money, testing for the ten years, 3M put it out on the market as a "superglue". They went on to test the original formula with a very slight change to make it a different drug... and after the ten years, called it a "surgical" glue. But, believe me...there's a lot of guys walking around still...who have superglue in their bodies....and, its kept together since Vietnam.... just check with your vet first... but, it does work... actually, I think "Bandaid" has out a very minimal form of this...only its not strong enough to actually "glue" anything together....just acts as a 'cover'...for the open cut... hope this helps...now, if you can just get her to stand still.........
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