Last Thursday night I got to the barn and as soon as I went into Dude's stall I noticed that his back right lower leg was swollen above the joint. For such a hefty guy, he really has very dainty feet and ankles, so it was pretty noticeable. When I walked him, he didn't limp, but it definitely concerned me. After confering with a few people in the barn, I decided to hose his leg with cold water, rub it down with liniment, and throw a gram of bute into his evening grain.
I went by the barn early Friday morning to check on him. He didn't look worse, but he didn't look better either. The leg was sensitive in that he didn't like me poking at it, but he wasn't lame. I hosed him again and rubbed him down with liniment, then decided to call the vet. Nothing like a boo-boo on a Friday to make me nervous! Luckily the vet could come out later in the day ... the only problem was that Maddie and I were supposed to leave for college orientation at 3, and the vet couldn't come until 4:30, and Katie was working. Oh well. Best laid plans ...
Dr. Phil took a look at him and pretty quickly diagnosed the swelling as "septic cellulitis," a case that was caught early and most likely quickly treatable, he reassured me. Bacterial in nature. And I guess the thing is, if you don't catch it, the swelling can increase to the point that the skin can tear and present further problems. Ugh. Dude got a shot of penicillin to jump start the healing, then was put on 10 antibiotic tablets twice a day for the next ten days, with a stern warning from Dr. Phil to continue for the full ten days so that he wouldn't develop future antibiotic resistance. And bute 2x a day for 2-3 days, then 1x per day for another 2-3 days. Luckily Dude is a good patient and is happily eating his meds when mixed with his am and pm grain. No apple sauce needed!
The feeders at the barn are doing the meds, which has been really nice. Katie has born the brunt of hosing and wrapping him, as I was gone Saturday and Sunday at the orientation with Maddie. He definitely looked better to me today, there is a lot more definition in his lower leg, but his dainty little right ankle isn't 100 percent back yet. He's supposed to stay in until the swelling is gone, so Katie has been handgrazing him twice a day. So far he has been pretty good about being stallbound. He did pull a shoe somehow when she was hosing him over the weekend ... we've got a call in to the farrier for that!
We had gone a LONG while without any issues; I guess it was time. And Dude is such a hothouse flower, he always gets the strange stuff: giant bug bite last year, scratches a couple years ago. You'd think Bestie, Miss Swamp Monster who stands in the mud and grazes, would be the one to pick up the wierd leg infection. I just hope the progress we've seen so far continues. Hate it when my equine kids have a problem!
No comments:
Post a Comment