"Treatment included standing the horse in the creek up to his withers for an hour and allowing fi sh to eat the dead tissue. He was also taken for long walks to keep adhesions in the tissue from limiting his range of motion."
9
PHOTO 9: T is fi lly’s head wound extended several inches down her nose and scraped away much of the skin and underlying tissue, leaving her skull exposed.
10
PHOTO 10: Eff ective job of bandaging by the owner using gauze squares covered by panty hose.
horse. T eir dedication is an inspiration.
UNUSUAL FACIAL WOUNDS Injuries on the face of a horse oſt en heal
quickly because there is a good blood supply to the head. However, it’s easy to run into complications when dealing with lacerations on the face. Facial nerve damage. T ere is a network
of nerves that branch out around the face, the most major of which runs down the cheek of the horse. If a horse damages its facial nerve, paralysis of the lips is the most common ef- fect. It takes a long time for repair of a nerve, and full recovery aſt er complete laceration of a nerve is not likely in the face. Injury to the facial nerve can also be caused by pressure. It is important during surgery to pad the face around the halter in order to avoid killing the nerve cells. Nasal lacrimal duct injury. T is tear duct
runs from the inside of the eye socket to the inside of the nostril to drain the tears from the eye. If a cut damages the duct, it can become infected, causing blockage and backup, result- ing in runny eyes. In addition, scar tissue from healing could block it off and surgery would then be required to reopen it. Salivary glands. T ere are several under
and behind the jaw—the mandibular, sublin- gual and parotid glands. A horse can function normally if missing a salivary gland, but it is
42 | December 2011 •
WWW.TRAILBLAZERMAGAZINE.US
important to remove damaged areas to avoid pockets of fl uid and swelling. Gut ural pouch infection. T e gut ural
pouch is a pocket of air in the auditory (Eu- stachian) tube. T is pouch is unique to horses and donkeys and can easily become infected. In fact, it is a favorite hangout of strangles, a bacterial infection caused by Streptococcus equi, and a common pus encasement location. Infections can harbor here and be very conta- gious even aſt er the horse appears to have been cured. Swelling behind the jaw in indicative of gut ural pouch full of pus.
HEAD WOUND CASE STUDIES
Jaw wound: Photos 5, 6 & 7 T is was a
consultation case from Virginia. T e owner wrote to let us know how she handled the wound on her own. She did a great job of bandaging and achieved a marvelous cosmetic healing with our PRP ointment. “As you can tell from the fi rst picture the
surgeon stitched him up but the skin died. I brought him home (I am a full time work- ing person and wish there was an outfi t like yours nearby) with a HUGE gaping hole and I was scared to death! I have never dealt with a trauma like this before. I am totally amazed at how the body can heal itself. At ached are a couple pictures of the morning I found him and at the vet, last Halloween bandaged and
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