In which Walker tries to commit suicide...

[Moutaineer]

My old appy, Walker, has had about as much of this winter as he can take.

Last night he discovered that slipping down an icy slope into a muck puddle and getting cast is a Really Bad Idea.

Poor old man was covered in lacerations, dings and lumps, all hidden under a thick layer of what can only be described as liquid horse shit. His legs are swollen and he's generally very shaken and very sore. He'll live, but he's had a bad shock.

We spent the morning with the vet-- trimming and debriding the biggest wound, a large dose of Excede, banamine, tetanus shot, the works. I've managed to clean most of the mess off him, and he's resting quietly in a still somewhat drugged state.

I'm so done with this winter.

[KathyK]

Poor things, both of you. Wishing you warm, sunny days in a hurry.

[heddylamar]

Oh god. Poor Walker. Poor you.

That happened to my old mare, Joy, at 33yo. It was after Mom had left, and just before I liberated Joy from Dad's care (he's not a horse person, and in retrospect, I am appalled I left her with him). Anyway, against all odds, after the vet and a horsey neighbor stepped in, she was fine.

[Chisamba]

oh dear, Jingles to Walker

[PaulaO]

How scary. Jungles to you, and to Walker.

[redsoxluvr]

Jingles for your old friend!

[Flight]

Poor Walker, hope he's ok!

[musical comedy]

I feel for you. I've also had that happen where a horse got cast in good weather in a pasture . Same thing...found in shock with lacerations from trying to get free. I'm glad he's going to be ok.

[Abby Kogler]

Im so glad he will survive this really traumatic event. Poor poor Walker. Poor poor you!

I hope spring comes soon for you both!

[Tarlo Farm]

OH that brings back the horror of my old Tarlo slipping and falling in an icy/watery pasture. I tried and tried and tried to help him up, but he'd keep slipping. I ran to call a neighbor. By the time he arrived, by sheer will, Tarlo and I had slipped/slid him to where he could get literally a toe-hold and he managed to get up - soaking wet, shivering...makes me ill just to think about it. Dave kept him walking while I ran for towels and old sleeping bags and blankets. We dried him off as best as possible and blanketed him and kept him walking and switched blankets out as they got wet. He finally stopped shivering, I put him in a stall with a heat lamp. The vet arrived and checked him, said there was nothing left to do. He survived just fine, but I still get PTSD every time a pasture gets icy. And this winter there were plenty of those weeks. I"m so glad Walker is fine. Hugs!

[piedmontfields]

That is never the headline that I want to read. Glad he is recovering and has you. A lot of older horses seem to do some equivalent to this (while reducing the years that their person will live)....

[Imperini]

Oh no, how scary for both of you. Glad he's on the mend now.

[Moutaineer]

He's pretty sore and stiff this evening--the big wound on his rear is pretty gnarly-looking and he's not enthused about having it treated (which is a problem as he can be very reactive and kicky,) and his legs are still swollen and hard, but he ate his dinner and has pooped, so I'm still cautiously optimistic that things will improve over the next few days--we are due 3 days of warmer weather which I'm sure will make him feel more positive.

He must have taken quite a tumble to get in this state, and I think it's affected his psyche and confidence quite badly--he's normally such a take-charge, alpha creature, and he's just so shaken up.

I must go get some Vaseline tomorrow to put under the draining wound so it doesn't scald his hind leg any more than it already is, and work out what the hell to do with his tail so he doesn't keep dragging it through it all. I need some kind of soft tail wrap, I guess.

[StraightForward]

Yikes! Poor old man - I'm glad he is relatively OK. Hopefully the weather will cooperate while he recovers.

[khall]

Oh man poor Walker! Jingles he feels better soon and your weather turns soon.

[Moutaineer]

He was much more cheerful by this afternoon, but his hind legs are so swollen, particularly the right hind, where he has a really ugly laceration on his butt which is draining like crazy and no doubt has a ton of lymph drainage straight into his leg, too. Having said that, he obviously trod all over the inside of his left hind, so that isnt too pretty, either.

He's not wild about having that big wound treated, so much as I'd like to wash off all the drainage underneath it and clean him up and get some vaseline on there so it doesn't scald, I'm contenting myself with swabbing the actual wound down with Red Wonder, as per my vet, and not getting my head kicked off.

But he was much happier and more engaged, less tucked up, eating, drinking, and performing all other bodily functions, even if reluctant to walk anywhere, so I'm feeling a bit more positive.

[Sunshine2Me]

Keeping you and Walker in my prayers!

[Hot4Spots]

They are ALL born trying to commit suicide. He's an Appy. He'll pull through, but I'm sure the old boy is miserable right now. Sounds from your last post that he's already perking up a bit. I'm guessing fighting infection's going to be the big part of it, but it sounds like you are on top of it. Get better soon, Walker, from Markey-Mark, a fellow Appy.

[LeoApp]

Appies are tough as nails, as all appy owners know. Jingles for Walker. Glad he seems to be perking up already.

[KathyK]

I hope Walker is continuing to improve.

[Moutaineer]

Walker is coming along, thank you, Kathy.

He looks like hell--but the big wound is a bit smaller than it was and he is, under protest, letting me spray it with Red Wonder, (which is apparently a mixture of nitrofurazone and scarlet oil, my vet's recommended treatment for this kind of thing and seems to work pretty well.) I think I've got more on me than on him, but we are making progress, and the drainage is starting to slow down significantly, which is just as well as he has made it perfectly clear that I am Not Allowed to touch it to clean it up. Ugh.

The insides of his thighs were raw from where I think he'd got himself cast through the fence--they are now drying up and flaking off and there is new hair growth coming through underneath, and his legs are not as swollen as they were. The various other dings and dents seem to be doing OK, but I'm not allowed to investigate too closely. He's walking sound, if slowly, and is obviously laying down and getting up OK, so things are much better. He's generally being quite sweet to handle, as long as one doesn't take liberties... I put the farrier off for a couple of weeks--no-one up here will die if they don't get their feet trimmed on time, and there's no way Walker could deal with him right now.

And mud season is just getting into full swing. The next couple of weeks are going to be ugly. I have running water everywhere and still have 6ft drifts all over. (And more snow due this coming weekend-I think it will fall as rain though, which is good and bad news!)

[Moutaineer]

In case anyone's interested, this is where we were after the vet had finished his initial clean-up work...

[Koolkat]

Argh, that must hurt like the dickens. Poor Walker, spring can't come soon enough. At least there's no flies now.

[heddylamar]

Oh Walker. That looks like it hurts like hell! I don’t blame him one bit for telling you off. Poor old dude.

Glad to hear it’s healing well! I made note of that ointment. My older mare is accident prone, and gets very defensive with upper leg/belly injuries too. So far, the Vetericyn wound spray (saline, sterile water, and I’m not sure what all else) works great for her minor topical injuries — nothing as extensive Walker’s.

[KathyK]

Geez, that's quite a boo boo.

[StraightForward]

Ouch, hard to doctor that while avoiding the kick zone!

The other thing that works great is Underwood's. You throw baking soda on it, and it just forms a protective crust and the wound closes up under it, staying nice and clean. I used it when Rosette got a 6" slash on her chest, and there was almost zero scarring when it healed. Great for wounds in fleshy areas.

https://www.underwoodhorsemedicine.com/testimonials/

[LeoApp]

oh boy. Poor baby! I always feel like it takes longer for them to heal too, when they are older.

[piedmontfields]

Poor Walker and Moutaineer. Man, that must sting! Glad he seems to be getting on. Do others find that as horses age they sometimes lack serious judgement (or maybe options) in turnout situations and things like this happen (not saying this about Walker, just generally with horse aging)? I have been told a few too many stories like this in the last year with elder horses.

Lots of jingles for continued healing of Mr. Spotty Butt.