injury recovery question

[Marsha Cassada]

My horse had a little lump in the girth area. I'd been watching it since May and it wasnt' going away so took him to the vet. He also had a significant swelling under his jaw, which is the main reason I took him to the vet. Vet did not think the two were related. I decided to have the lump removed, since it was in the girth area, even though the vet didn't think it was significant.

I couldn't believe the wound area when I went to pick him up! Nearly 6 inches long for a lump the size of a marble. Turns out there was a fistulous tract.

I requested the lump be sent off, but luckily the results came back negative for anything bad. I AM glad I had the thing removed, however, as it wouldn't have ever healed with the fistulous tract. And I do believe the jaw swelling was related, as the vet did say there are lymph nodes there.

I am seeing him move more freely now, and wonder if that lump-infection could have been causing discomfort with leg movement.

It is always a dilemma to know whether to have a surgical procedure done. I'm glad I did on this one, though.

He gets the sutures out this week. I am wondering how long before I should drive him?

 

[CZP1]

Wish your boy a speedy recovery.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Wow, what an experience! I'm glad you got it taken care of and that your boy is more comfortable now. I'll admit you scared me to death with that title; I was picturing a back injury or torn tendon or something.

As far as the recovery goes, I'd ask the vet how long he'd wait before girthing up over the incision. A driving girth isn't as tight as a riding one, but it's more than tight enough to cause pain over a wound or rub or irritate the healing skin. The last thing you want is to accidentally open the incision again!

Not only would you set back his recovery but he'd probably become understandably girth-shy, something you want to avoid.

I think if it were me I'd 1) ask the vet, 2) wait until the incision was cleanly healed, and 3) try ground-work with a surcingle first to make sure he's not at all sensitive in that area before risking him reacting while in the cart. You can also put a sheepskin over the girth to protect his skin and I think I definitely would.

My guess is that you're quite correct and the lump was causing him discomfort or physically limiting his movement so it's a good thing it's gone. You're a good horsie-mama, Marsha!

Leia

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Sorry for the scary topic title!

In a perfect world one would certainly "ask the vet". However, the vet did not want to remove the lump; I insisted. He did not want to send it off to check; I insisted. He did not think the jaw swelling was related to the injury; lo and behold, there was significant infection.

So, I'd rather ask the "driving experts".

I hadnt' thought about sheepskin. I don't have that, but I have an extra fleece saddle pad that might work, do you think? Waiting till the wound is totally healed is a good idea. Certainly would not want to risk anything there, or even the risk of building up scar tissue in the area.

Dapper Dan is my "heart horse". Since he is back to his normal, ornery self now, we will certainly be doing ground work first before hitching!

 

[hobbyhorse23]

In a perfect world one would certainly "ask the vet". However, the vet did not want to remove the lump; I insisted. He did not want to send it off to check; I insisted. He did not think the jaw swelling was related to the injury; lo and behold, there was significant infection.

It's very frustrating when you don't have a good relationship with your vet or can't trust them! Nevertheless, he should still be able to give you some idea of the standard healing time to allow before even considering tacking up over the incision. I'm not saying to follow his advice, just that he should be able to give you a baseline.

Where was the infection, around the jaw or the girth?

I hadnt' thought about sheepskin. I don't have that, but I have an extra fleece saddle pad that might work, do you think?

You mean a fuzzy harness saddle pad? That would be better than nothing but I personally would use a piece of sheepskin halter tubing for a big horse or buy one of the larger sheepskin tubes available at most tack stores and modify it. I'm thinking the foam inside a saddle pad might put more pressure on the wound and that colored synthetic fuzz isn't very cushiony while sheepskin has traditionally been used for burn victims, boot linings and padding girths and breastcollars for many years because it works so well. It's also easy to work with- I don't sew and even I managed to make custom sheepskin stuff just by cutting a tube and hand-sewing it to a different width if I needed to. You can easily make a cutout for the girth buckle if the lump was higher under his armpit and otherwise it won't interfer with his movement or trap excessive heat/sweat like a broad pad behind his elbow would.

Leia

 

[disneyhorse]

Give six weeks... and then just harness up!

Glad you got that taken care of... sounds like it will be best for your little guy in the long run for sure!

He'll heal quickly...

Andrea

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Thank for your interest, everyone. He gets the sutures removed tomorrow and I will ask the vet about how long to wait. It is still a mystery what caused the original lump. The lab report was not conclusive and suggested "an insect bite or other trauma". When one brushes/checks her horses every day I'm not sure how something like that could have escaped notice. No mention of infected sweat gland as a cause. An ingrown hair? One day the lump was not there, the next day it was.

I'm planning to get a sheepskin for the girth. While he is recovering I'll have some time to figure it out.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I cannot find a sheepskin piece locally so will have to order one. The vet thought it was a good idea, too. He said I should wait about a week to drive him, but after he removed the sutures there was a little bleeding, so I think I will wait a few weeks. Meanwhile I will search for a sheepskin thing.

He took time today to explain everything on the lab report and answered all my questions.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Weaver sells a set of full-sized halter fleeces that work well as parts for minis, in fact any of those type of shipping halter sets from the catalogues would work fine. If it would help, my local store sells those and loose sheepskin tubes of various sizes; I'd be happy to pick something up for you and ship it. Send me a PM!

Leia

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

I will also encourage you to ask all of these great questions to the Veterinarian working the case.

I would like to add, though, that incisions heal side to side and not length wise. How long an incision rarely bothers a Surgeon, even though it can be shocking to a client. Most masses are removed through an elliptical incision where in the length is at least twice the width and the width should be >2 cm from both sides of the mass (when possible) to ensure complete removal.

In your case even if it was just the 'marble'. That would mean about 1.5cm mass+2cm margin+2cm margin=5.5cm width which would now yield an 11cm length (divided by 2.5 to get inches=4.4") and understand that is 'at least' because we want to be sure it is all gone.

Dr Taylor

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I will also encourage you to ask all of these great questions to the Veterinarian working the case.

I would like to add, though, that incisions heal side to side and not length wise. How long an incision rarely bothers a Surgeon, even though it can be shocking to a client. Most masses are removed through an elliptical incision where in the length is at least twice the width and the width should be >2 cm from both sides of the mass (when possible) to ensure complete removal.

In your case even if it was just the 'marble'. That would mean about 1.5cm mass+2cm margin+2cm margin=5.5cm width which would now yield an 11cm length (divided by 2.5 to get inches=4.4") and understand that is 'at least' because we want to be sure it is all gone.

Dr Taylor

That is very interesting and makes sense now. Thank you for the information! It is, indeed, shocking to the client but I didnt' mind the size as long as care was taken to remove all of the problem. I do think I may be exceptional, always wanting to know details about my horse care. I've gone to this vet long enough now that he should know me, so perhaps that is why he took so much time explaining things when we went for suture removal. (I'd hate to think it was the home made cake I took in.)

Another concern I have is minimizing a scar. The weather is not conducive to hydroing! I have taken a bucket of warm water out numerous times and sponged the area to keep it soft. At first I did it to make the suture removal easier, but now I am thinking of continuing it, as it may help prevent scarring. What do you think? Should I bother?

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

Boy, good question with likely no real consistent answer depending on who you ask.

My $0.02 is that I don't like anything to be applied to the wound. Granulation tissue (proud flesh) can be brought on by either chemical or mechanical irritation. Something as mild as saline can induce a problem. So I ask people to wait, 'if' there is a problem later on we'll treat it.

With that said, some don't heal well and the problem can't be fixed, so I get the other fell differently as well.

Dr Taylor

 

[disneyhorse]

Horses never cease to amaze me with how minimally they scar, no matter how horrible the injury. I suspect it will heal up just fine on its own!

Andrea

 

[wendyluvsminis]

Years ago, I had an Arab gelding who had what looked like a new mole on his shoulder. My local horse vet, who had horse surgery facilities at his clinic, suspected there was more going on there and had us send him to Michigan State Univ. vet school, which was only a couple hours away. It was a benign tumor, and the resulting hole was the size of a canon ball! It filled in very well (evenly), and the only scar was an area the size of a nickel, where hair won't grow! Wendy

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I do not know what is going on with my boy. He got the sutures out last Friday. Some said don't do anything to the wound, so I left it alone. I could see that it was still red looking, and it's way too cold for hydroing, so I took a bucket of warm water out today and soaked the area. My cloth came away with blood stains every time. I put some betadine on it. This does not seem right to me. The vet told me I could be driving him in a week after the sutures were removed. Now I seem to feel the swelling is back under his jaw. I should have called the vet before 5 this evening, but I just hated to be an alarmist. But the more I think about it, the more I am convinced something isn't right.

I did order a merino halter band to put on his harness girth. And on a lighter note, the order arrived today so I eagerly opened the box. There was merino in the box, all right, but it was TWO full sized horse girths--and the bill for them

Called and left a message with the company. At least I got to see what the merino was like, and frankly I wouldn't mind wearing it around MY girth!

 

[disneyhorse]

It's hard to say without seeing it in person, but I think your boy will be okay. In my experience, horses heal from the inside out (you get less scarring if it doesn't scab over for the most part) and he probably just needs time.

I think sponging the area is okay, but don't fear if it stays "open" looking for a bit. In the area it's in, it probably just gets irritated if he lays down and stretches the elbow skin.

Good luck and hope he heals quickly for you,

Andrea

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I got the girth pad and tried it on the girth of DD's harness. It is actually a halter nose cover for a big horse. It seems very easy to use, opening with velcro. I might have to trim a little off the end, which will be easily done with scissors. Have not tried it on DD yet, as the wound is still not totally healed. Thanks, Leia, for the suggestion and link to the site.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Uw, that looks comfy! I'd get one for both sides to keep the pressure even but I'm sure he'll appreciate the padding.

Leia

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Uw, that looks comfy! I'd get one for both sides to keep the pressure even but I'm sure he'll appreciate the padding.

Leia

Yes, I did get two. Just didn't put the other on for the photo. Now I am hoping he is not too fat/furry to buckle the girth with the extra padding.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Hey, at least one side is already shaved!

Leia