Here we go again!

4/21/2010

Things have been going well since we arrived in Bozeman last week. Rose has been settling into her new barn and new routine nicely.

Then I got a call from the barn manager.

Rose scraped herself up getting either cast along a fence or messing about in the aspen grove. It has been 10 months since she last seriously hurt herself, which has to be some kind of record, so I should be happy about that I suppose.

The BM did not think it required the vet, or my immediate presence, so I finished up with the work deadline I was on and then headed to the barn. What you see in the picture is what it looked like when I arrived Thursday morning, after a hosing off. For the most part, it seems superficial; it did not go all the way through her skin, so no stitches were required. Aside from that, the only other damage was a swollen hock, most likely from banging on whatever she was caught up in. She is completely sound, and if I were not so nice, I suppose I could still ride her. However, I figured a few days off would be fine, to let the swelling go down and the scab to heal over. Right now, I put her on some bute for the swelling, and I'm cold hosing and cleaning it up daily. She is not a roller, which is handy in terms of keeping wounds like this clean. I have found that wrapping the hock area is somewhat impossible. So far, I am not too concerned about it, as the swelling is going down and she is sound. However, if the swelling gets worse or she goes lame I will be calling the vet ASAP. My biggest concern would be her getting an infection.

Happy trails and swooshing tails!