Home Forums Gear Horses and ATV's Just a scratch

The other day I left home way before daylight and about 8am get a call from my wife. She said my 12 yr old daughter had seen my horse with a cut on her.

I've always tried to make it a point to my kids to always look over the stock when they have a chance and look for something wrong. But with my wife and daughter they tend to over react. So when I got this call I wasn't expecting much.

But then I get home and find this


Could be lots worse, but still needed attention.

This is how it looked right after the sew job


All this just in time to bring cattle off the mountain in a couple weeks. I'll start guiding hunters on her October 1, but she should be alright by then. This happened last Wednesday and she was pretty sore, but she's moving better now. On the good side she's now broke to fly spray.

Any idea what caused it?

I don't know how. I wanted to blame it on a lion, but I can't. It is one cut, not even another fresh scratch next to it. We have every predator known to Wyoming right here at the house and had them kill cattle and sheep.

But I think this has to be a case of a horse being able to hurt itself in a padded room.

What I can't figure out is the length and going up and down. I can see getting caught on a nail, but how'd it go up or down so much? I could see a horizontal cut.

Hope it heals up in time and without incident

They can do it.

absolutely. amazing the trouble they can get in

Sew job looks good. Is that a drain tube in it and did you do it yourself? Had a mare years ago that was cut by a phone/electric pole guide wire that looked a lot like that (only about 2/3 as long) but was on her neck. It healed up well. They cover those guide wires with a yellow plastic sheath now.

Some timing with all you've got coming up. Really caught me because I had to put one down this morning. Front end loaders ain't made for digging those kinda holes. I ain't made for it either, especially having them put down.

I ran her down to the vet. He left the bottom open just a bit so it would drain.

I'm going to check the guy wires now, I hadn't thought of that.

The open end looked like what the vet did with my mare, only he put a little rubber sleeve/tube under the skin and sewed the skin together over it...left a little yellow end of it out. Pulled it out later clean as a whistle. Hope yours heals up well.

Good seamstress work. She'll be fine, but you know that. Timing sucks for sure.

All one has to do is say "a horse can't..." and then sit back and watch them do it.

Are you injecting penicillin?

No penicillin. We put a local kind of antibiotic into the wound when it was sewn up.

It has been a week now and I just turned her out this morning back onto pasture. I've had her locked up since this happened.

She looks really good. And is moving MUCH better.

I've been worried about the flies even with the fly spray, but they haven't been an issue at all.

Good news!

I always keep a bottle of SMZs on hand when they lay them selfs open. Thats one hell of a cut, good thing it wasn't deep.