Posted: 6th December 2018 | Back to news feed
In the space of just one month, Emily Culpeck’s horse, Chump, suffered two freak injuries. Luckily Emily had the knowledge and a fully stocked first aid kit to deal with each injury promptly and efficiently, which all aided a speedy recovery. Emily, a veterinary physiotherapist from Shropshire, has owned Chump for three years and the pair regularly enjoys hacking, schooling and eventing together in Emily’s spare time.
Chump’s first injury occurred when Emily had tied up the seven-year-old Hanoverian in the stable, under full supervision. Something flew past the yard entrance and startled Chump, causing him to buck and kick out and he caught his right hind leg on the corner of the stable wall.
It was clear that he had injured himself quite badly, so Emily cleaned the wound and called the vet. Due to the location of the wound the vet was concerned that there may be an infection in the tendon sheath, so he thoroughly cleaned the wound again before applying a Skintact® dressing and prescribing a course of antibiotics.
Emily then had to monitor Chump for signs of infection over the next 48 hours by walking him out in-hand, to check for the onset of extreme lameness. When the 48 hours had passed, Chump was allowed out into the field with the wound still covered. Emily said: “The Skintact® dressings were perfect for keeping the wound protected and clean throughout the initial stages of healing. They are sterile, easy to use and excellent value for money.”
Just as Emily and Chump were putting the leg injury behind them and getting back into work, Emily noticed he was lame when they set off out on a hack. Returning to the yard, Emily checked Chump over and found a thorn embedded in the bulb of his heel.
When she removed the thorn, she was shocked to discover that the thorn was 35mm long and had come dangerously close to the navicular bursa. Emily once again rang the vet before she cleaned the wound and applied dry Animalintex®. The vet was so concerned about the location of the puncture that he initially recommended that Chump should go into surgery to flush out any infection that might be present. Emily was reluctant to go down this route as Chump is not the best traveller, so the vet took samples from the tendon sheath and coffin joint to test back at the surgery.
The wound site was then flushed thoroughly again before applying a dry dressing of Animalintex® and a second course of antibiotics was prescribed. Once again Emily had to walk Chump out in-hand regularly to check for lameness and signs of pain that could indicate infection within the tendon sheath as well as changing the Animalintex® two to three times a day. Thankfully, the results came back from the vet and were negative for infection, so four days later Chump as allowed back into the field.
“Animalintex® is a staple in my first aid kit and I initially reached for it to help reduce inflammation and keep the wound clean until the vet arrived. He told me I had done exactly the right thing.”
“I also relied on Veterinary Gamgee®, which I placed on top of the Animalintex® to pad the foot out. This helped to stop the shoe from coming through the outer dressing and to keep the area dry when Chump was turned out, as the Gamgee absorbed most of the moisture.”
“Throughout the treatment of both injuries I used many rolls of Equiwrap® in a whole variety of colours! They really helped to keep the dressing secure and were easy to use and long and sticky, which isn’t always the case with cohesive bandages.” added Emily.
Robinson Animal Healthcare has a wide range of products for all your first aid requirements including the market-leading Animalintex®, which is the only VMD licensed, multi-layered absorbent poultice available in the UK along with the original and legendary Veterinary Gamgee®.
For more information contact Robinson Animal Healthcare on 01909 735 000 or visit www.robinsonanimalhealthcare.com
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