The Healing Process - Week 3.5

I drove up to the barn last night after work to check on that awful looking cut below her fetlock. She was just finishing dinner when I arrived, so it was easy to examine her hind legs and feel for any heal or new/remaining swelling - without the even slightest possibility of her moving...leave her food?! NEVER!

Both legs felt normal, heat-wise. There is still some swelling around the right fetlock, which is to be expected, based on that cut. It looked a lot better (I forgot to take pictures, but will take some over the weekend, for the 4 week mark)...and it wasn't as deep. The proud flesh was much less and the unevenness it had to it on Sunday had filled in quite a bit...it seems to be healing pretty evenly now. It was definitely less ouchy than it had been on Sunday, too. When I scrubbed it, she only lifted it away from me when I picked at the scab. I wish I could say the whole thing had scabbed over, but no such luck. :(

Anyway, it was pretty easy to get clean and the rest of her leg looks much better, although the cut on the front of her leg did still bleed a bit, it looks to be healing reasonably well. Everything else is scabbed over or healed completely, and the hair has started to grow back. I keep forgetting to buy a tube of Preparation H to put on the hairless areas, to help it grow back black, but luckily, it seems to be doing that on its own, so it seems like there will be no lasting scars to it, once it's healed completely.

I applied wonder dust to both spots, and when the barn owner came over to chat, we checked out the front left together. I looked at it dead on from the front and the back. It seems like the swelling has gone down a bit, and although it was a little warm, the heat was definitely less than three days ago, too. I put some Absorbine gel on it, brushed her and looked her over and then let her out with her buddies. She seemed to be moving a little bit better through the fetlock, and was dragging the toe less, but we have a front moving through with rain and cooler temperatures, so she was stiffer through the hocks than usual.

I am looking forward to checking on her progress on Saturday. The fact that her leg was much less sore last night has me hoping in another week (or two) she might be sound. And, of course, I am thrilled at the possibility of her left front healing up, too. I never did get ahold of the vet this week for more antibiotics, but after seeing her last night, it seems whatever was going on in that leg is under control now. Hopefully there will be no more surprises!

I'll take more pictures over the weekend. It's been very helpful in documenting the progress of the healing. In the mean time, she is happy and cuddly and shedding like an absolute fiend. Here's to hoping for being healthy enough for dapples this summer!!

ETA: I added a joint supplement (click to see details) to her SmartPak a week or so ago, and the new shipment will arrive on Monday. So, middle of next week or so, she will start on it. Of all the products I looked at, even CortaFlx and the more well-known ones I've tried before, this seemed to be the best in terms of ingredients, specifically the amount of glucosamine and MSM and Vitamins A and E and Yucca. Plus the reviews were really great too. Since this has the convenience of my SmartPak shipment, and I won't have to try to make it to a special feed store that is 40 minutes north of the barn every month before they close at 5, she will stay on it permanently! If it works, of course. We'll give it 90 days or so. :)