Horses are notorious for getting into things. It doesn’t seem to matter sometimes how good of an environment we provide for our horses, they still get hurt. I also think horses have their very own calendars. Have you ever tried to get a vet to come out on a Saturday or Sunday night? It is not easy to find one that will respond to your emergency calls. Horse stalls are a good place to put an injured horse while you wait for a vet to arrive.
A week ago, on a Sunday morning, a very nice young horse that lives at our farm came into the barn with a swollen leg. If you have ever worked on a two year old, you know that it can be a challenge. The best thing we did first was to catch her and then put her in the box stall. The confinement of space allowed us maneuver her into a corner. With one of us holding her and the second trying to feel of the flesh wound, she hopped around the stall. After a quick check the best thing was to run water on the wound. We transferred her to the rubber matted wash stall and held her. It is a good idea not to tie the young horse when working on them. Later, as they gain more experience, tying is fine, but horses have to learn to stand tied. With one handler and one person on the hose we began running cold water on the wound.
Slowly, as the water slightly numbed the area, we slowly rubbed away the dirt and other matter that had collected around the wound. Closer inspection revealed a small opening at the top of the blood covered area. Very commonly a horse will not just have a scrape. A vast majority of horse wounds also have a puncture wound. The best way to treat a puncture wound is to purchase a mastitis tube. These tubes are similar to a worming tube. A mastitis tube, commonly marked “Tomorrow for Dry Cows” is designed for putting an antibiotic up into an infected utter of a cow. But let me tell you, I haven’t found anything better for treating punctures. You simply insert the end of the tube into the puncture and them press the plunger until the medicine comes back out of the wound. Deeper wounds may require half or even an entire tube, but at $2.25 per tube, it is a very economical treatment.
So back to the young horse—
After running water on it, she was not at all inclined to let us use the mastitis tube on her. We took her back to her box stall. Along one wall I have a tie mounted in the middle of the side of the stall wall. This is the first place I tie babies. It is a good idea to drill a hole and mount a ring for tying to. The ring should be mounted at the top of the solid part of the horse stall wall and just under the bars or wire. This provides a solid place to tie the horse lead rope to. Tying directly to the bars or wire can bend or break them. So using a ring is a very good solution.
With the more confined horse stall, the stall door shut, and the horse tied to the ring, her movements were limited. I still kept a lead rope attached from her halter to my hand so I could turn her towards me while I worked on the puncture wound. I began scratching her and talking to her. I rubbed her shoulder and neck, and then while I rubber her chest with one hand I slid the mastitis tube into the hole and pushed. It only took a second and I only had a second before she jerked back. But still I got enough into the hole to make it come back out.
The danger with wounds that heal over and are not left to drain is tetanus. So whenever you have a horse with any sort of wound, be sure to check for a puncture wound. Tying a horse in the horse stall reduces the movement and also keeps them from hurting themselves more. Working on a horse outside is fine, but especially with a young horse, a more confined area, such as the horse stalls, can be safer for both horse and handler. Mounting a ring on the side of the stall also provides a good training aid, a place to tie.
There are three main types of horse stall mats: flat edged, interlocking, and pass through.