Stupid dog

Originally Posted by taterbug

Have you watched her to see if she was having trouble eating? The location of the wound,the drooling,the loose muzzle,sounds like she may have damage the hinge of her jaw or cracked a cheek bone. As for her havng trouble making turns and such....a fall like that can really wrench their neck badly...kind of like whiplash,making her stiff,store,and out of balance. Make sure you watch her eat and look for signs of her not being able to chew...or drink. If it was a stroke or brain damage she would have a lot more severe symptoms,it would seem. And no I'm not a vet,but I've been with horses my entire life. Poor girl....I'm crossing my fingers and sending healing prayers.

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Yes, we have to hold her grain tub for her so she can eat, she has a hard time eating. I will definately look into the jaw and check bone tomorrow, but, it seems more like she can't control the one side of her lip. She can't eat normal, and it seems more like the lip then the jaw really, I say that because the way she eats, you have been around horses so you know how they pick it up with their lips, she can't get it like that, she has to use her teeth, so I wonder if she had a problem with her jaw if she would be able to use her teeth like that. She really pushes down hard into the tub and scrapes it up with her teeth, it's hard to explain, but do you think she would use her teeth and not her lips? i'm no vet either, and whenit's light out tomorrow we will check that out and see if there is a problem, or suggest it to her vet. I appreciate any suggestions made and I thank you for your time to read this and give advise.
From what I gathered today when she called the vet again, we can't have her put to sleep. She doesn't have an acual life threatening injury and we have to wait 6 or 8 weeks to see if she will get better before we can put her down, does that make sense to any one? She isn't happy, and has trouble eating and walking but we can't decide to put her down, unless it doesn't get better in 2 months? But, kill shelters can put down perfectly healthy animals because they don't have room for them, or some one who can't pay for a operation for their dog can put it to sleep instead of doing the operation. It doesn't make sense to me, but, i'm not sure I mind, I would love to see her get better, and only time will show if she will. I just think it's strange. Also, farmers or race people can ship a horse off for slaughter if it can't work any more, and i THINK it should be retired and sent to pasture after a life of hard work and not killed because it can't pay for it's living any more. I just hope that with the trouble she is having eating she doesn't loose weight, in 2 months of not eating good can really make her loose quickley, and we just don't want her to suffer for that long just to end up putting her to sleep any ways.

I have one last suggestion as far as her eating.
Get a sack of senior feed for horses who've worn their teeth down, it may be much easier for her to eat.

Originally Posted by Arlyn

I have one last suggestion as far as her eating.
Get a sack of senior feed for horses who've worn their teeth down, it may be much easier for her to eat.

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Oh, good idea! she drops more of this stuff out of her mouth before she can chew it (she is on nutrena legacy/ safe choice pellets mixed half and half) it's all soggy by time she's done with it the poor thing!
Thank-you so much for all your advise!

As to breed, at a guess she looks like a Quarab.

What is the possibility of replacing that barbed wire? It is DANGEROUS to have with horses. Yeah, I know alot of people have it, but trust me, a horse that spooks and gets tangled up in that crap can get seriously injured in a hurry.

Wound treatment....
Someone already suggested a betadine wash, that's a good start, and needs to be done often. Also, hot compresses to help it drain, and then it needs to be dressed to protect it from flies. You also need to watch and be sure the flesh doesn't get necrotic around the wound. Honestly, I'd be thinking about having another vet have a look at her, and definitely have xrays taken to be sure she didn't injure her skull. She needs to be on antibiotics as well. When was her last tetanus shot? Make sure you check the date on that, because she may need an emergency booster of that too.

Feed for weight gain...
With the senior feed, you might want to mix in some rice bran, add a bit of water, and make it a mash. She'll slurp it, the senior feed gets soggy and won't get stuck, the rice bran adds extra fat to her diet that she'll need to keep weight on without making her hot or hurting her digestive system. In other words, it won't make her colic.

Hi Leslye,

I wish I could offer some advice or help. I have never been around horses before. Well, a couple of times as a child, we would go to the lake, where we could ride the horses for an hour or so and bring them back to the riding stable. I was always fairly scared while I was riding. I was never taught how to ride, so when the horse would begin running on its own, I never could stop them. None the less I went back a couple of times, with my cousin who WAS an experienced rider. It was always the same for me though.
I can just offer my sympathy and pray that she begins to feel better with time. It must be very hard to watch a pet that you love suffer, and have no way of helping.
She may surprise you over the next few days and begin perking up some. I hope the advice you have received helps as well.
Hugs,
Stormi

Originally Posted by celestialrags

it seems more like she can't control the one side of her lip. She can't eat normal, and it seems more like the lip then the jaw really, I say that because the way she eats, you have been around horses so you know how they pick it up with their lips, she can't get it like that, she has to use her teeth, so I wonder if she had a problem with her jaw if she would be able to use her teeth like that. She really pushes down hard into the tub and scrapes it up with her teeth, it's hard to explain, but do you think she would use her teeth and not her lips?

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Considering the injury,she may have damaged a nerve that runs across the back of her cheekbone to her muzzle,which may explain her lip problems.But that should heal quickly. I wouldn't be too concerned with "how" she gets her food,just concentrate on how she chews. If she is havng no problems drinking,then her lip/muzzle problem is very minor. Just make sure that she can chew in the normal grinding way they do. If she nods her head up and down while eating,or seems to be spitting out more than she's eating,then I'd make sure the vet came back. Horses have so much will power,and as long as she is on her feet I wouldn't even think about putting her down! She'll just need some healing time. It's great that she has you to worry over her and be there for her!

Just wondering how your mare is getting along??

Report the problem to animal control and the local sherrif/ police station. File a report/complaint, with details, times, dates, vet records. Sue them in small claims court. Check out your rights as a livestock owner, the local laws, and if all else fails, if you can catch it on your property,call animal control to come get it and take it to the pound. Make sure you have a witness that it was on your property when you caught it. That is ridiculous ! What if someone is riding their horse and that dog does that? They could be killed! They should be paying for everything for your horse's injuries. And I would get a second vet's opinion, too.

And buy a highpowered paintball gun, maybe with nice red or hot pink paint balls ,and when the dog comes on your property, target practice to your hearts content! It will hurt like you know what and they will have a dog to bathe- and don't feel bad about it, it is THEIR fault their dog is your problem, and you're nicer than me- I would have shot it dead when it did that to my horse. Then again, we had one horse who came trained to attack dogs He'd do his best to run them down and stomp them flat on command!

Originally Posted by catsallover

Report the problem to animal control and the local sherrif/ police station. File a report/complaint, with details, times, dates, vet records. Sue them in small claims court. Check out your rights as a livestock owner, the local laws, and if all else fails, if you can catch it on your property,call animal control to come get it and take it to the pound. Make sure you have a witness that it was on your property when you caught it. That is ridiculous

! What if someone is riding their horse and that dog does that? They could be killed! They should be paying for everything for your horse's injuries. And I would get a second vet's opinion, too.

And buy a highpowered paintball gun, maybe with nice red or hot pink paint balls ,and when the dog comes on your property, target practice to your hearts content! It will hurt like you know what and they will have a dog to bathe- and don't feel bad about it, it is THEIR fault their dog is your problem, and you're nicer than me- I would have shot it dead when it did that to my horse.

Then again, we had one horse who came trained to attack dogs

He'd do his best to run them down and stomp them flat on command!

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If I was to call on the dog, I would have to do it annonomous, the horses are my mother-in-laws and mine, and the dog is her sons and they live right behind us, so she wont call and report him, or make him pay vet bills, which sucks, because we have to, and even though she isn't asking me for any money, I have given her some any ways, She's kind of my horse too.
Her other gelding a black appy does chase him, he stomps him feet and charges him, but the dog is way too quick for him Too bad he (appy) is at school, mabey this wouldn't have happened if he was.

taterbug, I got your PM, thank you. I couldn't reply, my keyboard wasn't working again.
She seems better, she is eating much better and can get turned around in her stall now, the wound isn't seeping as much either and looks pretty good (concidering) We got her senior grain and make mash for her, so it's easier to eat, we also put rice bran in it as well, as some one suggested too. She is now on penacillian, I hate giving it, but oh well, I know she needs it, it takes two of us to do it though I could give Nika his by me self he just stands there for me, she wont
Thanks every one for the advise and PMs being concerned for us, we appreciated it. I will let every one know of her progress, but it's looking much better now

I'm so glad it's looking much better..The poor gal. I really hope she's okay.

Great! I'm glad she's doing better! The penicillin is a definite, and I was surprised the vet didn't prescribe that immediately, instead of just bute. BECAUSE of the nature of the injury and location, don't expect this to be healed quickly, as to the other problems that were causd by the injury.

She likes her mash, does she? hehe My mares love that kind of a mash.

Originally Posted by Sea Witch

Great! I'm glad she's doing better! The penicillin is a definite, and I was surprised the vet didn't prescribe that immediately, instead of just bute. BECAUSE of the nature of the injury and location, don't expect this to be healed quickly, as to the other problems that were causd by the injury.

She likes her mash, does she? hehe My mares love that kind of a mash.

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She loves it! She sees me pull in in the morns and she will come to the fence all excited! (work nights)
Yes, she is looking good, compared to how she has been, she is still slow and wobbles, chewing is slow and she still drops it. For her to look like she did before or almost like she did, will be weeks or even months this will be a slow time for her to be completely recovered from this incident, it wasn't a little bump on the noggin or a slight concussion.
But there is quiet an improvment over all.

Nope, just eyeballing it was definitely not just a little bump or concussion. I'm still flabbergasted that the vet did not have you bring her in for xrays asap.

I'd still be looking for a different vet for this girl, personally.

Any updates on your mare?

What a rough week! Jezebel is doing well, much better. She can eat better and is walking with out falling so we think she will be ok some day. We think she may acually be ridable at some point, too early to say for sure now. She started to get an infection, and started swelling a bit, so we uped the penacillian, and that seems to be working. She still has trouble contolling her mouth to eat and her lips and ear on the right side still droops. We think her tounge is still numb or some thing she does this funny thing with it, and she still doesn't eat well with her lips she still uses her teeth. She still has a funny step with her leg too like a hitch, if that makes sense to any one, she hits the ground harder with it, like she can't judge her steps. She also seems to spoke more, and is almost frightened or wild looking (in her eyes) almost all the time, she just doesn't act like the same horse and we don't know if she ever will. She may never act the same, but may be ok, you know what I mean? It's kind of sad really, but she is ok. If she ever completely recovers and is the same as she was it will be a long time, mabey months or longer. The dog still comes up here and will chase them if some one doesn't get after him, after all this he still doesn't tie the dog, he doesn't like to hear him bark. His mother has finally told him if she catches the dog bothering the horses again she will get a gun or call animal control, and they will have as much in fines as we had in vet bills (I am not sure what she has paid but all I could give her towards them was $140 so it was more then that) I couldn't really afford to help her with the bills, since she didn't even ask her son to help, but I did it any ways. Thanks for every one for the concern for her, and the advice, she is going to be ok.

Glad to hear she's going to be okay. You are right, this is going to take months to recover from, at the least. All the vetting that was done was at your place? She was never taken in anywhere for more extensive and thorough exams?

As to the spooking, considering she is favoring her one side, and the one side is still showing damage and having been affected, this is something you should expect. I'll bet she spooks more whenever whatever it is that bothers her happens on her weakened side.

Still, if your mother in law is willing, she really should have more extensive examinations done, if at all possible, instead of only the barn calls and antibiotic treatment. A more extensive and thorough exam will tell you whether or not more can be done for her or not at this point in time.

I guess I spoke too soon She went crazy in the barn this morning and almost killed my mother-in-law. She reared and charged and she ended up going through the floor even. She doesn't think she can see, and she isn't right, some thing is wrong mentally with her, she had done this once or twice before. But not this bad. She has decided she isn't feeding a "dead horse" and is afraid some one (like my 3 yr old) is going to get hurt, and she is taking her back to the neighbors monday, he buys and trades them and does auctions, he is where she bought him from. She will end up being shipped off, and I think this is th end of the line for her I didn't know that there where any kill buyers around, but I guess, that is where she is going to end up, that's all who will buy her now and she has made her mind up to send her off. I just can't stand the thought of Jezebel being dog food I don't know if I can have this thread put in the rainbow bridge or if I can post about her there after we ship her off or not, since I won't know when she will be killed, but I know she is going to be, and I am too sad to think about it, I will never see her after monday, and before I bawl in front of my daughter I better stop talking about it, so there probley won't be any more updates from me on this, unless monday she doesn't send her, but there is nothing more I can do to change her mind, she only kept her this long because of me, and she gave her a chance for me, but she doesn't want some one getting hurt, and she will never be right. Thanks every one for your support, and I am sorry for having such bad news and getting you all invovled to just send her off to be killed, I was really hoping for a better ending sorry

PLEASE try and talk your mother in law into having her put down instead of auctioning her off. That would be far kinder than how she will end up. I am so sorry to hear about this.

Originally Posted by Sea Witch

PLEASE try and talk your mother in law into having her put down instead of auctioning her off. That would be far kinder than how she will end up. I am so sorry to hear about this.

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I agree...this is all so awful. I am very sorry you have to go through all of this. Poor Jezebel

I am trying every thing I can, The neighbor didn't have room for her yesterday, so it will be about 3 days before he comes back and is ready to go back again, so that's what I am looking for on time. I will offer to pay for the vet bill for having her put down, or give her (or him ) the mabey 200 she would even get. I hate this so bad, it is killing me, she is going to put her down, then she isn't and then she is.... She loves the horse, she's got to, to keep putting off shipping her, so who knows, mabey she will decide it's wrong to do that to her, and put her down, or just give her a month more, it's not like we even ride any ways, Jezebel hadn't even been riden since last fall, so I don't know what the big deal is to keep feeding a horse she doesn't ride when she didn't any ways. So I am hoping that she will decide not to send her, when he comes back.