How Sweet P lost her tail - Health & Supplements - Health & Supplements - Horse Community, Horse Pictures, Horse Forum and Information

Posted : 4/12/2010 10:24:41 PM

Well, I have had an unfortunate set of circumstances that have turned my Halfinger mare Sweet P into a bobtailed draft pony.

On March 30th I sent her down to a mule breeder's to get her bred. Before shipping her, I wrapped her tail with the cotton wrap stuff and Vet Wrap to keep the manure and ick off of the thick tail hair and her privates. I made sure I could slip 3 fingers under the wrap.

So all is well at the breeders, she does not come into heat for the 1st week, or the next.... and finally she hit her cycle last Friday (April 9). When the breeder started covering her with the jack donkey she noticed a bad smell and that the top of Sweet P's tail was hot. She unwrapped it and a bunch of blood and pus blew out. Now, the mare did not act the least bit painful or concerned over this. The breeder cleaned out the nasty stuff and called me right away. What we think happened was that the cotton part slipped down, and the Vet Wrap slipped up higher on the tail with my mare backing into and rubbing against the fence (teaser stud pony next to her turnout pen), and basically the Vet Wrap turned into a tourniquet.

The breeder started her on a broad-spectrum antibiotic right away, and the next morning the tail came off. She was going to have her vet come out and amputate it, but Nature took care of that on her own, and now there is nothing we can do but keep the stump clean and run the course of the antibiotics.

It is pretty shocking, I haven't even seen my mare yet, she is still in heat and I have arranged to have her shipped home Thursday. As terrible as it all seems, Sweet P has not been in pain and she will probably heal quickly - and will look like a miniature Belgian with a docked tail.

I just feel really bad about putting the Vet Wrap on her tail in the first place, and a little upset that it was left on for so long without being monitored, but there is really nothing to do but go on from here.

danastark

Posted : 4/12/2010 11:44:51 PM

Awwww, poor Sweet Pea. Wonder why they didn't remove the wrap when she got there and if needed reapply another one. I bet it will be a shock to see her the first time, poor girl......

3equines

Posted : 4/13/2010 12:45:59 AM

I don't intend to spread any blame here, she looked and behaved like a normal horse at the breeder's and they assumed that since I was the one who put the wrap on, I knew what I was doing.

Its just a really freaky lesson to learn, and very sad for Sweet P. I am allready looking at different kinds of tail extensions to help her swat flies this summer.

Now that word is getting around I have been told a horror story of a horse's leg being wrapped in Vet Wrap, it tightened up and strangled the leg from the canon bone down and the horse had to be euthanized.

The more I hear about Vet Wrap the more I like the old-school Ace style wraps - Vet Wrap tends to continue to shrink and compress as it is worn. A sad lesson learned.

hunterseat

Posted : 4/13/2010 4:47:30 PM

A former member here had a horror story about a tail bag - it's always so hard because it's the things we do that cause problems that we just can't stop feeling guilty for or beating ourselves up for. I'm so proud of you for being so reasonable about this. It was an accident. My other friend was torn up BAD for a LONG time. Her horse was injured but didn't lose his tail. I hope she gives you a pretty baby along with all the gray hairs! [ ':D'

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AllieBaba

Posted : 4/16/2010 5:50:44 PM

You won't have to worry about tail wrapping her anymore, at any rate!

I'm sorry...it's awful, but it's one of those weird funny things that could happen to anyone.

I'm anal about wrappings and blankets, halters, accoutrements....if I can't check them myself every day, they don't go on. And I do check them. Anything that's on comes off and whatever is under it gets brushed and felt.

I'm even paranoid about braiding manes and tails...I won't leave braids in, even if horses are in stalls.

I was thinking about trying out tail bags...I think I'll pass on them now!

3equines

Posted : 4/16/2010 8:11:39 PM

I agree that it is wise to vigilantly check any type of wrapping or constrictive device often.

The thing I am most cautious about now is using Vet Wrap. I used to use it without a thought on legs and tails. Now I am looking at keeping a Velcro/neoprene splint boot in my first aide bag for legs (instead of vet wrap) and Ace wrap or duct tape for everything else that needs a reasonable amount of tackyness to stay in place.

AllieBaba

Posted : 4/16/2010 8:47:40 PM

I hope you post pics of the tail. Did she lose it close to the base of the tail, or down further? Will she be able to grow long hair, or is it too high up?

hunterseat

Posted : 4/17/2010 12:23:16 AM

Now she'll know what an appaloosa goes through! (the ones with little or no tails)

3equines

Posted : 4/17/2010 12:26:58 AM

Sweet P is coming home tomorrow and I will have pics this weekend. She went back into heat Thursday mornig, after we thought she was done, the vet thinks this is from the antibiotics suppressing a heat cycle that was allready present.... so the breeder wanted to cover her a few more times (breeder says this heat is way stronger than last weekend, a good sign that she has finally ovulated - or we might be getting twins and have to have one pinched off).

The breeder thinks she will have about 18 inches of tail hair when it all grows back, it came off pretty high up but not all the way at the top. So far it is healing well, no swelling or drainage.

hunterseat

Posted : 4/17/2010 1:22:17 AM

I'm glad it's healing well. I know you'll be glad to have her home. My horse farm neighbors ALWAYS terminate one twin.

3equines

Posted : 4/20/2010 4:27:32 AM

Sweet P came home Saturday an I was pretty sickened by the condition of her tail. There was hair and dirt crusted onto it, and a lot of exposed bone with very thin layer of tissue over it. I had to shave off the tail hair, then soak and work off all the scabby crusty stuff, although I am only two months away from having my RN license and seen some pretty nasty wounds in my clinical training this was extremely hard on me. After that it looked like there was hope, I could see what I was dealing with, but today when I got home from school the wound was draining profusely, just a constant seepage of liquidy red fluid. No pus or odor, but it is just sickening to look at and try to care for. I called my vet this morning, I can't get him out until Wednesday because I have an out-of-town clinical nursing shift that I can not miss tomorrow (it would prevent me from graduating and getting my RN licsense). He called in a prescription for a stronger antiobotic, which I picked up and started her on this evening.

Meanwhile Sweet P is her self, no trouble with eating or drinking, no signs of distress, and not bothered when I clean the wound. I am keeping her stalled, the other Halfingers are right there in the sacrifice area in front of the stall so she is content. I am turning her out for about an hour to graze each day. Trying to keep the stall as clean as possible, using a lot of shavings....!

Pictures: after debridement of the wound. Sweet P in her stall.

3equines

Posted : 4/20/2010 4:29:41 AM

Picture: today, you can see how wet the wound is, there is a lot of edema and drainage. I am cleaning it twice daily with a normal saline solution and spraying BlueKote on the wet areas, rubbing BagBalm into the intact skin.

samsara

Posted : 4/20/2010 6:41:42 AM

Poor thing. That doesn't look like fun at all...for either of you.
I really like BluKote myself. Reidar gets beat up pretty bad in the pasture so he spends most of the summer walking around with purple spots all over but the wounds heal quickly and it's easier to apply than a salve. Winter's not a problem, his long coat protects him well.

hunterseat

Posted : 4/20/2010 10:48:14 AM

I can picture you crying and cussing. Bless both of you! What a wonderful girl she is. She's lucky she has you for a mom. I can't even believe it got like that. [:@] Sorry, I couldn't enlarge the photos. I got the idea from the smaller versions. It's amazing what we can do when a loved one needs us. So sorry you're having to deal with this. Hang in there and best wishes for your clinicals!!!

AllieBaba

Posted : 4/20/2010 1:31:52 PM

I really don't think there should be any bone showing. I'd think a vet would need to sever the bone even higher so some flesh will cover it...and I would think it would need to be done asap if you want to salvage flesh around it. Otherwise the skin is going to shrink back, and there won't be any flesh to pull down around the tail.

I found a kitten who lost toes to frostbite...and the vet told me at that time that if you have appendage removal with not enough flesh to cover the bone, nothing can be done. I don't know how that translates to a tail, but I'm thinking that tail is really short as it is, not much flesh there, and I'm wondering how on earth a vet would fix it so flesh will come down around the bone when he has so little room to work with....