"Thar She Blows!"
Just a quick update, as we breathe a sigh of relief...
Some of you may have read about our donkey Pete's adventure into 3-legged land this week. We were worried and he was miserable with a possible hoof abscess. The sudden onset lameness started 7 days ago and it's been hard to watch him try to walk on three legs.
Do you know donkeys can wince? I saw him do it more than once when he was trying to be brave and not let me notice how much it hurt.
Tonight Pete walked into the barn at an alarmingly fast clip that meant only one thing....the demon abscess had found a way out of his foot. By migrating through the inside of his hoof to softer tissue, the nasty smelling abscess blew out at the coronet band. That's where the solid hoof wall changes into flesh and donkey fuzz.
Sorry about the quality of this pic but I was lucky to remember to grab the camera. The raw looking skin at the top of the hoof wall is where the abscess exited. Now the site is all cleaned up and dried. A blob (veterinary term for glob) of ichthammol ointment is keeping the opening germ-free while it heals over.
Whew.
A happy donkey tonight and very happy owners. No more duct tape booties for this guy!
7 comments:
Yay! Glad it went with little fanfare (well, some fanfare, but not too much!)
Oh my goodness...me too. I had scary visions of coffin bones and rotations and all sorts of bad stuff. So glad it was just what Dr. Bob said it probably was.
I'm so glad that Pete is feeling better. I just dealt with an abscess (on my own person) and there is nothing that matches it for pain. I winced along with your pictures of the experience.
I'm excited for you about your upcoming visit to NM. Although I'm not familiar with Corona, a look at a map tells me that you could make a little trip to San Antonio to visit the Owl Bar & Cafe for a green chile cheeseburger, best in the world. And then, you could take another trip back and try out the Buckhorn Tavern across the road to compare--they are known as having the 7th best burger in the world, according to GQ Magazine. You can read a review of the Owl on my husband Beez's blog right here, but LOOK OUT for the food-based hyperbole (culinary orgasm, indeed)!
Do not forget to stop at that little gas-station-looking place for some fudge. I'm almost sorry we found out about it!
And if you think it is too long of a drive from Corona, just remember this is New Mexico--long distances--and that we once drove 580 miles for lunch at the Owl.
Amazing how once it blows the pain is gone. That had to have a week of hell for all of you - so glad it's over.
It is so fortunate you caught it relatively early and that conservative treatment was successful. Go, little Pete!
Yes!! A nice quick catch and good care certainly did the job on this one. Another equine disaster over and done with. In your case let's just say they come in fours, OK? A happy looking donk-a-donk
Hi Lisa....just don't know about a cause for the abscess. And that's usually the answer, unless it's obvious like a nail puncture wound, etc. I suspect something may have got into the foot with a trim that happened 6 days earlier as the 3 minis and Pete are all out on dirt lot (training for NM?) and just don't have that much to get into in the dirt, or the matted stalls. No founder, no colic, nothing that usually can cause a hoof abscess. The important thing I guess, is....it's over hopefully as Pete is walking better and better. I am continuing with 1 gram of Bute twice a day to help with the discomfort that is left and to act as an anti-inflammatory. And the ichthammol blob on the site everyday.
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