Freedom!!!
Happy Monday, EN! In adding the latest progress photos to the gallery below, I can’t help but be shocked at how well Frankenhorse is doing. The wound is shrinking before our eyes faster than any of us ever deemed possible, and I have nothing but good things to report.
In my last update on Day 15, Mia was poised to have her stitches removed and also about to have her first laser treatment courtesy of EN’s sponsor SpectraVET Therapeutic Lasers, who was gracious enough to let me borrow a laser to speed the healing process.
I’m using a PRO2 control unit with a visible red wound healing probe, as well as a 2000 mW Cluster probe on the muscles around the injury, and it has been nothing short of amazing so far.
It’s super easy to use, and I felt totally confident after reading through the instruction manual. Mia has now had five treatments with the laser. I’ll let the photos of the day after the first (Day 18) and fourth treatment (Day 25) do the talking:
Holy LASER, right? I’ve also been sporadically treating the wound with Equaide. You’ll notice bits of Equaide around the edges of the wound in some of the photos below where it stubbornly refused to come off during cleaning, which is definitely annoying for an OCD wound cleaner like myself.
Since the tissue has been looking healthy, and at my vet Dr. Wade Wisner’s recommendation, I’ve just been using plain ol’ triple antibiotic ointment for the past few days instead of Equaide. I’m absolutely thrilled with how the tissue looks. It’s so cool to look at the photos and see how far we’ve come already.
And Mia is also a happy camper, as she was cleared to leave her stall on Day 20 to hand graze. I’m pleased to report that she has been very polite during her daily hand grazing time — thanks in part to the fact that she’s still on Reserpine — and she looks very sound when she walks to and from her stall, so we’re definitely on the right track.
Nom.
As for how we’re keeping her entertained, she rejected the Jolly Ball and slow-feed hay net, but she is now obsessed with three toys: the Amazing Grace Treat Dispenser, Uncle Jimmy’s Hangin’ Balls and the Jolly Stall Snack with Apple Ball.
I tried the Uncle Jimmy’s Hangin’ Ball first, and she proceeded to devour it in about five days. Those things ain’t cheap, and they make her entire face and giant ears super sticky, but I’ll keep using them since she would likely stage a riot otherwise.
The real savior has been the Amazing Grace toy, which fellow Stonewood Farms boarder Amanda Smith let me borrow. Mia figured it out in about two seconds and is now eating all her meals in this toy. We’re also filling it with alfalfa/timothy cubes and treats, and she will play with it all day — and roll it over to you when it’s empty.
She also loves the Jolly Stall Snack toy, which local EN reader Desiree Kile was kind enough to let me borrow. I filled it with an Uncle Jimmy’s Licky Thing, and she’s been having a blast with it too.
As always, see below for a photo of each day since the injury occurred on June 26 through today, Day 26. Thanks again for following along on our journey and for posting so many comments with tips and advice. You rock! #teammia
The Frankenhorse Chronicles:
June 27: How My OTTB Decided to Spend the Summer as Frankenhorse
June 30: The Eventer’s Five Stages of Grief
June 30: Adventures in Catastrophic Wound Care
July 7: Frankenhorse Goes Commando and Other Wound Care Tales
July 10: Christmas Comes Early for Frankenhorse
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- Day 1
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- Day 2
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- Day 3
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- Day 4
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- Day 5
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- Day 6
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- Day 7
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- Day 8 — Oops
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- Day 9
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- Day 10
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- Day 11 — The skin flap preparing to exit stage right
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- Day 12 — Mia’s wound goes commando!
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- Day 13
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- Day 14
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- Day 15
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- Day 16
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- Day 17
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- Day 18
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- Day 19
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- Day 20
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- Day 21
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- Day 22
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- Day 23
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- Day 24
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- Day 25
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- Day 26
