It's Baby Huey's Birthday!

Remember this cute little guy?

Well, today he is three years old! He survived the terrible twos without too much drama. Happy Birthday Imagine Baxter Black!

This is Baxter...

*This* is Baxter on drugs...

This is *why* Baxter is on drugs...

I suppose it is just pure luck that I had a farrier appointment for The Nanny today. I went out a little early to feed them before Craig came. Sometimes they are way down at the bottom of the pasture, and I have to walk them back up. Today was no exception, and I walked about half way down before they saw me. They started walking back, so I went to put their feed in the feeders. I did not turn around until I had put the grain in their feeders, and there, to my pure unadulterated horror was Baxter... bloody Baxter. His left hind leg from the hock down was covered with blood. He seemed totally unconcerned with the cut and proceeded to hog down his dinner. Even more horrifying to me was the fact that the wound was bubbling in two places. I almost fainted. Of course, having taken care of infected joints before, I was really afraid that the joint had been compromised, and that can be fatal. Damn Baxter! I have cared for much more horrific injuries - one mare whose chest was torn open to the bone by a longhorn cow. Legs laid open... open sinus cavities... cut, torn, and bowed, and bleeding, but not on MY horse. If this cut had been on his butt, or shoulder...anywhere but a joint, I wouldn't even have called the vet. I did, of course, call Joleen and cry like a little girl. Geeze.

Excuse me, but HOLY SHIT. This is *my* horse. The one that I had to have, sight unseen, from the first phone call where Joleen told me what he looked like. My baby is hurt! I wanted to vomit.

Here are more pics of his birthday present to me. Click on the pics to see larger versions. I lightened these up a lot so you could see the cut.

And more pics.

This is the back of the right hock. Obviously, he got wrapped up in something, but I walked the entire pasture and could not find what he hurt himself on.

The vet came out within an hour, thank whomever is in charge of vet's. We tranqued him and shaved/washed the wound. He probed around, and found much to my relief that the joint capsule was not involved. Neither were any of the tendons/sheaths. There are two one to two inch holes, connected by a two to three inch piece of skin. There is about a five inch diameter pocket under the skin, and the two slashes are into the muscle, most of the way to the bone, but thankfully, shy of the joint. On top of the tranq's, he also got bute and some antibiotics. Of course due to the diabolical placement of the wound, it cannot be stitched, or even bandaged. The biggest concern the vet had was that due to the location of the wound, it is possible that he could slough all the skin over the five inch pocket. He did not think that it would hamper his movement after it heals, so that is a mercy. He did say that it could take a very long time to heal, again due to the location. There is no way to immobilize the joint to keep the granulation tissue from being torn again and again. So, it is antibiotics and bute and keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't get infected.

Shit.

Oh, The Nanny did get her shoes. I hope they will help her be more comfortable....

I think I am going to have a nice drink...and go to bed.

Happy Birthday Baby Huey