The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread 11

[HairOfTheDog]

The FreeRepublic Saddle Club - (very out of date) Who's Who *pics*

This is a horse chat thread where we share ideas, ask for input from other horsemen, and talk about our riding and horse-keeping. We have a lot of different kinds of riders and horses, and a lot to share. In the previous threads we have had a great time talking through lessons, training, horse lamenesses, illnesses and pregnancies... and always sharing pictures and stories.

I always have a link to this thread on my profile page, so if you have something to say and can't find the thread in latest posts… look for it there and wake the thread up!

I also have a ping list for horse threads that are of interest, and MissTargets will now be pinging everyone most mornings. Let MissTargets and/or me know if you would like to be on the ping list. As FreeRepublic is a political site, our politics and other issues will probably blend in…. There are many issues for horsemen that touch politics… land use, animal rights/abuse cases that make the news…. Legislation that might affect horse owners.

So... like the previous threads, this is intended as fun place to come and share stories, pictures, questions and chit-chat, unguided and unmoderated and that we come together here as friends. There are lots of ways of doing things and we all have our quirks, tricks and specialties that are neat to learn about.

Previous threads:

The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - thread ONE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread TWO!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread THREE!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FOUR
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FIVE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SIX
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SEVEN
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread EIGHT
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread NINE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread TEN

New folk and occasional posters, jump right in and introduce yourselves, tell us about your horses, and post pictures if you've got them!

[Duchess47]

I don’t know either, except that I think she wants him flexed at the poll. I just really need to take you all here out to meet her and watch her and question her - you’d understand what she’s saying.

[Beaker]

Having him flexed at the poll makes the most sense, and his head would be perpendicular to the ground.

[MissTargets]

Thanks, that is what I have been doing. I really didn’t want to have to do any training to a horse, just get on and ride. I should have known better when I bought him. Guess I was “color blind”. :)

[maulismojo]

Hi there! I saw your post about treating a lower leg wound with Granulex. I just moved my mare to a new pasture and her first night out she cut her rear leg right above the fetlock. Thank goodness, there is no lameness and appears to not even be any pain. I cleaned it w/ betadine, applied furazone and wrapped w/ cotton and vetrap. It healed in all spots except the deepest part which started producing Proud Flesh and by the 4th day had an odor. I had the Vet out the next day and she debrided the wound, applied a cauterizing agent, rebandaged it and instructed me to stop the Furazone right away (apparently this irritates and often causes proud flesh in the area below the knee). She is having me debride it if needed, flush it with water pressure, apply Neosporin and wrap it daily. My question for you is: :) How deep was the cut that you used Granulex on?? I’ve heard it’s a good product, but I want to make sure I don’t use it to ‘soon’ and irritate the wound further. Her cut is finally healing (slowly) but it’s still pink and fleshy, especially after debriding it. I wasn’t too impressed with this new vet I used, so I don’t want to ask her for advice. I’ve also used Cut-Heal, but mostly on superficial wounds and it works wonderfully. Is this product similiar?? ALSO...MORE IMPORTANTLY..how much do I debride? i.e. it’s still not flush w/ the rest of her skin by the time it appears to cause her discomfort that I’m ‘scrubbing’ away the granulated tissue. Any help you (or anyone) can give would be much appreciated! Thanks!

[FrogInABlender]

Well, this particular wound started out looking like this before the vet cleaned it up...

And it looked like this when he got done with it...

It looked like this after a month...

3 months later...

5 months later...

And now this past June...

My vet told me to leave it uncovered and to use the Granulex daily so I did. Of course it got lots of dirt and grass in it so I'd debride it every day by with a solution of warm water, betadine, salt and epsom salt. I'd hose the wound first with just a slow trickle of hose water to soften it and then sponge on the betadine/salt solution and very gently rub the crusties off. Then I'd pat it dry and spray with the Granulex and leave him to his own devices until the next day. I know there's lots of other good products out there, but this really seemed to do the trick for me. I quit using the Granulex every day after about 3 or 4 months because it looked like it was healing nicely so I just started putting Triple Antibiotic Ointment on it to keep it moist. As for how much to debride, when using a product like Granulex, I don't think you really want to be trying to scrub off the proud flesh yourself. Let the Granulex do that. Just clean the dirt and debris out of it every day by rinsing the scabs off because that's where most of the dirt is. I know that your vet said to wrap it, but mine said to leave it open so I don't know what to tell you there, other than to show you the results I got by doing that. But whatever you decide to do, I want to wish you luck with it. From what I've seen, horses seem to heal really well, so hang in there and keep us updated. Post some pictures if you have them, and feel free to drop in and ask questions or share your concerns anytime. There's a lot of really great horse people with a lot of diverse experience on this thread and we all love talking to new people.

[HairOfTheDog]

That was such an ugly wound.

[HairOfTheDog]

Welcome to the Saddle club, and good luck with your wound...

[tuffydoodle]

I took a few pics of Mina today. She was running around and acting silly.

[HairOfTheDog]

Wow, tuffy she’s grown up GORGEOUS!

[HairOfTheDog]

How old is she now? She’s sure looking like a grownup. What are your plans with her?

[tuffydoodle]

Thanks, Hair. I’ve made up my mind, I’m selling her. She’s too nice of a horse to languish in my pasture.

[tuffydoodle]

She turned 2 in may.

[HairOfTheDog]

Are you going to back her first? Or sell her ready to start?

[tuffydoodle]

Ready to start. I just haven’t had any time at all to work with her.

[Beaker]

*jaw drops* Shee is gorgeous. Holy moly.

[tuffydoodle]

Dadgummit, ya’ll are gonna make me change my mind about selling her. :)

Thank you for the nice compliment.

[Duchess47]

I don't know if you can see in this photo how she has it rigged up - this is one taken at her place. Maybe you can snag it and crop and enlarge it on your computer enough to see it.

I really think all Bodie needs is some wet saddle blankets and he'll be a wonderful horse - he is color blinding isn't he :)

[Duchess47]

I really think you can straighten him out and probably pretty easy. I think you'll find he's really smart and enjoys the attention, even if it is work - moreso if it's work.

She worked with Tuff a lot on the ground on free lunge, I'm guessing after a lot of work on a lunge. She always worked him saddled with the draw reins, even when only lunging him. She insisted on him responding to voice commands.

[Duchess47]

WOW! She’s gorgeous, super model gorgeous.

[Duchess47]

This is the devil speaking from your shoulder :) Wouldn’t you just love to ride down the road on her? Definately head turning.