Solomon went through a fence last night. :( Warning, graphic photos.

Actually I think he slipped through it rather than ran through it, since it was on the side of a rather steep hill.
(And yeah, I actually do want to hobble train him, though I don't think it would have saved him last night. See muddy slippery hillside.)
So this is what happened. Last night there was a rain storm. Apparently horses go a little nuts when the seasons change, and this was the first storm of Autumn. Apparently they were charging around in the middle of the night, and went through the fence. 90 acres of pasture, and they had to go running on the steepest hillside in the mud. Solomon was the trailblazer I guess, because the T-post was bent and kind of unearthed. He doesn't usually hang out along the fence, even. He's not shown any indication that he would do something like this, so I really think he slipped, but I wasn't there of course.

So they found him first thing in the morning and called me. He was really muddy not not really limping so they thought he'd just scraped himself. I rushed out there to check him out. Another boarder helped me clean the wound and gave me a dose of bute to give to him, which he thankfully ate, and we found that his back leg was pretty bad, and he had a cut on his eyelid, so I called the vet out.

His leg was cut to the bone.

She was worried that she wouldn't be able to suture it together, but she wrapped it tightly after cleaning it out, and when she unwrapped it the skin was a little more closed and she was able to stitch it up. His eyelid also had to be stitched. He only JUST missed his actual eye. The vet had to sedate him heavily to sew him up, and he kept threatening to fall over, but thankfully we were able to keep him on his feet.

The leg is wrapped, and starting Tuesday will get re-wrapped every day or so. He's taking 15 antibiotic pills twice a day, 2 grams of bute, the eyelid is getting a special ointment, and the wound is getting triple antibiotic neosporin. I spent all day with him today and will probably end up pretty much living at the barn for the next few weeks. I'll do what I can to keep everything clean and dry, though his paddock is only half-covered and I can only hope that he'll stay out of the rain. :/

He looks really bad in this picture. He's all drugged up.
He was doing so well, too. He has become very very mindful on a lead rope, never trying to eat things off the ground, stopping and backing, walking and trotting, everything was going well, and he was also doing almost as well without a lead rope at all. If he is off a lead rope and we walk past a flake of alfalfa, he'll look at it and I'll say "no" and he'll turn away and keep on walking. Doesn't even break stride.
I bought a saddle two days ago. Finally found one that fit properly- extra wide tree and high gullet. It was a sadddle designed for a TWH. That last photo up there is weird, because his withers are actually normally much higher than his rump. He was getting good under saddle too. I rode him down the road, outside of an arena a couple of days ago. He stopped immediately almost every time, which is something he'd not been doing for anyone. He had learned to back under saddle. We were working on lateral movement and pivots. He was starting to get muscle, and he was really doing well.
Now I'm scared he'll get an invection despite the antibiotics, I'm scared he'll not end up sound after this (I'll still keep him, riding is not the most important thing for me, he's my horse dammitt) and I'm scared he'll go nuts being stuck in his paddock and hurt himself again. He's going to miss his herd and he's going to miss the hell out of being able to run around. The vet was hopeful but wasn't really sure if he'd heal up all the way. It's a wait and see sort of thing. My vet is really good and so is her assistant, and they told me to call if I noticed any changes or had any questions.
The bute will be an adventure. The assistant gave him the second dose, in a paste form, and came back with bute in her hair and on her face and hands, heh. Solomon doesn't like pastes. But she got him dosed. I'm going to try to feed it through some senior feed.
To get him to take his antibiotics, I dissolved them in warm water, dissolved some peppermints in the water, and mixed it all up in a scoop of senior feed. I switched him to all grass hay instead of alfalfa in the morning and grass in the evening, since he's going to get a fair amount of sugar and calories from his senior feed, and he isn't going to be running around the pasture all day. He actually isn't delicate when it comes to feed changes, thank goodness. It was always something random and different at the old place. Here it's the best quality stuff and very regular. But I don't want him climbing the walls any more than he already will be.
Argh, I'm worried that his feet will get really thrushy again too. I don't think I can really pick out the hoof on the injured leg. There are a lot of lacerations and I don't think he's going to willingly pick it up. Maybe I can soak his feet in a solution once in a while though.
Poor baby. He's been whimpering all day.

So does anyone have any tips for getting ointment on the eyelid of a horse that is kind of headshy? I am thinking I might actually have to use a twitch, which sucks, but he needs to get that ointment on him. I have an equine veterinary medicine book that shows how to do it, but I'll have someone show me in person as well. I think I should be able to feed through the antibiotics and bute, and he doesn't have a kicking problem, thank goodness. If I'm working on a wound on him and I tell him to stand, he'll stand. His paddock is kept very clean. The guys who work at the barn are very meticulous, and I sweep his stall mats in the afternoon as well. the uncovered section has already become a bit muddy. I don't think he'll be lying down there though, he'll probably lie down on the mats. I hope.

Anyway, other than his new injuries, Solomon has been doing really well. I haven't posted on this side for quite a while. He'll heal, with luck, and be okay. The place he's at has one of the best reputations in the bay area. The vets LOVE it. The horses are healthy and happy. The boarders are happy (a miracle, especially since there are a lot of them) and we watch out for each other andeach other's horses. The BO is awesome, a cowgirl from a ranching family that has been in the area for generations. She grows flowers and packs heat, she takes good care fo the horses, as does her staff, and she doesn't let anyone mess around. Solomon has been really happy and healthy and obedient here. Also, nobody shanks my horse.