Wound Update

I was at the barn again tonight and Rocky was not pleased to have been in a stall/run overnight.  He came right to me and thought he was going to walk right out of his stall when I had his halter halfway on.  I backed him up and he remembered "oh yeah, I have to wait for her."  My first thought was to check his neck wound, but he was cranky and restless. I took his fly sheet and mask off, then let him go in the outdoor arena.   He happily ambled to the side of the arena to eat the grass that he could reach- if you haven't noticed, my boy likes to graze!

I let him do that for a few minutes, then went to get a lunge whip.  When I came back, he was just getting up after a good roll in the dirt.   When he saw me heading for him, he turned and edged down the arena fence while still looking for grass.  I pointed in the direction he was already heading (his cue to move that way) and clucked when he didn't respond right away.  He moved off at a walk, looking mildly irritated.  He turned a corner in the arena and realized that I was serious about making him move.

He then turned, ears pricked, and began to walk to me.  This is how I catch him out in the pasture when he's decided he doesn't want to do anything.  However, I wanted him to let off a little energy and see just how cranky he might be after his stall rest. I pointed him on to my left and he swung his head that way, a little offended that I didn't let him catch me.

I then started to free lunge him, asking him to trot around me and change directions.  He was resistant to travelling right, so he had to hustle a little until he gave in.  Overall, he turned really nicely for me without anything attaching me to him. I let him catch me a few minutes later, and looked at his wound.  It was full of arena sand and dirt from his recent roll.

I hosed it out with the setting on shower and used one of my fingers to slide the grit out.  Then, I sprayed Vetericyn on it and continued with my ride.   When I put him away, I sprayed more Vetericyn on it and it seems like it's healing okay. The part under where his flap of skin covers the wound is still pretty wet, but the rest of it is starting to heal.

It's easier to see how much of his mane I trimmed here, and how large the wound is relative to his neck.

Sorry this photo is a bit blurry, he was grazing and it was hard to get a clear shot with my cell phone.

Happiness is:

He was really pleased to get the clover :)