# Horse stepped on a nail today!  Freaking out!!



## dianneS (Sep 24, 2009)

I had a feeling it was bound to happen.  Our 129 year old barn just seems to shed nails.  We cleaned everything up and swept the area with a magnet before we even brought the horses on the property, but more nails just seem to appear!

Today I saw my mare suddenly pull her foot up and start kicking it like she was being bitten by a really mean fly!  I ran outside, watched her walk and she was limping a bit.  I checked her hoof and there was a nail driven all the way into the tip of her frog!  I freaked out!  She limped to the barn, I cross tied her and got the pliers.  She was so good and allowed me to pull it out.  I know you shouldn't pull them out, but in the heat of the moment, all I could think was "get that thing out of there!"  I immediately rinsed the dirt off her hoof with the hose, dumped some peroxide on it and wrapped it up to keep it clean.  Then ran to the house to call the vet.

The vet instructed me to give her SMZ's (bactrim) twice daily, some bute and soak her daily, as well as call the farrier to cut her open to let her drain.

The nail went in at an angle, a very steep angle from the tip of her frog back toward her heel.  I don't think it hit a tendon.  It did bleed when I removed it, but only the 1/2 inch tip of the nail had blood on it.  She doesn't seem to be in all that much pain anymore.  I did as the vet instructed and packed her foot with icthamol, wrapped her up with duct tape and medicated her.

I've never had anything like this happen before and I'm really upset.  I just hope that since I got to it so soon after it happened that she will be okay.  

Anyone else been through this??  I'm still really worried, but hoping for the best.


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## danielle82 (Sep 24, 2009)

It sounds like its gonna be okay  it is very scary!
 For future reference (hopefully it dosn't happen again, but just in case) if You do end up pulling the nail (and you are correct, it should be left for the vet to pull) you can mark the puncture sight with a sharpie so it can be found later. Sometimes puncture wounds like that can seal up after the object is removed (and end up closing bacteria in) so you can mark the puncture sight if the vet wants to go in later they can, because they will know where the wound is.
 Good luck! Hope it turns out okay for you, it does sound like you are doing everything you can


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## dianneS (Sep 24, 2009)

Luckily, I am still able to see the puncture wound at this time.  The farrier will be out tomorrow.


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## freemotion (Sep 24, 2009)

Been there, done that, several times....it happens.  Most of the time it will heal up just fine.  But horses live in a dirty environment, so.....I would take her temp morning and night and record it.  Then if it starts to spike, you will know right away.  Then you get the vet out right away.  Or if she goes lame suddenly, don't wait.

Some horses have a low-normal temp, so call on the spike, not on any particular number.  I've had many fit horses (Arabs, especially) with normal temps of 99, so 101.5 is a big jump for those individuals.  It is a good idea to know your horse's normal.  

Your girl will likely be fine, but taking the temp is added insurance.  Plus it gives you a valid reason to go check on her late at night!


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## dianneS (Sep 25, 2009)

That's good to know.  I was thinking of taking her temp, but I'll monitor it closely now.

She looks good this morning.  She's only holding her foot up when she's standing, not limping at all when she walks.  I turned her out for a little bit and will be going out this morning to give her her first soak and re-wrap her.  The farrier will be here this afternoon.


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## trestlecreek (Sep 25, 2009)

Don't forget to make sure she's up to date on her tetanus shot.


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## dianneS (Sep 25, 2009)

She's UTD on her tetanus.  She's bearing weight today.  I soaked her and repacked her, wrapped her up and then wrapped her in duct tape, gave her antibiotics this morning.  May give bute or banamine since she has some swelling around her ankle which has me concerned.  Not hot, just swollen.  Will get temps today and monitor temp daily to watch for any spikes.

The duct tape isn't keeping her dressing dry so she's in her stall until the grass dries off.  Is there a boot I can put on her that will help keep it drier?  The farrier will be here this afternoon.


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## trestlecreek (Sep 25, 2009)

Yes, they do sell boots for horses.


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## ()relics (Sep 25, 2009)

Horses are tough...With the UTD boosters you will probably have no futher problems...Glad to hear you called your vet right away....It sems like so many people wait or don't call at all...Then a bad situation can get worse, overnight, while the owner is "waiting to see" how bad the problem really is....I do the "10 nail pick-up" every night...I've been lucky so far with no major injuries....Go to the store and buy her a couple of apples as a treat...It always makes ME feel better anyways.


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## dianneS (Sep 25, 2009)

Well, the farrier was here.  He couldn't do anything since we could no longer see the puncture wound.  I showed him exactly where the nail had gone in and at what angle.  He cut into her foot and still could find no hole.

He said that could be good, it could be bad.  But over all he thinks she'll be okay.  Since she's walking just fine and not lame at all.  Since I got to it so quickly, she' utd on her tetnus, we started antibiotics within two hours of her stepping on the nail.  I'm keeping it clean and wrapped.  Soaking twice a day.  Icthamol packed in there.  Her temp is normal and I'm going to continue to monitor her temp, we think she'll be alright.

I'm hoping anyway!


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## dianneS (Sep 26, 2009)

Oh, no.  Everything seemed to be going just fine with my mares nail encounter and now today she has a small marble sized lump on the bulb of her heel just above the coronary band.  It is located just outside of where the tip of the nail would have stopped based on the angle of entry.

It doesn't affect her gait at all, it is very sensitive to the touch however, and her temperature has risen about  one half a degree.

Now I'm worried again.


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## freemotion (Sep 26, 2009)

Of course!  This is because it is Saturday night.  Didn't you know they like to wait until Friday, preferably Saturday night to start to show any symptoms? 

Keep a closer eye on that temp.  Half a degree is not really a spike, but it is a little tiny splinter....watch it to make sure it is not the beginnings of a spike.  The bulge on her heel could be an abcess looking for a place to come out.  You could soak it with hot towels or in a rubber pan if she will stand it in, in water the is very warm, but not burning hot.  At least it seems to be in a place that is not enclosed in the hoof capsule.  Call the vet if it looks worse or if the temp spikes up.

And a half a glass of wine, if you imbibe, could be useful, too!


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## laughingllama75 (Sep 27, 2009)

I would start (if you have not already) treating her for an abcess. Start soaking her foot with epsom salt in hot water, for a good 10 minutes several times a day. Why wait, maybe you can head it off at the pass, so to speak. I have dealt with many an abcess, no fun but manageable. Good luck. How is your mare feeling this morning? Poor girl.


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## dianneS (Sep 27, 2009)

I've been soaking her since day one.  Packing her with icthamol, but I was packing the sole of her hoof.  I think I'll pack in some ichthamol around that heel too.

Its currently pouring down rain too!  It rained ALL DAY yesterday and the farrier told me not to keep her inside because when I did just for one night, she stocked up just a little.  One day in the pasture, and all the fluid was gone.  So I don't want to put her on stall rest.  But the grass is so wet?  She's out there right now in the wet grass and rain.  I'm wrapping her up in vet wrap, and really wrapped her with duct tape, but I know that won't keep her completely dry.

She wasn't eating all of her grain at first with the powdered bactrim in it.  It would take her all day/night to finish it.  She's finally taking all her meds in at once since I started mixing her meds into applesauce and then adding it to her grain.  Hopefully that will bring her temp back down.

The abscess doesn't seem to be enclosed in the hoof capsule.  The angle of the nail would have put the tip just below where this bump is forming.  I figure if there is any infection that has to come out, it doesn't have far to go and I don't think much pressure will build up before it works its way out.

She's still moving and behaving like her normal self.  The only spot that hurts is that little bump on her heel.  She's bearing weight normally.  I just don't know if I should keep her in her stall to keep her dry, or let her out?  I wish this rain would stop already!


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## freemotion (Sep 27, 2009)

Can you hand walk her instead, in a dry-ish area like the driveway, and then soak her foot and bandage it up when you put her back in her stall?  If you get her to move a couple or more times a day, that should take care of the stocking up.

As long as her temp is ok and she is not getting lamer, don't worry, things SEEM to be progressing just fine!


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## laughingllama75 (Sep 27, 2009)

I wouldn't worry too much about the rain.....you can NEVER keep any wound completly dry/clean/etc with any horse. didn't you know it was an Equine Law? LOL. As long as you are soaking it, she has a normal temp and seems to be getting all her meds, then I would just wait it out. I know how hard it is to wait.....went all last summer with an older QH gelding, waiting for the puncture to abcess. Finally, after 6 weeks of gimping around and soaking, it blew out his heel. And I mean BLEW out. but, the minute it broke.... he was on the mend. it was like 3 weeks till he was sound and light rideable. My vet did not have me do anything special, other than keep him from the other horses so he would not fool around or get more injured. he has free reign over the pasture and paddock until the abcess broke, then I kept him in the paddock (dry lot, roughly 50 x50) until it was healed.


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## dianneS (Sep 27, 2009)

That's good to hear.  Her temp is normal this morning.  She's taking all of her meds all at once now.  I soaked her and packed her/wrapped her up.  There is some more heat and a little swelling in that leg.  She's walking just fine only that one small spot is sensitive.  I think its just going to be a very small abscess and hopefully it won't take too long to rupture!


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## dianneS (Sep 28, 2009)

Okay, my mares wrap came off last night.  Her temp is normal, she's getting her antibiotics regularly.  She has some slight swelling and some heat in that hoof/leg, otherwise she's fine.

She has no puncture wound anymore since the nail went into the frog, it has closed up.  She's been wrapped for four and a half days.  Do I really need to keep her wrapped??  Its a pain and there is no hole to keep clean anyway.  If I do hot compresses and soaking daily, would that be enough?


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## trestlecreek (Sep 28, 2009)

http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=3464&src=SV


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## ducks4you (Sep 28, 2009)

trestlecreek said:
			
		

> Don't forget to make sure she's up to date on her tetanus shot.


I'm so glad she's doing better.  Nonetheless, ALWAYS keep a vial of Tetanus *A N T I - T O X I N* in your fridge.  I do.  AND, I try to mark on my calendar when it's going to expire, so I can buy another one.

The FIRST thing my Vet (or my previous vet--we moved, you see) has ALWAYS done with any injury was to give an antitoxin shot to my injured horse.  It doesn't hurt your horse to give this shot, even if you're not sure.

The difference between the two shots:
TETANUS TOXOID--Killed tetanus designed to encourage antitoxin production in your horse's body.  IT takes about 2 weeks to build up enough for 6 months-one year of coverage.  Antitoxins in your horse's body must be rebuilt after that.
TETANUS ANTITOXIN--Equine tenanux antitoxins are IN the vial.  Gives immediate antibody protection against tetanus.

Tetanus lives naturally in the soil AND in your horse's body BUT, they can't get it unless they've had an injury that breaks the skin.  (No, I'm not referring to the common cuts and scrapes that we cover with Nitrofuricin/SWAT.)  GO  FIGURE why horses are weird, like this!  

Your Vet will give BOTH toxoid and antitoxin to a horse that isn't up on shots, just to be sure.

Now, you won't have to panic as much, next time Murphy's Law slaps you in the face!


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## ducks4you (Sep 28, 2009)

ALMOST  FORGOT!
Tentanus antitoxin's antibodies fade after about 2 weeks.  Both shots given simulaniously protect your horse and complement each other.


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## dianneS (Sep 28, 2009)

Just a quick update.  I decided to leave her wrap off today since she has no open wounds and the intial puncture has closed up.

ALL of her swelling is gone, no heat in her leg, hoof etc.  Temp is normal, walking moving normally, trotted out to the pasture with her buddy, cantered a little with him, no signs of lameness.

The little bump on the back of her heel is shrinking and is not AS sensitive to the touch, but still sensitive.  

I think I'm going to continue with soaks and hot compresses and poultices, but I'm not going to wrap her anymore.  Leaving her in the pasture has been a big help too.  Stalling her only makes her stock up.

So far so good!


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## dianneS (Oct 2, 2009)

Well nothing new has happened with my mare's foot.  No lameness at all whatsoever.  She's completed her antibiotics, never had a fever, no signs of an abscess, no open wounds, no heat swelling or anything of that sort.

Its been 8 days since the encounter with the nail.  I don't know how much longer I should wait until I can ride her?  I guess she's going to be fine.


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## laughingllama75 (Oct 2, 2009)

I would still give her at least a week more, just to give things a chance to change in her hoof. It is awesome that she is still doing great, maybe she will be one of the lucky ones who steps on a nail without any harm done. Wow.
Thanks for the update!


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