Horse stepped on a nail today! Freaking out!!

[dianneS]

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.

 

[danielle82]

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

 

[dianneS]

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

 

[freemotion]

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!

 

[dianneS]

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.

 

[trestlecreek]

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

 

[dianneS]

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.

 

[trestlecreek]

Yes, they do sell boots for horses.

 

[()relics]

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.

 

[dianneS]

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!