Misty had two vets working on her and it took them about one and a half hours to remove the slab. They took turns wiggling the slab loose until they could fit their big tooth-puller around it. Then it was quick business to pull it out. She has about two thirds of the tooth left. Misty was a good patient, albeit stoned out of her mind. They had to give her a couple extra shots of sedative to get that big mouth of hers to be still. Even with her head drooping almost to the floor and her legs splayed to keep her balance, her mouth remained very busy. She managed to wriggle out of the speculum twice while they were examining her. Good thing vets can pull their hands out of a horse's mouth with lightening speed. But the third shot was a charm and her busy lips finally succumbed to the sedative.
Wow, it was a stinky job with a very strong odor of putrid hay and dental decay.
Misty is home while she heals and receives antibiotics. The inflammation is going down slowly. Hopefully she'll be ready to resume her training sometime next week when the swelling is completely gone.
Ouch! Poor Misty. Glad they could help her, hope she heals quickly. Give her a hug for me.
ReplyDeleteOuch! Is there no end to the ways they can hurt themselves?? I cringe just looking at that "hook" on the slab. Poor Misty but what a good girl. Rest and get better!
ReplyDeleteOh, Misty. I am so sorry that you broke your tooth. Do be careful when you chew!
ReplyDeleteGlad it's out and you are feeling better.
Thanks for the well wishes. I am a bit frustrated with my girl though. I'm having a difficult time getting her to eat her antibiotic, Uniprim powder. She hates it. She's a picky eater anyway. I'm mixing it in soaked beet pulp with shredded carrot and molasses; even sprinkled sugar on it this evening and she hasn't touched it in 3 hours. I have to lock her in her stall with nothing to eat but her antibiotic mash. And when I just gave her a dose of Bute, I could smell that necrotic odor in her mouth. May need to call the vet tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteAwwww, poor Misty! That must hurt. Hope she takes her meds.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness!! That is some tooth. I'm glad they were able to get it out for her. Good luck with the antibiotic. Can you give it as a shot--possibly with help from someone else?
ReplyDeleteHang in there, both of you - better days are coming. Hoping things heal up soon.
ReplyDeleteThat's one more thing that can go wrong with horses that I didn't know about. I hope she heals and feels better soon.
ReplyDeleteShe's a girl - she should be a better patient. Hope she feels better soon.
ReplyDeleteOuch, Poor baby! Glad you got it all sorted out!
ReplyDeleteGlad you got that figured out - it must have been very uncomfortable!
ReplyDeleteFor the antibiotics, you may want to crush the pills and mix them with a little water into a paste and just syringe them in - that's what I did with Dawn when she was on them for weeks for an injury. An electric coffee grinder works wonderfully for pill crushing, although some types of pills will dissolve in a little water.
Ouch! Hope Misty feels better soon!
ReplyDeleteHope you get well soon, Misty!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kate, mix and administer through a syringe if she doesn't eat.
Wow that's some tooth! I'm so glad she's on the mend.
ReplyDeleteAny way you can add a bit of applesauce to the crushed pill and use syringe to give it to her?
Good luck!
Thanks for the good ideas. I stopped at a local vet supply store and picked up a syringe...along with a free lecture on how I have done everything wrong. This particular supply store has several strongly opinionated ladies who seem to think all horse owners are ignorant. (This was not the first lecture I've received there) She said Uniprim is tasteless and odorless and that my horse shouldn't even know it is in her feed (tell that to my horse who takes one suspicious sniff of the bucket and turns to the corner of her stall and pouts). The woman said she wasn't eating it because I made her mash too moist when it should be more like the consistency of fluffy rice...yada, yada, yada. So I did try to feed the powder once more following this woman's instructions, but Misty still wouldn't eat it. That was my last dose. I do have a new syringe now, in case I have to do this again. Of the 6 doses, Misty ate only 2 of them. I'm going to have the vet take a look at her again on Monday.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! That's awful. Poor girl. I'm glad they got the tooth out. I bet it feels better already. Feel better Misty!
ReplyDeletePoor Misty! I'm sorry about her tooth, but so glad your vets got it out. Good luck with the meds; that can be a challenge. Sorry you had to get an uninvited lecture about your methods, though!
ReplyDeleteI hate feeding antibioitics so even if I have the kind you're supposed to be able to put in feed, I always put it in a large dose syringe and add water. That way I can squirt it right in the horse's mouth like you would a wormer. Then I never have to worry my horse ate the stuff. You're probably done with this by now, but for future reference. It works great.
ReplyDeleteI hope Misty is all recovered and you're back to riding again.
OH GOOD GRACIOUS!!!! That is amazing. I have never even heard of a slab fracture. When i hear the word slab I think of huge slabs of stone. Poor Misty! Her tooth! Yegadz that probably felt awful. Sounds like she is in excellent hands! Putrid hay glob, be gone!!!!
ReplyDeleteYikes! That nasty tooth is huge! I imagine that something like this happening to a horse in the wild could end in death. Good on you for taking such good care of your horses.
ReplyDelete~Lisa