INTERESTING CASES

Poppy is a 5 year old Hanoverian cross Thoroughbred mare.  A freak accident lead to her falling onto the post and rail fencing at home whilst being lunged.  Fortunately her owner realised that there was some wood impailed under the skin and muscle of her neck, even though at first sight nobody had any idea how serious it was.

Poppy was kept calm by placing her quietly in the stable until the vet arrived.  Her owner searched the fencing to try to see how much was missing.  Once the length of the piece of missing wood was known, Poppy was sedated.  The wound was explored to establish the direction and depth of the piece of wood.

To allow the wound to drain, only the skin and muscle at the top of the wound were stitched.  The wound was flushed daily with copious amounts of saline.  A long course of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories were prescribed.  Laser treatment was used to encourage healing.

Poppy has made an excellent recovery.  The hair has grown back over the wound so that it is hard to believe that she once sustained such a nasty injury.

This case highlights the importance of leaving any foreign material in place until veterinary help is sought.  It also demonstrates how well extensive wounds can heal on the neck and body of the horse..

Initial Wound

Fence Post Extracted

Wound 3 weeks later

Hannah is a 13 year old Welsh Section D mare who was taken to stud in June. A routine scan before breeding carried out by David revealed a small and inactive left ovary and a massively enlarged right ovary of about 25cm diameter.

A provisional diagnosis of a granulosa cell tumour was confirmed by blood tests to assess hormone levels and Hannah was referred to Liverpool University where her affected ovary was surgically removed under heavy sedation via an incision in her right flank just behind the last rib. After a few weeks of box rest and controlled exercise, Hannah is now enjoying a normal life of daily turnout again and we are hoping that her remaining ovary will become fully functional again so she can breed a foal in 2008.

These tumours are quite rare but we have detected four cases so far this year, three of which were picked up at routine scans and one in a mare which started to behave like a stallion. These cases stand to highlight the value of routine scanning of mares prior to breeding.