Jasmine, my donkey, came up limping one day. I noticed she had a couple of dings and figured she might have taken a spill and had pulled something. I rubbed some liniment on her legs and doctored up her injuries and she seemed to get better.
That lasted for a day or two and then she got worse. Limping and not using her right front foot at all. I felt her foot for heat wondering if it was an abscess but didn't notice any real heat. I called and made an appt for the Vet to come out.
Meanwhile I noticed that her fetlock looked swollen and puffy. Panic set in, I began thinking the worse. I almost didn't get any sleep laying there wondering what was wrong. I told Jasmine that I had the best Veterinarian there was coming out to look at her and that he would make her feel better. She was SO stoic!
Dr. Haffner came out at 10 am, I hadn't seen him since selling my wonderful MFT horse, Blue. He said he always thought abscess until proven otherwise and sure enough, that's what it was. Jasmine was SO good she just stood there while he carved away at her foot.
The abscess was towards the toe but he said it had undermined the sole of her foot too. He couldn't believe how good she was because he said these were the most painful kinds of abscesses. She also stood quietly to get a tetanus shot and a shot of bute. He also checked her teeth and all the while she wasn't even restrained.
He said other than Alice (another spotted donkey he took care of) Jasmine was THE nicest donkey he had ever met. :)
He gave me some paste bute to give her a little each day and wrapped her foot in duct tape after cleaning it out real good. I was almost giddy I was so happy that it was just an abscess!
Jasmine is under lock down for a couple of days but then she should be back to "good as new".
7 comments:
I have never seen a spotted donkey. She is adorable. Hope she is well soon. Does she work with your sheep?
Oh dear... I have SO many questions...
First of all, poor Jasmine and thank goodness she has an excellent donkey mama (you)!!
1) What's an "MFT horse"?
2) What is "bute"
3) I can't believe she stood still for all of this - not a question, but I had to say it
4) How did this abscess form? Is there anything that can be done to prevent them?
5) How long does the duct tape need to stay on (oh, and...duct tape???)
Thank goodness she's ok!!
Jasmine loves being with my sheep. I don't know how good of a "guardian" she is though. :)
Danni, an MFT is a Missouri Fox Trotter, wonderful gaited horses. Bute is for pain. I use it only when needed and even though Jasmine IS stoic she seems much more relaxed with the Bute. It's probably from a stone bruise, can be from feet not being taken care of, but that's not her case. Duct tape stays on good and keeps the dirt out. :) As soon as it has time to start to heal (a couple of days) and I can keep the area he carved out clean the duct tape can come off.
Jasmine is a true beauty and I'm glad she will be fine. She is a lucky donkey having you for her Mom. :-)
What a beauty! Love the shot of her face. I don't think I have ever seen a donkey with markings quite like that. Thank goodness it was just an abcess.
Whew! Poor Jasmine. She's such a good girl.
What a relief. You are such a good critter mama. I'd have been worried, too. I'm glad that the prognosis is good.
I love seeing another use for duct tape. Around here, duct tape and hay twine and wire are used to fix just about anything. haha!
:)
~Lisa
Glad to hear it was just an abscess! Good vet; sounds like he follows the old adage: "If you hear hoofbeats, assume it's horses, not zebras."
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