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Not-So-Speedy Dressage

From Endurance to Dressage

Izzy's Leg: Update 18

8/1/2015

 
Not bad news, but no real good news either. Izzy's leg is still not quite healed. And then there will be some scar tissue to deal with after the wound has completely epithelialized. 

When I get discouraged, I go back and look at the earlier pictures. They are quite shocking. So even though the wound seems to be the exact same size, pictures prove that it is healing. This last little inch is just taking forever.

The problem is that the very center has closed over twice, but then it swells and breaks back open once the bandage has been removed. For the past three months, I've bandaged for a day or two and then left the bandage off. Each time I do that, the leg goes through a period of swelling which cracks the skin. I go back to bandaging which helps the wound get a bit smaller, but the second the bandage comes off, the swelling returns and so does the cracked skin.

Throughout this cycle, the wound has gotten quite small, so I am now at a point where I have quit bandaging. I pick off the scab and scrape away any thing that doesn't look like healthy skin, and then I give it a coat of Alumaspray. I leave that in place for a day or two and then wash and scrub and pick off more unhealthy tissue. 

It has been a painstakingly slow process, but the wound is ever so slowly closing up.
Picture
Late May (after the first blow up from April)
Picture
Late June (right before another blow up)
Picture
Late July (no bandaging)
What is encouraging about the latest photo is how thoroughly healed the top few inches have become. That skin is now black, and the scar is clearly fading. The bottom of the wound is also looking darker and more tightly sealed. 

I think I am on the right track. Bandaging does allow the skin to close up faster, but the skin doesn't get strong enough to resist the pressure created when the leg swells once the bandage comes back off. It seems to do more damage bandaging than to just allow the skin to knit more slowly while I pick away at the unhealthy tissue.

If you had told me in January that this might take a year to heal, I am not sure that I could have dealt with the enormity of that proposition. We are now nearing seven months of doctoring. It's amazing what we are willing to do for our horses.

Ever onward!
Teresa link
8/3/2015 04:04:44 am

I'm glad that it is healing. I totally hear you on the 'if someone told me'. Perhaps it good that we don't know!

Bakersfield Dressage link
8/4/2015 04:47:20 am

It's getting there, but man is it moving slowly. And yeah, I am not one for wanting to know what the future holds. Just surprise me. :0)

SprinklerBandits
8/3/2015 06:21:46 am

These things take time. Glad you have the patience to tackle it.

Bakersfield Dressage link
8/4/2015 04:49:19 am

Tick tock ... Since I can't make it go any faster, I just poke at it daily to make sure there's nothing wrong. If it looks okay, I leave it. If it looks a bit bumpy, I pick off the old stuff, scrub, and spray. :0)

emma link
8/5/2015 10:55:46 pm

wow has it really already been seven months? hopefully it's just about finished healing!!

Bakersfield Dressage link
8/6/2015 04:31:17 am

Unfortunately, yes, it has been seven months. It is closing up though. I did another pick and scrub today. It's a wee bit smaller and there's no swelling, so it's getting there. :0)

Dee
8/28/2015 02:21:03 pm

I'm not sure if you have heard of it (or how available it is in the US) but have you tried medical grade honey on the wound? I personally use manuka honey but there are other types. I can give you a bit more info on it if you wish. There is science behind it, it's not just another snake oil remedy!


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    About the Writer and Rider

    ​I am a lifelong rider. 
    I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010.
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    About Speedy G

    ​Speedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
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    About Izzy

    Izzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
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Among other things, Karen is a Wife, Friend, Reader, Writer, Rider, Traveler, and Dog Lover
Contact her at bakersfielddressage@gmail.com
  • Home
  • About
  • My Horses
    • Horses
    • Imperioso
    • G Ima Starr FA
    • Sunshine
    • Nakota and Gideon
    • Corky
    • Sassy
    • Montoya DSA
    • Mickey Dee
    • Sydney
  • Show Results
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    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
    • 2013
    • 2012
    • 2011
    • 2010
  • Dressage Organizations
    • Dressage Organizations
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    • 2019 Dressage Tests
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