February 13, 2025 – Even though I have lived in a horse community since 1987, I mainly admire the beauty of the horses in our neighbors’ pastures but I must admit that my knowledge of horse health is limited. I have learned that the hock area of a horse is delicate and does not have any muscle up to the knee. Blood circulation of the “frog pump” or a “blood-filled cushion” located at the bottom of the hoof moves upward into the leg by kinetic action when the horse’s leg contacts the ground. Inflammation of the hock from abrasions or scratches could cause pain to the horse and limit their joint movement to make marginal blood circulation (and healing) in the leg extremities even worse.
One of the most fascinating horse healing stories treated by two equine vets (one of the worst cases that they have ever seen) is the one about Fluffie, a beloved 15 year old plus retired Thoroughbred bloodmare that lived at a well-managed farm in Virginia during the Summer of 2013. Fluffie had a chronic multi-seasonal condition with oozing cracks and thick crusts on both of her hind legs. Even with more accurate testing and diagnosis by Cornell University, one of the vets stated … “Over the years, Fluffie has been treated with every antibiotic under the sun including naxcel, gentamicin, TMS, and doxycycline. Her manager does not seem to think antibiotics help much with the primary condition, although they are sometimes needed to control the cellulitis.”
The vet continued in her written summary … “At the suggestion of another veterinarian, the owner began using Watt-Ahh on Fluffie’s legs with impressive results. At the owner’s request, the manager began washing the legs daily with the ketoconazole–chlorhexidine dermatologic shampoo, rinsed, dried, and sprayed on the Watt-Ahh to saturate the skin, then bandaged the limbs with clean cotton wraps. The owner also gave a few doses of dexamethasone–chlopheniramine over the next few days. No systemic antibiotics were given, despite obvious cellulitis and secondary skin infection.” The manager after the first day of treatment told Rob that when he removed the rubber boots, the smell was horrendous due to the sloughing of dead cells. For over the next two weeks, the manager continued the same treatment protocol using Watt-Ahh. Below are the before and after photos.
The vet stated in her report …”I saw the mare on three more occasions (7/12/13, 7/19/13 and 8/2/13) and photographically documented her progress. I am not sure what the mechanism of action is, by the Watt-Ahh, in addition to the otherwise routine management of scratches, seemed to significantly help this case.”
Before (7/12/13)
After (8/2/13)
For the entire 2025 Series on Be the Ahh! Pets, go to this link.
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