Re: Snake Bite

["Barbara McCrary" <bigcreekranch@cruzio.com>]

This horse was standing on three legs the day of the bite, so he was very
lame.  He was lame even three weeks later.  We've had all the ultrasound and
X-rays done, from the very beginning.  The vet at first suspected a broken
bone or a tendon injury, hence the US and X-ray.  The vet also took a last
set of X-rays three weeks after the bite, to rule out bone involvement.
I'll probably call in a second vet for a new look-see this week, to
determine how things are progressing, as I would like a second opinion.

Barbara



From: <guest@endurance.net>
To: <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Sent: Saturday, August 25, 2001 9:54 AM
Subject: RC: Snake Bite


> K S SWIGART   katswig@earthlink.net
>
>
> Barb McCrary asked:
>
> > Question to all of you out there:  How long would you say it will take
> > for complete healing, and will this bump, about the size of a big lemon,
> > reduce to anything that resembles normal.  I expect a scar, but I
> > wonder about the bump.  The vet says it was fortunate that the site
> > of injection was on the lateral quarter, neither front nor back, as
> > either of those locations might have impacted the tendons, extensor
> > or flexor.  The horse is about 99% sound, but I believe I detect a
> > faint irregularity.
>
> I had a horse that got bitten by a rattlsnake on the back of the
> bulb of its heel.  Leg swelled up from hoof to hock the next day,
> not a whole lot, because rattle snake venom causes tissue to swell
> rather than edema (and there just isn't that much tissue below
> the knee)--which is why cold therapy is counterindicated.
>
> What I did:
> 1.  Clean well the puncture wound and treat for (and watch for any
> signs of) tetnus.
>
> 2. Worked his butt off in order to maintain the ciruclation (since
> the tissue swelling compromises circulation to the tissue and can
> cause gangrene).
>
> Horse never took a lame step, and about six weeks later a hunk of
> his frog died and fell off, but was unimportant because he had grown
> sufficient new frog by that time.  The puncture wound had healed up
> within a week.
>
> What you are describing has some marked differences to my own
> experience which leads me to believe that either it was a different
> variety of rattlesnake (possible, there are hundreds of varieties),
> or that there is some other secondary something going on.
>
> However, even so, I will give you my advice on how I would treat
> the situation you have described (even though it is different from
> my snake bite on the leg experience).
>
> 1. I would treat the open wound like any other open wound.
>
> 2. I would treat the lump of proud flesh like I would any other
> lump of proud flesh (and accept that it might be permanent).
>
> 3. I would treat the 99% soundness like I would any other
> 99% soundness.  And if it were my horse that I had great
> hopes for as an endurance horse, and I had a bit of lameness
> that was persisting for six weeks, I would use all the
> diagnostic tools available to determine the cause of the
> mild unsoundness I.e. Is there some damage to some underlying
> tissue...either bone, tendon or ligament...or is it just a matter
> of the wound and/or lump causing a little bit of discomfort?
>
> There has been an injury to the site, and I would want to know
> (beyond just clinical signs) what the extent of that injury is.
>
> If it was, indeed, a snake bit, the fact that the bite site was not
> near tendons or ligaments, does not mean that the venom could not
> have spread to these structures (or the bone for that matter) and
> compromised the tissue in some way.  X-rays and Ultrasounds
> would be the first things I talked with my vet about, but I would
> also talk with him about any other diagnostic tools available that
> might give a truer picture of the condition of the horse (other
> that what can be determined by looking at it).
>
> I might also consult a massage therapist or chiropractor that could
> look over the entire horse's body to determine if either the earlier
> pain from the bite has caused the horse to compensate in some way,
> and the 99% soundness is caused by a mild crookedness that has
> developed.
>
> Since each of these diagnostic tools may reveal quite different
> causes for the mild unsoundness, and those different causes may
> have different appropriate treatments, ranging from drugs to treat
> an infection or surgery to remove some dead tissue (???) through
> total stall rest to consistent self-exercies, hand walking, or specific
> dressage exercises to correct a muscle asymetry and doing the wrong
> thing might make the matter worse; I wouldn't skimp on the diagnostic
> tools that I availed myself of.
>
> You won't be looking for the cause of the injury (a snake bite) but
> rather for the cause of the unsoundness (an open wound, a lump of flesh,
> a lesion on tendon or ligament, a stiff back, etc.)
>
> kat
> Orange County, Calif.
>
> p.s.  _I_ didn't do that when my horse got bitten by a snake, but then
> my horse never even showed any signs of noticing it had happened
> (except that he didn't like me flushing out the puncture wounds on
> the first day, and picking up his foot and poking and prodding as I
> inspected it for infection until it healed....there never was any, so I
> didn't have to treat that).
>
>
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