Max a 12 year old ID x TB.

One evening Max and I were working in the sand school. After we finished I took his tack off him to let him have a roll in the sand.  He lay down quite near to the fence. He rubbed his neck and his side in the sand then, unfortunately decided to roll over appearing to have forgotten how close to the fence he was. He caught his leg on the second rail of the fence and in his anxiety about being caught, began to thrash his leg scraping it repeatedly against the fencing pulling a heavy metal spreader down. He then freed himself and got up but hobbled away on three legs. Within seconds I could see a large haematoma forming on the inside of his thigh. There were a number of cuts to the inside of his leg, all of which were bleeding (see photo). Fortunately within minutes he seemed happy to put his weight on the injured leg so I walked him up the yard and called the vet. While I waited for the vet to arrive, I offered max oils that I felt were going to be helpful in the very early stages of the trauma -rose, arnica, yarrow, comfrey and carrot seed.

Max wanted to lick lots of arnica and yarrow. He sniffed the rose but was not interested in licking it. The vet arrived within 20 minutes of the accident, by which time some of the haematoma had already started to go down. He examined Max, found nothing to be broken but felt the wounds were not suitable for stitching. He offered to give max an antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drugs intramuscularly as a precaution. I explained that I want to use the oils and he was agreeable to this, suggesting that cold hosing the leg would reduce any swelling. After the vet had gone I offered Max more arnica and yarrow, both of which he wanted to lick, I then cold hosed the leg and applied neat yarrow to the wounds.Max was also interested in taking: Carrot seed, dandelion, clivers and nettle. I also offered Seaweed, tea tree, thyme and calendula, but he was not interested in these.

Max has a 24 hour turn out, and the vet thought that it was wise to continue with this regime as he felt box rest would add to the swelling. Max grazed with his companions but did not walk as far as he normally would.The following morning there was extensive swelling and inflammation around the hock. The swelling had also tracked down to the fetlock although this was not as swollen as the hock area. The wounds themselves looked very good, clean, no bleeding. Where there was sufficient yarrow the tissues remained stained blue, where more yarrow was needed the wounds appeared red. Max wanted to lick arnica, yarrow and carrot seed, and he wanted to eat dandelion root, clivers and nettle.

Within 48 hours Max was no longer selecting arnica and the swelling had reduced, he now wanted comfrey. He continued to want yarrow and carrot seed orally. He no longer want nettle but continued to select dandelion. I applied more yarrow to the wounds and Max selected sweet marjoram (for stiffness) and peppermint (stimulates circulation, inflammation and nerve function). He took these orally. The wounds continued to make excellent progress. The stiffness in his leg was less noticeable and he was grazing freely with his friends.

Within 72 hours of the accident the swelling had almost disappeared and Max was fully mobile. He continued to select comfrey, yarrow, carrot seed and peppermint orally and took the sweet marjoram by inhalation. He now started to select german chamomile - taking this orally.

Four days after the accident Max trotted and cantered over the field with no apparent stiffness. The swelling to the hock and fetlock was minimal and he selected comfrey, yarrow, carrot seed and german chamomile.

Summary of progress
Max gradually stopped taking the oils becoming interested only in the rosehip shells which he took for five days. The wounds were now granulating and on two areas there were some signs of proud flesh developing. I offered lavender to inhale and as Max showed a positive response to it, I put neat lavender on the areas over the granulation. Max was sound and able to hack out within a week. The wounds remained infection free and have healed without leaving any scaring or white hair areas.