You think of rope burns as being
something simple to heal but they can become major. I had a horse that
I was showing and had just started in endurance to get burns on both
hind legs. The rope burns had almost healed except for a dime size
spot. One day he was slightly off in one hind leg and the next day his
hock was almost double in size and he couldn't put his foot on the
ground. I took him to the vet and we both thought he had an injury to
the hock and he was treated for that but his leg kept getting worse.
Back to the vet and this time he checked for infection......strep
infection. Started him on strong antibiotics shots twice a day for a
week. Still wasn't getting any better, so vet said I needed to get him
to someone else. I did. By that time it was too late, the damage had
been done. It took 6 months for him to really walk on that leg and a
year for him to be sound at a walk. He was never sound at a trot.
Do take care of those rope burns. Don't just leave them alone.
Dolly
