Romany Red is a 13 year old Gelding who lives near Crediton with his family.  He enjoys a variety of pony club activities but is particularly good at jumping.

On the morning of 22nd August, Reds owners found him in his field looking a little sorry for himself, with a few spots of blood on his back legs and tail.  They called the practice and when the vet arrived a wound was found under the base of Reds tail, extending deep into the tissue.  On further investigation the gate in the field was damaged with some tail hairs caught on the catch.  The only explanation we can come up with is that Red was enjoying an early morning scratch on the gate when he slipped and the catch punctured his skin!

Red was admitted to our equine hospital at Wolfgar for further assessment and treatment, where we found that the wound was in fact so deep and severe that he had fractured his spine at the base of his tail, leaving his tail attached only by muscle and skin.

At this stage the outlook for Red was guarded, with such major damage there was a risk he may not be able to pass urine or droppings, his spinal cord was open to infection and he was in a lot of pain.  Despite all this, Red was bright and alert, and his dedicated owners wanted to give the brave pony a chance, so for the next 10 days Red was carefully nursed.  His wounds were cleaned twice daily, he had intravenous antibiotics and pain killers and he needed a little help passing droppings, but through it all Red never gave up!

By 28th August, Red had made good progress.  He was passing urine and droppings unaided, the swelling had come down significantly and his temperature was normal. Sadly though, his tail was beyond saving and the decision was made to remove the tail before it became a source of infection.  Red underwent his first surgery, under standing sedation, to amputate his tail right at the base.  The procedure went well and Red continued to improve with daily dressing changes and continued medication.

On 8th September, Red was well enough to be discharged to his owners and went home with oral antibiotics and pain killers.  Red received daily visits to clean and redress his wound and for laser therapy to speed healing – he continued to do really well!

Further non viable skin was removed a week later and Reds owners took over the daily wound care.  They have been so dedicated to Reds care and thanks to all their hard work, we are thrilled to report that Red has been discharged from our care and is back in work and enjoying life to the full!