The owner of a mare who needed emergency surgery after standing on a nail has urged others to be vigilant after the farrier has been.
Lucy Priddis from Devon was returning her 13.2hh cob Lottie to the field on Tuesday afternoon (4 June) when she stood on a nail in the tie-up area of the livery yard she is kept at.
Lucy told H&H: “Lottie was absolutely crippled. I picked up her hoof and discovered a nail had gone through her frog. I got the vet straight away who pulled the nail out and poulticed her hoof.
“I kept her in overnight and the vet was due to come back the next day to check on her but when I arrived yesterday [Wednesday] she couldn’t walk without falling over and she was refusing to move.”
Nine-year-old Lottie was rushed to hospital where X-rays showed the nail had penetrated the navicular bursa and coffin joint.
“I had to make the decision there and then to have her put to sleep or operate to try to flush everything out. I chose surgery but I was told it only had a 50% chance of success and she may never be fully sound again,” said Lucy.
“She woke up from the operation at 11.30pm last night and the vet rang this morning to say she is coping at the moment. She is on painkillers and antibiotics but we won’t know how she will be for a few days – she could still have to be put down depending on how she recovers.”
Lucy said Lottie, who she has owned for three years, had only recently become sound after having suspensory ligament surgery in February.
“The last few months have been hard – we were just getting there and now we’re at the bottom again,” she said.
“I’ve only recently moved to the yard and hadn’t seen a farrier there. There were some hoof trimmings in the area where she went lame but I didn’t see a nail. It must have been sticking up and Lottie was unlucky and stood straight on top of it.
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“She is going to be in hospital for a minimum of a week providing everything goes ok – then we have a month of box rest and rehab – that’s if she survives and gets through it all.”
Lucy put a post on Facebook urging others to look out for nails that may have been dropped after the farrier has been.
“I want to make people aware that they should be careful and if you see a nail pick it up there and then.”
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