Natural remidies to help heal a 5 month foal from savage dog attack - antibiotics too strong for little horse?

Question

Miniture pony foal - all of 5 months old was attacked earlier hours of Sunday morning.
Wounds are deep, accross her chest and rump.
Tail and bone has been ripped away from her tail/dock.... and her vagina/rear area sliced open.
The Vet has stiched are repaired as much as possible.
We are now looking for some sort of natural remidies to help her build up more white cells and immunity as she is too young to give heavy antibiotics.. Or some sort of herbal treatment to help heal her wounds.
Please any help and suggestions are welcomed. She is a beatiful litte mini and loved dearly.
Thankyou so much

Well sadly, we had start moving to new stable's as of friday(5 arcres of lush grass and cover) We moved the two big horses there sat morning and we were going to do the foal but couldnt get hold of the float so we decided sunday morning. Sadly this happend, and she has now moved to the new stable's after vet treatment but we are kicking ourselves that we were not able to move her the same time...just horrible luck

Yes the vet did suggest euthenasia... but she is a much loved foal and comes from expensive blood lines also. But neither of that matters, we will euthenase is required, but she did not die of shock from the attack so shes a fighter..and we thought we would see how she goes first before we make this decision.

Sorry my mistake - she is on antibiotics, but nothing close to what you would want to use for such wounds because of her age. We cannot use the heavier antibiotics.

Answer 1

My opinion is that if the foal is in pain for a month or two she will have many years to live in the future.

Painkillers and antibiotics should be administered taking the age and weight of the animals involved.

There are some older but effective treatments your vet could try. I am thinking of sulfanilimide powder, which is sprinkled onto any wounds. Its a bactericide which kills infections .

Dont whack the foal if she has a chance at a good recovery.

Answer 2

I wouldn't suggest trying an herbal remedies for such a young horse. Many horses are allergic and some of the ingredients can make proud flesh sting. I would tell you to put the animal down. You may be able to make her comfortable for the time being with the proper amounts of antibiotics and pain killers, but because you said that her rear and vagina area were sliced open- this makes her susceptible for uncontrollable uterus infections and parasites. It may also affect her bowel and urinary tract movements. I know that you love the foal very much- but are you willing to risk many more days or months of your foal being in pain.
Her tail and tail bone play a big part in balance and keeping flies away from her open wounds. Without the proper use you can risk your horse getting skin infections and gangrene.

Not to mention you run the risk of your other two precious horses contracting an infection if they were to somehow come into contact with the foal or have a fly that was in your foals wounds land on them. Think about the little lass's pain- and hopefully you end hers which I think will heal the pain you are feeling for her right now. I couldn't stand to watch even my favorite horse in pain- and I would make the right decision for my equine- not what I feel is right for me.

Answer 3

It sounds like she is in a lot of pain-- are her injuries going to prevent her from every day normal horse activities, running, being ridden? She might even have problems later on in life-- at this point have you considered putting the poor dear down? Without antibiotics and painkillers she is probably in tremendous pain-- you have to consider the foal and have badly you would be hurting with all of those wounds. I think some of the damage may be irrepairable...

I think right now you should consult your vet again, i'm actually pretty surprised he/she didn't give you any professional outlook on that-- especially after seeing her wounds. Did the vet tell you how to care for the wounds? How to clean and care for the stitches? What we need to worry most about right now is pain an infection. Is she in a clean enviornment away from other horses, animals etc...? These are all things she needs to help her through the healing process-- ***again call the vet-- especially if she didn't touch on the areas of how to care for the stitches and wounds.

And remember, your baby is in pain... prepare yourself for the worst case scenario, she may end up dieing in great pain-- or you could put her out of her pain and let her last few moments be in comfort. I know it's hard, but consider it =(

Answer 4

This foal should probably be on antibiotics. If you can safely give antibiotics to a baby kitten, a 5-month old foal, even a mini, is not too small or young.

Antibiotics should not be used indiscriminently, but in this case, the risk of infection and subsequent death would be higher than the risk tied to using antibiotics, particularly in horses, which live in bacteria-infested environments in even the best-kept stables. Frankly, I'm surprised your vet didn't insist on it. A small foal with severe injuries can quickly succumb to infection. With wounds near the foal's rectum, the chance of infection is almost certain.

Also, I know it's hard, but is it worth saving this foal? These injuries sound awful, and the healing process, if it even happens, will be excruciating for her. Perhaps it would be kinder to end her suffering.

Answer 5

I am not sure where you live but if you can find someone who does Therascope it is a wonderful procedure that helps wounds even severe wounds heal faster and helps the body to repair itself...I have seen this work amazingly on horses with terrible injuries...you can go to this website and find out more, they should even be able to tell you if anyone in your area practices the Therascope procedures. Please look into it is AMAZING...a friend of mine does this and vets in my areas recommend it for so many things, even horses in pain become so relaxed from a treatment and the results of healing are so much quicker than with medications alone. Check out this website: http://www.therascope.com/equine.htm I pasted here for you in case you have never haven't heard of it. Good Luck with your precious baby.

Answer 6

I question being to young for antibiotics. I know of a younger foal torn apart by a pack of dogs and that is what saved it.There was no hesitation on behalf of the vet to put him on antibiotics whatsoever and the foal would certainly have died otherwise.Get another opinion for sure.

Answer 7

The only advise I can offer is a very clean stable and sedatives to keep her calm.This sounds like a serious situation. What measures did you take to prevent further dog attracts?Surely you can think of some appropriate measures to take with 'attract dogs' I certainly would!!!!!!

Answer 8

Go to www.springtimeinc.com they are an all natural/herbal supplement provider. They have great products!