02/07/2025
Belle’s Bumpy Ride!
Belle was having a blast tearing around her paddock one afternoon when things took a sudden turn – quite literally – and she nosedived mid-zoom! At first, there were no obvious injuries and she carried on like nothing had happened. But a few days later, her owner noticed a nasty smell coming from Belle’s mouth and discovered a deep cut on the inside of her upper lip.
Dr. Jose visited and found a deep laceration (4 x 4 cm) right in the center of the inside of her upper lip, packed with feed debris and necrotic tissue. Ouch!
The wound was flushed with a diluted chlorhexidine solution, and Belle was admitted to our clinic the next day for further evaluation and treatment. Belle was sedated and Dr Bec debrided with a tool called a curette which is like a mini sharp edged ice cream scoop. All the contamination and dead tissue was removed back to healthy tissue and the wound was packed with gauze soaked in penicillin and held in place with temporary sutures. This helped prevent contamination from feed material or dirt while we waited for the tissue to become healthy enough for suturing.
By day 3, things were looking much better! The packing was removed and the wound was clean and healing beautifully, so Dr Bec sutured it closed from the inside to the outside and Belle was happily munching again that very day. She headed home shortly after, back to her normal self (minus the daredevil stunts, we hope!). Belle has made a full recovery and has a lovely smile again ❤️
💚 We’re so glad Belle is back to being bright and bouncy! A big thank you to her owner for acting quickly when things didn’t smell quite right.
👉 If your horse ever has an accident — even if things seem minor at first — don’t hesitate to reach out. Sometimes, it’s what you don’t see right away that needs attention.
