Friday, January 2, 2009

Turgid Tonka

Tonka's sheath was so swollen this morning that the skin was beginning to split up the middle and along the sides. An emergency call to Kerstin got him an antibiotic prescription from the human pharmacist, and he seems happy to down 15 crushed pills in his feed when a little molasses is added. It would never work for Raven, so I will count my blessings wherever I can find them.

I didn't have the heart to take pictures, but imagine this about 3 times worse. He looked like this yesterday, so something is raging away in there. The outside is totally slathered with 37% zinc oxide in hopes of preventing any secondary infection along the torn skin. All the men around the house seem to get uncomfortable when I talk about this.



10 comments:

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

Yikes! Poor Tonka!
Sure hope it gets better and the infection goes away asap!

Does he have an absess?
My cat has one in his paw, that is draining. Before it popped open, thanks to kitty's tongue, his paw became huge!
Now that it's draining, the paw is almost back to normal size. whew.

~Lisa
New Mexico

Funder said...

Sometimes it never rains but pours. At least Tonka is a good patient. Hang in there!

Grey Horse Matters said...

Ouch! I can see why the men in the house are a little squeamish about this topic.
Hope he is feeling better real soon.

The Border Collies said...

Sarah ... you have cured me of ever getting a pony with your blog.

*strikes "pony" off list of life goals*

I hope Tonka is ok!

Anonymous said...

Hmm.... Must have to do with the previous willy itchies!
A scratch from the debris? Poor Tonka!

FWIW, my word verification word is "essloco". A weird mix of German and Spanish for "it's crazy"? lol

Rising Rainbow said...

Ouch! That looks miserable. Poor Tonka.

I can imagine the men squirming! HA!

Hope he has a speedy recovery!

Wishing you a Happy New Year!

Serena said...

That makes ME squirm!! Poor guy, that's gotta hurt!

Brandy said...

Oh, Tonka, you poor guy! Yikes! It looks like you could nurse off it, I can't imagine it being bigger! Is he still kicking at his belly, or did he seems fairly ok before the bute?

Hmm, I'm still contemplating what kind of "willy warmer" can be made... Maybe some stick on moleskin? Or even plastic wrap taped on with holes for the functional bits... Kind of like how a doctor covers a surgical site? That may insulate it a bit... Poor guy!

At least he's cool with you touching and treating his "man bits"!

--
barstan - reminds me of the Gaelic word for sunscreen: Pub!

allhorsestuff said...

OH NO! That is really terrible. Can imagine the men being the way you said..that hurts me to look at- for Tonka!
Gosh...got my trusty antique "Veternary notes for horses Lovers" hard back out now. That is baffling, but it may have something to do with his willy ithcies huh!
Well, be thinking of you and all..be back to see what gives. I am soo glad that you have Kerstin!
KKgl

Black Jack's Carol said...

Poor, poor Tonka! But, one bright side, as Funder noted, is that he willingly accepts treatment. I'm so hoping he's beginning to feel some relief by now. And.... Poor, poor dp! I'm really, really hoping that this run of vet bills will halt. Your great care of your animals is absolutely obvious from each and every blog. Just the fickle winds of fate blowing the wrong way, but they've got to change soon. Hang in there!

And I hope you don't mind, dp, but a message to OREGONSUNSHINE and BRANDY: Thank you both so much for taking time to try and help me. If you read today's post, it's again pretty obvious I've get to do some better work with Black Jack. I will get the video and I bought a long lead (although no choke (harness instead) as I'm already worried that she has the beginnings of tracheal problems. I do praise like crazy every time she comes to me. She was the teacher's pet in the obedience class we attended. She loved being called in that situation, but we all know that dogs don't generalize, and she sees no reason to obey when there are better rewards for ignoring the command. My last dog was 70 pounds, but very sensitive, and I realize now, very easy to train. Black Jack is a whole new kettle of fish. She got along very well on her own for almost three years as (I suspect) a street dog and making her own decisions seems quite ingrained. But, my goodness, how kind of you both to care!