Thank goodness for OLD Cowboys

A week ago last Sunday, I went to turn out Chyanne my mustang and noticed she was acting different. I was just going to turn them out in the field in front of the pens so they could munch on the fiddleneck that has seem to pop up everywhere this year. I let both of them out, with no halters, and went back to the porch to watch them. Chyanne stretched her neck downward to eat and that is when I died. On her neck under her jaw bone was a cut about the length of 4 inches long and at least a inch deep.

Having a Financial issue(Someone got my info on e-bay and charged 7 grand on my account) still not completely resolved, I did not have the 500 bucks it was going to cost to call a vet out (140 for just the ranch call in a Sunday) and the stitching and meds, I decided to get a hold of my neighbor on the hill. He and I have chatted in passing, and I knew he was going out to the Music ranch in a few days to care take for horses and sheep, I hoped he knew something that could help me.

He came down took one look at her and said, Please ma’am, get me Salt, Iodine, Hydrogen peroxide and bacon grease and a curry comb. That was a strange request, but in my state of need, I was not about to argue. Off I went to get the supplies, as he hosed out the area. Mind you where it was you cannot put a halter on her, as it would have gone right thru the cut. I got back and almost passed out at the sight of the wound. He had fastened the halter across her face and around the nose area. After he hosed it out, he used the curry comb to pull the gunk and hair out of it to expose the whole cut..

He said, Ma’am, I will show you what to do and if you do as I say, your horse will be better in a week. I am thinking to myself, I understand most of what you need but what are you going to use the salt for? Chyanne is not a man’s horse by no means, but he was so gentle with her, she was like a puppy for him.

After the wound was clean, he poured a handful of salt in his hand, and quick as lightning, threw it into the wound. I asked him why, and he said to make the blood come up and clean it out. Then we waited a few minutes and he used the peroxide, and we waited again for a few minutes till it was all bubbled up. He gently rinsed it out, and used the Iodine full strength in the cut, and then packed it with Bacon Grease.

We went up to the house to have a beer, and he told me to go into town on Monday and get some penicillin and some needles.
Then next day we started injecting her with Penicillin, and since I hate needles, he would put the needle in there and I would work the syringe. We kept this up for 6 days, 2 shots a day. He told me to clean it out every 4 hours. On Wednesday I got some Biozide from the vet and used that to pack her wound.

Fast forward to today, 8 days after her injury…. The cut is now about a inch in length and maybe a quarter deep. It looks healthy and she stands still for me to clean it out. That old cowboy and I have become fast friends, I even invited him to Billys last gymkana on Saturday, and then to the Easter egg hunt and bbq that some friends were having on Easter Sunday…

All it got to say is THANK GOD FOR OLD COWBOYS…. I owe him a steak dinner and we have had beers on the front porch after the doctoring sessions, where I have learned a lot from him…

PS he is kind of cute too… and single… oh and teaching Billy to rope… Who knows what tomorrow will bring…