So I have a horse show this weekend. Unrated. Hunters. My dear pony galloped down the hill and either didn’t remember the BO put in a new gate last week at the pinch point or thought he could stop in time and roll back. Either way he obviously hit the gate corner by the hinges hard enough to knock the gate off and give himself a bunch of scratches and a hematoma. Obviously I won’t ride if he’s off. He felt okay today albeit he looks like this…. What say ya’ll ?
Ouch! The scuff marks wouldn’t bother me but the hematoma would. I’d probably skip the show if that wasn’t resolved - assuming he’s sound and showing is even a possibility.
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The hematoma would bother me more than the scratches of missing hair. Unless the swelling goes down to unnoticeable by anyone but you, I’d sit it out. Assuming he’s sound, anyways. Ouchies!
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No one would care about the scratches but that hematoma is quite eye catching and might lead to a discussion with stewards that you don’t really want.
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Thanks you guys ! Yes I agree about the hematoma. Show is Saturday. If it has not diminished by Friday I will call it a day. He is sound and after a light ride in my lesson this morning the hematoma looked slightly better from the activity. I think the bruise pooled overnight in the stall.
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most likely it will take at least 30 days
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Really? Wow well that sucks. Oh well. Too late to cancel my RV share for the weekend. I guess I will just be a spectator.
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we have one mare with a similar injury from being kicked, she is at about fifteen days with stall rest where we are just now seeing improvement (not a happy mare as none of this was her fault) (I believe she is plotting revenge on the mare that kicked her)
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I’m so sorry! Best wishes for a speedy recovery without any mare on mare vengeance !
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I wouldn’t show with a big hematoma but I’ve seen them go down much faster than 30 days
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Thank you yes I agree. I absolutely won’t show if it doesn’t dissipate. I wonder if arnica would help? Honestly. It’s fine. This is my heart horse. I’m an old lady living the dream. If he can’t show we have another in June. I’ll just go cheer my friends.
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I wouldn’t be surprised if that hematoma slithered it’s swelling down into that leg and gave you a really nice looking swollen knee 
If the horse is sound I’d compete. However I may the vet out to do a once over. A horse once did something similar and my vet had us x-ray because apparently they can fracture their shoulder and still look pretty darn sound.
Also included, a photo of the stitches my horse got 2 days before a rated show. Yes we competed like that.
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Cold hosing can help a lot
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Totally agree, I’d icepack/cold hose the area, and I’d be hacking all over the place to encourage the lymphatic system to do its job.
Personally, I’d plan to show, assuming horsie is sound.
I don’t quite remember why, but my late mare got a hematoma in approximately the same location. It was noticeably reduced in just a few days with cold hosing.
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As his future owner, I recommend carrots and scritches.
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I’m sorry I broke your horse @Bristol_Bay! Thank you all for the feedback I decided to scrap the show. RV share lady was very kind and refunded my reservation! Yay! I’ve used the same RV for 3 shows and have 3 more reserved in the future with her. Hematoma is nearly there. He felt sound in the days before but not quite himself energy wise if that makes sense. June is another show. (:
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By “RV Lady,” do you mean a receeational vehicle where you can hang between classes? Like, with beds? And a shower? And a wee kitchen?
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Yes Ma’am! Show series is held at the huge state fairgrounds. They have a large RV hook up area just a bit away from the show barns. Instead of having a hotel room for the weekend I book a little RV through RV share and stay on the show grounds. We never leave the site. I can do night checks in my golf cart in my pajamas lol. And in the evenings my barn mates who also do RV share and I all have a big BBQ and potluck dinner. We make community breakfast in the morning. It’s quite the weekend!!! Because I haul my own horse to and from the show I opt to pay $75 for the RV to be delivered to the fairgrounds set up and picked up when I’m done.
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Oh, that’s the greatest. What a lot of fun! I’m happy just THINKING about it.
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It’s so much fun especially when you have a long day and down time in between. I can clean my stall in the morning. School him lightly, bathe (he’s grey nearly white so guaranteed he took a dodo nap on a poop pillow or rolled in the stall) then go back to the RV for lunch and change into my show clothes and show in the afternoon. Clean up, bathe, feed dinner and have a party with good food, friends, and my Bluetooth party beat box speaker. Woot woot. Clean up and before sleep shoot on over to check on my boy. The RV, party winding down, and then night check pictures….
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