Case Report: Turbo the yearling filly's recovery from a traumatic trailer accident.

Turbo is an incredibly lucky yearling that we were able to care for recently. In late November, she was in a horrible accident when her trailer overturned and she was thrown out of it. Miraculously, she survived and appeared mostly unharmed except for some scrapes and cuts on her hind legs. However, a week later she became very, very lame and her owners called for help. When first examined, it was clear that Turbo was in a lot of pain. She refused to bear weight while walking on her right hind, and while standing still would constantly shift weight between her back legs. She was running a fever and was dull and lethargic. Closer inspection showed wounds directly over both hind fetlocks. The wounds were very painful and produced large amounts of thick, yellow, foul smelling discharge. One wound was oozing what appeared to be joint fluid, and we highly suspected the wound on the other leg involved the joint as well. 

Because Turbo’s wounds went so deep, they caused an infection in both her hind fetlock joints. For horses, a septic joint is a very serious, life threatening condition. Bacteria enters the joint, typically through an injury, and cause massive inflammation, pain, and damage to the joint. Arthritis often develops, and depending on severity can be debilitating. Because infection had already taken a stronghold and multiple joints were affected, the outlook for Turbo was very bleak. However, she was young, strong, and an obvious fighter. We all wanted to give her a chance, and her owners decided to try and treat her. 

Turbo was brought into the Shoreline Equine clinic and admitted for an inpatient stay. She was immediately started on a course of antibiotics to help her fight off the infection and bute to help manage her pain. The next order of business was to directly target the infection in her joints. Over the course of the next week, we flushed her joints out with fluids multiple times, injected her fetlocks daily with antibiotics, and did two regional limb perfusions. Regional limb perfusions are a great way to target an infection with high concentrations of antibiotics while keeping the antibiotics localized to one specific region. 

Thankfully, Turbo made vast gains every day. Her fever resolved and her joints began to flush clearly. After spending a week in the clinic, she had made enough progress to go home. Turbo was sent home with bandages on both hind legs and instructions for strict stall rest, continued antibiotic therapy, and pain management. Her bandages were changed every 4 days and her wounds were managed with a combination of topical creams and pads to help prevent and treat further infection or proud flesh. 

She still had a long road of recovery ahead of her, and we all held our breath waiting to see how she would heal at home. At every turn, Turbo continued to exceed our expectations. The wounds on her legs healed beautifully, she has the energy and brightness of a typical yearling, and best of all- she is currently showing no signs of lameness! She will be closely monitored for signs of arthritis as she continues to grow up, but she successfully beat the odds and has a bright future in front of her!