Horseytalk.net Special Interview
Lara Edwards
Potential dressage champion, Felix recovers from career-threatening injury
When Lara Edwards' promising dressage horse suffered a horrible injury in the field, their future plans flashed before her eyes.
Eight-year-old Felix was enjoying the spring sunshine when he rolled too close to the metal estate fencing, getting his leg stuck. As he pulled himself free the result was a nasty wound to his lower leg below the knee.
After narrowly missing out on a National title at the Winter Dressage Championships, coming second to Charlotte Dujardin, Lara has high hopes for the future with Felix, who she jointly owns with Tracey andLaura Milner, so the injury was a major setback.
The wound had a flap of skin that required stitching back in place and the concerned vet was unsure if this would heal, as obviously blood cannot flow uphill. To make matters worse, Felix needed quite a few stitches at the top of the wound where the skin had been torn apart.
When the dressing was first removed after a week, the vet was really pleased with the healing process from which point Lara and her team had to re-dress the wound every other day.
The wound was dressed using Activate® wound dressing, followed by Veterinary Gamgee® to provide padding and protection from trauma to the injury, and this was then held in place with Equiwrap® cohesive bandage.
After 10 days, the wound was already healing together and it became clear that the flap of skin still had a good blood flow and was healing well.
As the recovery progressed and the Activate® dressing was no longer required, treatment continued by using Vetalintex® wound hydrogel to promote moist wound healing, with Veterinary Gamgee® applied directly on top of the wound, then cotton wool followed by one layer of Equiwrap®. This was followed by another layer of cotton wool and another layer of Equiwrap® to keep the swelling to a minimum.
Within three weeks the wound was looking fantastic and Felix was a lot more comfortable in himself and allowing the wound to be re-dressed without moving around or flinching.
Just six weeks after the injury occurred the dressing came off, as the vet was satisfied with how the wound had healed.
When Lara brought Felix back into work she continued to use Veterinary Gamgee® under her exercise pads and bandages to prevent the wound from sticking to the pads.
Lara said: "I am over the moon with all the products from Robinson Animal Healthcare that have helped Felix recover from what could have been a devastating and career-threatening injury and get him back on the straight and narrow.
"They were easy to use and caused limited irritation to Felix when we were changing the dressing. The speed at which the injury healed is also a testament to the quality of these products which really work."
For more information contact Robinson Animal Healthcare on 01909 735000
or visit www.robinsonanimalhealthcare.com