Blood on the grass! Emergency field surgery.

For several days, our ewe, Ségolene, has shown a worrying tendency not to want to get to her feet. As she is a large and heavy sheep, she does suffer a bit from foot problems, and I regularly have to clear mud and debris from between her toes in wet conditions but this was something worse. I suspected a twisted knee or hip but as she didn`t improve we called in the vet  yesterday.
   It was a vet we hadn`t met before, a M. Gilbert, working out of the Melle office of our practice. He was accompanied by an `apprentice` under training and speedily proved very competent in diagnosing the problem, not a sprain, but an infection under poor Ségolene`s nail on her right hind foot. As he had left his car with the tools of the trade in front of the house, to save walking back, he borrowed my Swiss Army knife and set to work to excise the nail. The blade not proving sharp enough, he used the saw blade to cut off the excess nail and release quantities of blood and pus, handing me back my knife covered with blood and mud. Mental note... wash knife BEFORE cutting another bagette! Ségo was very patient at the procedure and endured it without a baa or struggle, she really is a pet of a ewe.
  After this surgery, he injected her in the neck with a painkiller and anti-inflamitoire and with an antibiotic, leaving instructions that we were to wash her hoof with soap and water and then dip it in a bucket of diluted bleach. A further antibiotic injection was left for us to administer on Sunday, the washing etc to be done twice a day until then. Then a hi-tech substance which provides a sort of chemical bandage can be applied.
   He really was a very competent and cheerful vet, with a flattering faith in our competence to continue the treatment! We found the techniques a bit different to the care given to the small animals in the surgery. No question of shaving a patch of hair and wiping with an antiseptic tissue--just a quick jab of the needle in the neck muscle through the wool!  Seems to work, though! We`ll let you know how the patient progresses, but she was already on her feet half an hour later when we returned for the washing. Hope the improvement continues!

  Bye for now, going to finish my cuppa and prepare for the afternoon foot-washing! At least we only have three to look after...