Taggart was kicked by a horse. Update #18.

My niece was home with a friend and she was putting her horse, Blue, away and at the same time her friend let the dogs out of the kennel. 5 excited dogs came running around and spooked Blue. Taggart was the closest to his back legs and was kicked in his left front shoulder. Apparently he cried and cried. I am kind of glad I wasn't home because I would have lost it. Blue is very good with the dogs, usually. But with all of them running out like that it just scared him. I'm sure she won't let that happen again. Plus, my dogs are not as familiar with the horse like their dogs are.
My niece carried him into my moms house and checked him out all over for any serious obvious injuries. She left him in the house while the other dogs played in the pool. Then she carried him all the way to her house. Taggart weighs almost 50 pounds and my niece is a skinny 16 year old. LOL But she did it.
She felt so bad about it. She told her mom it happened but didn't want her to tell me and ruin my day. We were touring an old boys reform school in a nearby town.
So, we gave him some aspirin and now he is relaxing. I took him out to potty and he had a hard time getting down the stairs. :( He slipped and cried. I sort of joined him with some tears.
I'm still concerned about internal injuries. But I don't really know how to tell if he has any without taking him to the vet. We think he is just in shock and very sore. My sister is a vet tech so I've told her and have been talking to her about it as well.
Does anyone here have any similar experience and know what to watch for, if anything, regarding internal injuries?

Oh, he is now sleeping along with everyone else in the house (humans included). We will be helping him down the stairs from now on (luckily I don't have stairs at my house). He can go up just fine.

No help from me, just lots of healing prayers for Taggart!

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Originally Posted by Freedom

No help from me, just lots of healing prayers for Taggart!

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Same here! Healing prayers for Taggart!

an x ray would tell you more... in regards of splinters or internal bleeds..

if he´s walking ok.. putting weight and all.. maybe he is just sore.. very very sore.. horses can kick hard.. I´d look for bumps or fluid accumulation.. hopefully it was just a muscle thing and no bones or anything else involved..

I suggest taking him for a check-up to be on the safe side and see if some mild pain meds will help him. Poor Taggart!

Thanks everyone. :)
He is putting a little weight on it. And I am keeping a close eye on it. Constantly running my hands over it, feeling for anything unusual or heat. My brother is also checking him regularly.
If I do not see any improvement by Monday when I am back home I will take him in to my vet. If he seems worse tomorrow I may take him to the vet up here that my parents and brother use.
I honestly think it is just a bad bruise, but just worry about other. He does seem to be acting "okay". He just seems to be mopey and sad.

I'm sorry to hear that this happened.:( I hope he'll recover quickly and that it's nothing serious. Lots of prayers and positive thoughts a being sent his way.

Owe ouchies! poor guy

Wow, poor Taggart.:( I hope he's feeling a little better today.

Thank you! He is actually in better spirits today. He is limping around much more (yesterday he'd hardly move) and wagging his tail again. He even gave me kisses this morning when I got over to my brothers house (I stayed at my moms). He does forget he is injured sometimes and does something that hurts. Tonight we got home and Bruce was sitting on the floor with him. He hopped over Bruce's legs and hurt himself. But he is definitely doing much better.
I've been applying ice throughout the day and we gave him an aspirin yesterday and today. I just need to make sure he takes it easy so it will heal. He is not attempting to run around, so that's good.

Thanks for the good thoughts and well wishes everyone! :D

I personally would take him to the vet. I've seen some dogs come into my work who limp around just fine but in x-rays you can see internal damage that they need to be treated for.


Hope the poor boy gets to feeling better!

Ive felt his pain. I got drilled by a thoughobred named Kitten once as a teen, I carried a scar from that for a few years.

A vet visit would ease my mind.

How's Taggart's interaction with Blue now? Or are you keeping him away from Blue already?

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Originally Posted by Kfamr

I personally would take him to the vet. I've seen some dogs come into my work who limp around just fine but in x-rays you can see internal damage that they need to be treated for.


Hope the poor boy gets to feeling better!

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This is what I've been wondering. Can you see internal injuries on an xray? I guess I could have asked my sister (duh!).
Well, I'll have to see if Bruce can take him over today since the vet closes before I'd be able to get him there. Otherwise, it will have to wait until tomorrow night, they are open later.

Just talked to my sister and she said I should take him in for xrays. Because he's still showing signs of pain. He yelped last night when I helped him off the bed (he jumped up by himself). Then he yelped again when he went to lay down in his crate.

Poor Taggart. :( Prayers the vet can make everything OK really soon!