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!

Poor Taggart! Horses kick hard! I hope the vet visit can help with painkillers and there is no serious or lasting damage.

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Originally Posted by latonia631

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

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We do not live with Blue. He is my nieces horse so they only see each other when they/we go to my parents or my brothers (they live next to each other). And I'm hoping my niece AND Taggart have learned their lessons. Taggart to stay away from the horse and my niece to not let the dogs out when Blue is not put away.
Like I said, Blue is usually very good with the dogs. In fact, he really likes Abby, my brothers short-legged dog. But my brothers other two dogs don't really like him and stay away. My two have not been around him very much even though they go to my brothers house when we go out of town.

But anyway, Taggart only left the house to go potty after being kicked. So he had NO interaction with Blue. Blue stays on my parents property next to my brothers property.

I have an appointment with the vet tomorrow evening since Bruce could not take him today. If he shows significant improvement tonight/tomorrow we may cancel. But I'm thinking that won't happen.

Thank you all for your encouraging words and support.

Just got back from the vet. She felt around where Bruce told me he found sensitivity on his shoulder. We decided not to do xrays and give him pain meds. If he doesn't seem to get better in a week we will take the next step.
She said she can't tell if it is fractured by feeling it. But even if it is, there isn't anything to be done about it. So pain meds and limited activity until he heals.
I feel much better! :) I know he'll be fine because he is already walking better (and faster) tonight.

Healing vibes headed Taggarts way.

That sounds like good news! Praying that Taggart continues to recover and run around like crazy!

I'm glad that you took him to the vet to get checked out. Hopefully he'll recover quickly. Prayers and positive thoughts are being sent his way.

So glad it doesn't seem to be serious! Prayers for healing! :love:

Thanks everyone! I am very glad it wasn't more serious.
Last night he jumped up, because he heard the front door open, and yelped. Poor guy. BUT this morning at 3am he wanted to go outside (which is unusual for him). And when I opened the door he went running, almost like his leg was perfectly fine. But it wasn't, he's still limping. He is improving every day. I think the pain meds are really helping. I just hope they don't help too much and make it more difficult to keep him calm. I guess a few trips outside to potty isn't too much, even if he does run.

Keep healing Taggart!

That's the boy, Taggart, heal up and GO!