Pacer Fall: Abrasions, Cuts and Swelling

I arrived at the Pukekohe trotting track half an hour after a pacer had tangled in her hopples and fallen in a race, then flipped over the low fence she attempted to jump with her hopples on while trying to get back to the stalls just beyond. She had abrasions all over her body, some deep, with a split top lip, bruising and swelling, and quite significant gouging down her neck where the pricker rein had ripped her skin as she attempted to get to her feet. The vet had simply put Vaseline on everything even though a couple of cuts on her shoulder looked quite bad. As I inspected her I also found a wide tear in her skin under her belly which the vet had missed, which opened and shut as she breathed.

The owner gave me permission to treat her and I went every day for 5 days, using the purple for bruising and swelling, green for possible infection and the Bioptron. She was bright and moved freely so I thought that was enough.

Three weeks later the owner phoned me and asked if I wanted to come to the track to see her do her first fast workout since the accident. She went back to work after 2 weeks. He was very impressed!

Heidi Dobbie
Bioptron Therapist
Works on a polo farm