Hi, I have a 16.3 dapple grey throughbred called Diesel and he was being ajisted an acre away from our paddock privately on 11 acres, somehow last week got himself tangled in [we think] trees [the owner of the paddock doesn't know how he did it either] and must have broken the branch and has ripped open the top of his leg and across his chest- he really made a mess of himself, he has four rows of stitches and has to be kept still, his wound is approximately 5 inches long. He currently is in a great vet hospital at Anstead in Qld with wonderful staff looking after him, he is on antibiotics and painkillers. My query is on bringing him home as he has to be kept still at the vets so he is cross tied in a corner and is not healing as fast as I would like- it's been 13days since the injury, apparently grey horses take longer to heal as their skin is thinner.I have to bring him home next week and we don't have stables per say as I have a large awning 6mtrs x 10 mtrs off a large shed that my two mares use and we feed them under there and if it rains it protects them. We have portable fencing made out of steel which I will use to make a 6x4 mtr stable for him to stop him galavanting around the paddock to rip open his stiches, what type of bedding should I use, as the floor of the awning is dirt and I don't want to encourage any infection and how do I encourage this wound to heal - your help would be greatly appreciated as this is the first time I have had to care for a injured horse. cheers Tracey
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Hi,
I'm so sorry about your horse getting so messed up. I do hope it will heal properly.
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For bedding I would use straw - LOTS of it - and be very thorough when cleaning it out. Shavings, sawdust, and such material, blows around and sticks to the body.
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There are a variety of healing creams to apply to keep the edges of the wounds soft. I would recommend a high quality Aloë Vera-lotion for healing qualities.
If the wound looks dry and clean - don't touch it. Otherwise, you can use some chlorhexidine (sp?) to clean it. (Antiseptic and doesn't sting!)
If there are flies you can try a covering cream with horse-tar in it, or if you have something called "Socatyl", which is a Vet-paste with sulfa in it.
Do ask your vet first before applying anything!
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A bit of movement helps the recovery since it gets the blood circulating, so ask the vet if you can walk Diesel a couple of minutes each day - provided he is calm enough.(The horse, not the vet!)
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Best of luck!
Hola Tracey and Diesel,
Another way to help blood circulation around a wound is by hosing it softly for about 5-10 minutes, two to three times a day weather permiting, and long before twilight in order to have the horse dry and warm before night. You will notice after a few days the results. Ask your vet about it. I have used it, and seen it done with many horses effectively, it is pretty common practice around here. Your best allies: time and patience. Saludos.
So sorry to hear about your horse. I too had a grey years ago that caught himself up in something nasty and ripped a huge hole in himself - he healed completely (thank goodness).
I have also recently been researching wounds as i now have a holstein who has a poor lymphatic system (and immune system) & legs swell up after the smallest of cuts then struggles to heal even with antibiotics(Holsteins have thoroughbred in their bloodline which are known to be slower healers - in general) Anyway, I have read up on Manuka Honey and it appears to be quite a miracle healing tool. I'm not sure where you live, but perhaps you should find out if you can get some? they say to use only the highest UMF you can afford. (this has something to do with the level of natural antibiotics)
Hope that helps
Thank you everyone for your help, I'm quite touched that you have taken the time to give me your remedies, we have just found out last night that apparently he is allergic to penicillin and this was giving him big lumps on his neck so now they are giving him medication orally. He gets his stitches out tommorrow but the wound has broken down in about 2 inches as our vet says - time and patience. I will take your remedies and show our vet Nathan - he is a great vet and very caring. Will give you an update on how Diesel goes as he has to be stabled for another 7 weeks, p.s. we are in Australia, Queensland so thank you from Down Under oh and my picture is of my bassethound Floyd.