Cut won't heal!

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jnorman

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My TB gelding recently got injured in the field, I don't know how but when we brought him in there was a cut just above the hoof on the outside of his foreleg. It was a clean cut and wasn't hot so I hosed it and put some sudacream on then turned him out again. The next day it was hot and swelled up so we started giving him bute in his feed and bandaging it up. We stopped bandaging it after a few days and were hoping for the swelling to go down and a scar to form but it didn't do we called the vet and they gave us antibiotic. The swelling has gone down a bit now but it won't form a scar and the swelling hasn't completely gone down so I wanted to know if anyone had any advice on what to do? He is still getting bute and we put fly cream on it every day. Thanks!!
 
Salt water is good for cleaning wounds but will kill healthy cells if not diluted appropriatley. One teaspoon to one pint warm water.
I have always been if the opinion that wounds should be kept moist for optimal healing. I'm surprised your vet didn't leave you with anything to apply. Flamazine ointment is very good, available from the vet.
How often do you apply fly cream, as if flies are getting on it it will never heal. It may be worth bringing in for a few days.
 
How old is the horse? Cuts failing to heal is one sign of Cushings. If it continues to be a problem and no reason is found you might consider testing him for it. The test is free at the moment.
 
ycbm said:
How old is the horse? Cuts failing to heal is one sign of Cushings. If it continues to be a problem and no reason is found you might consider testing him for it. The test is free at the moment.
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he is ten so still quite young. What other signs are there?
 
Vet, it still sounds infected, your initial treatment wasn't great for infection control tbh and it was a while (days) until antibiotics were first administered so plenty of time for an infection to establish and you don't want this ending up being a lymphangitis.
 
I don't think there is anything in it because we hosed it each time we bandaged it and the vet was confident that it would be OK!
 
I would try bandaging with honey (ideally medihoney but clean manuka would do), a good amount to keep it moist and check it once a day - leave it longer if you can. It seems to heal even faster if you mix a tiny bit of neem with the honey. Don't hose, disturb it as little as possible, if you need to wash it then just drizzle boiled water or cold tea over it to wash it out and gently dab dry.
 
jnorman said:
he is ten so still quite young. What other signs are there?
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There are often no signs at all. I've had two friends with ten year olds where the only sign was a slight footiness on stones which most people would put down to being barefoot. The most recent one was told by her vet that she was wasting her money. Cue a very red faced vet when the result came back as a sky high positive.
 
One of my horses once had a wound just in the middle above the coronary band. As soon as he arrived the vet told me it was in a position that was notoriously difficult to heal due to the constant stretching there, so it sounded as though he has seen a few. I'm not saying it isn't not healing for another reason, but it might just be because of where it is. I would talk to the vet again. I ended up using manuka honey although I didn't bandage it and eventually it healed. I did have to keep her in for a while though.
 
Try dermagel - brilliant for keeping wound moist and healing from inside out. Manuka honey, the highest grade possible is fab and if there is no infection calendular oil (Neal's Yard) is brilliant at knitting the wound and for soft tissue healing, also helps prevent scars as it heals. I think with this cut I would go for Manuka honey as it seems to stop the infections as well as helping the wound mend.

Good luck, sounds in a tricky place.
 
Thank you so much everyone who replied ☺ Will try manuka honey and hope for the best but I am still open to suggestions and advice if you have any!!
 
Please get the vet to look at it rather than manuka honey (please make sure that is medical grade and gamma irradiated) and hoping for the best. Lymphangitis is horrid and once they have had it they will always be prone.
 
Wash with saline solution, then put on an animalintex poultice for a few days - It sounds infected. Avoid wound powder as it can cause proud flesh - the wound itself may produce proud flesh as its natures way of healing.

Ester - Activated MAnuka honey does not need to be of medical grade for horses - especially if it comes from New Zealand, which is where the majority of Manuka bushes grow - our bees are extremely healthy! I've been using supermarket Manuka honey for 15 or so years and I worked in the equine industry here until only a few years ago. It is safe.

OP - the honey is amazing stuff and does a good job
From this
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to this in 5 weeks
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It needs to be gamma irradiated so that you don't risk the addition of potentially infective spores into the wound. I am a microbiologist, this is not debatable and it has nothing to do with the health of the bees!
Is no one else seriously worried that this horse has had an infection for quite a few days now (specifics not given) that it hasn't been resolved and if becoming systemic in that leg is not going to be resolved by some saline and animalintex!?!
 
ester said:
It needs to be gamma irradiated so that you don't risk the addition of potentially infective spores into the wound. I am a microbiologist, this is not debatable and it has nothing to do with the health of the bees!
Is no one else seriously worried that this horse has had an infection for quite a few days now (specifics not given) that it hasn't been resolved and if becoming systemic in that leg is not going to be resolved by some saline and animalintex!?!
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Head - brick wall. I wouldn't even bother!
 
ester said:
It needs to be gamma irradiated so that you don't risk the addition of potentially infective spores into the wound. I am a microbiologist, this is not debatable and it has nothing to do with the health of the bees!
Is no one else seriously worried that this horse has had an infection for quite a few days now (specifics not given) that it hasn't been resolved and if becoming systemic in that leg is not going to be resolved by some saline and animalintex!?!
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What sort of spores are you expecting to find, I'd only heard of people stressing about botulism, which according to the honey council people is actually very rare.

Auslander, your rude comments are not appreciated. I am not stupid and have used activated Manuka honey for a long time on many injuries, small and so large a jar was poured into the wound each day. Horse went on to race.
 
It doesn't matter if it is rare or not, it just has to be possible, lots of things are rare, it doesn't mean that if you can you shouldn't be taking simple preventative measures. Gamma irradiation doesn't harm the product there is no reason not to buy a gamma irradiated product if you want to use it for wound healing, it is just sensible and I like my horses enough to take that precaution.

And not just botulism Clostriditum botulinum, but other species of clostridia and Bacillus too, several can cause infection and therefore not assist with wound healing.

It isn't an issue in the honey usually as in it's concentrated form it suppresses germination, it's when it mixes with other stuff, like wound gunk and becomes diluted.

(I did my PhD in Clostridium spp.)
 
Tnavas said:
What sort of spores are you expecting to find, I'd only heard of people stressing about botulism, which according to the honey council people is actually very rare.

Auslander, your rude comments are not appreciated. I am not stupid and have used activated Manuka honey for a long time on many injuries, small and so large a jar was poured into the wound each day. Horse went on to race.
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I have never said that manuka, food or clinical grade, is not wonderful stuff. In fact, I am a great advocate of its use in compromised wounds - as you well know. Yet again, I will explain myself to you - although I know full well that you won't listen. Food grade manuka is not prepared using methods that are deemed safe by wound experts. The risk of introducing toxins that have been collected from the environment by the bees (healthy or otherwise) is slight, but it is a risk nonetheless, and not one that the majority of clinical professionals would be prepared to take.
If you want to use it, that's fine - it's your choice, but it's irresponsible of you to present your opinions as fact. Saying "In my opinion, food grade is fine" wouldn't inspire such frustration in those of us who are employed by the veterinary/medical industry and are advocates of stringent hygiene protocols.
 
Manuka honey aside (and I am totally with Ester and Auslander and every highly renowned vet I know) I just want to put something out there for everyone...

This horse was home treated (poorly) for a few days before getting vet treatment. OP, I apologise, that isn't a dog at you, we all do things poorly until we learn a better way. Sudocrem should be a big no no for anything that is an open wound in my opinion as it does the exact opposite of what skin requires in order to heal (which is usually just cleanliness and time).

To everyone advocating further treatment with whatever...I really can't understand it. You're giving what might be great advice...but to someone you don't know for a wound you haven't seen on a horse that you are not qualified to diagnose. I find it highly irresponsible to offer any advice other than "get the vet back out".

Coronet wounds can be really nasty, but they can also heal extremely quickly. My mare took a decent chunk out of hers 3 years ago. 6 days later when the same vet had to come and put her to sleep for an unrelated injury, the coronet wound had granulated and was already forming new and healthy tissue. All we used was wound gel and careful cleaning.

As others have said, if a wound isn't healing, there's a reason. Cleaning a wound isn't just hosing. Cleaning properly requires correct solutions, syringes and a great deal of care to open the wound, flush every part of it very thoroughly, shave the surrounding hair to avoid contamination and repeating this on a regular basis. Horses can try and kick your head off...so not many people do a proper job but it is worth it. Hosing can actually introduce infection by carrying dirt into the wound from above.

Seriously, the horse isn't healing, the wound is in a high risk site for further infection and we are all surely going to want what is best for this horse and the OP. I don't want the horse to have a prolonged recovery from this nor do I want the OP to have to spend more money and time than needed so for the sake of the horses welfare and the OP having peace of mind at doing the right thing, let's stop the guessing game and advise to get the vet back out.

We owe it to our horses not to experiment on their wounds with things we've been told to do on Internet forums by people who haven't even seen a picture!
 
_GG_ said:
Cleaning a wound isn't just hosing. Cleaning properly requires correct solutions, syringes and a great deal of care to open the wound, flush every part of it very thoroughly, shave the surrounding hair to avoid contamination and repeating this on a regular basis. Horses can try and kick your head off...so not many people do a proper job but it is worth it. Hosing can actually introduce infection by carrying dirt into the wound from above.
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People on my yard think I'm crazy when I initially clean a wound (small nicks and cuts, not needing vet treatment!) with a toothbrush (sterilized!), then use sterile gauze pads and sterile water for after care. There is no way I would use our yard hosepipe for wound cleaning knowing how it's kept! A breeding ground for all kinds of nasties.
 
jnorman said:
My TB gelding recently got injured in the field, I don't know how but when we brought him in there was a cut just above the hoof on the outside of his foreleg. It was a clean cut and wasn't hot so I hosed it and put some sudacream on then turned him out again. The next day it was hot and swelled up so we started giving him bute in his feed and bandaging it up. We stopped bandaging it after a few days and were hoping for the swelling to go down and a scar to form but it didn't do we called the vet and they gave us antibiotic. The swelling has gone down a bit now but it won't form a scar and the swelling hasn't completely gone down so I wanted to know if anyone had any advice on what to do? He is still getting bute and we put fly cream on it every day. Thanks!!
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For a wound that won't heal get the vet out. End of.

Don't use home remedies, don't faff about, get the vet back out. I would be seriously worried that the wound won't heal and investigating things like foreign bodies, cushings etc. Especially with the location of the wound.

I am completely with Auslander, Ester, and _GG_ on this one.
 
Casey76 said:
People on my yard think I'm crazy when I initially clean a wound (small nicks and cuts, not needing vet treatment!) with a toothbrush (sterilized!).
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Owww!! Syringing with weak saline is an effective way to clean a minor wound - toothbrushes are for teeth! I don't use anything to clean a wound that I wouldn't use on myself.
 
Oooh, a toothbrush would scare me but...I'm not afraid to scrub wounds that need it. Better than leaving stuff in and just the tiniest speck of dirt can mean trouble so whatever floats you'd boat, lol :)
 
_GG_ said:
Oooh, a toothbrush would scare me but...I'm not afraid to scrub wounds that need it. Better than leaving stuff in and just the tiniest speck of dirt can mean trouble so whatever floats you'd boat, lol :)
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Irrigation is just as effective as scrubbing, and less likely to break down the wound bed though!
 
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