Equine First Aid - what do you use & when ? Am confused !!!

Porkie

Porkie

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What do you do / use for first aid when your horse is injured?

I mean I'm talking minor cuts, scrapes, grazes, bites and stings that sort of thing ........... not OMG I need to call the vet type first aid !!
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I went on a bit of a spree a while ago and filled a box with everything as it came to light none of us had a sufficient amount of first aid type things so I have got all sorts ie, iodine, purple spray, green oils, wound powder, NAF wound cream, germi-jelly, radial antiseptic cream, sudocreme, hibiscrub, wound wipes, cotton wool.............. the list goes on!!

But then tonight my lad got into a bit of a scuffle outside his stable with his neighbour and as he is unshod he came out worst off and has a nice scrape on the inside of his left hind, it was only surface but weepy and obviously a little tender - got my box out and thoguht OMG what on earth do I use!!!
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I washed and put sudocreme on, which he knocked off so I then washed again and squirted wound powder, then a fly gel round the outside (not on the cut) as the flies were bother him on it.

Would you have used this stuff or different? What do you use for what ? Am embarrassed I am a little confused on this !!
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garlic and salt water?

never heard of this one... do you put a clump of garlic in some water? sorry if i am being dim
 
Over the years I have found that sometimes too many creams/wound powders etc can interfere with scab formation and slow down healing.
So now I wash with saline solution (aka salt water!) and, if the wound is in a place likely to get dirty, vetalintex or similar gel.
And once a nice scab has formed, I check it and leave it.
I'm heartless and uncaring, I know
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I would get as much hair away from the edges as possible, use saline solution to get as much crap off as possible. Gently hibiscrub it ad then give it a good hose to stop it feeling so sore. TBH I'm quite a fan of wound powder as it's like a scab in a can. If the wound was to stay undressed and was a bit wet but not deep and quite large (Graze) I would use powder to dry it up. If it was just a scratch then septi cleanse spray. I always have to think wether it's going to get bedding stuck to it as well as I use Aubiose which is actually quite sharp.
 
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Sorry to disagree, but I didn't believe Hibiscrub should be used on open wounds (although it's great for mud fever if not raw)
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Why's that then? My vet uses a dilute solution if she comes out.
 
Garlic tink, but works wonders on wounds! Keep the flies off and when a horse of ours had a nasty gash on her leg which took about six weeks of washing out (with garlic and salt water) it healed without any white hair, she was bay roan with black points, hairgrew back balck, you CAN'T ban garlic it i great.
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Hibiscrub isn't designed to clean out open wounds....It is a scrub wash like a detergent I guess. Its what surgons would use to wash their hands and arms prior to gloving up for an operation.

I do use it on surface grazes that haven't actually broken the skin, otherwise its salt water, boiled and cooled to a temperature you can hold your hand in
 
I think the key word there is 'dilute' as it has to be very dilute (1:20) or can cause more problems as it damages the horse's own body cells (which will help the wound to heal) as well as the bacteria which you are trying to zap.
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I'd sluice it out with plenty of running water and then dry it and wound powder it. My OH would point the purple spray at it and that would be that!
If it's not deep, the key thing as others have said is just to get it clean, then keep it dry so it can scab. ... that being said I have a little ponio with a similar wound from last week which has now gone all puffy and his leg's up a bit, so he's poulticed and bandaged tonight, poor beggar. So do keep an eye on it.
 
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I think the key word there is 'dilute' as it has to be very dilute (1:20) or can cause more problems as it damages the horse's own body cells (which will help the wound to heal) as well as the bacteria which you are trying to zap.
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AAh that's ok then! You had me worried for a bit there.
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