Heal abscess - open flap of skin

[Spyda]

My mare has been left with a 1 inch horizontal slice just where the bulb of the heels meets with very lowest part of the pastern. It's formed a pocket where the puss escaped from an abscess. She had an inflamation and bit of puss come out of the wound yesterday. I wet poulticed it last night and the wound looks clean this morning, but I'm concerned about the 'pocket' left. I syringed it with 3% hydrogen peroxide to flush it clean, sprayed it with iodine spray and dry covered it. I've left her in today but would like to turn her out tomorrow and wondered how quickly these things heal? Is it best to keep it covered until it's healed to prevent the pocket of skin becoming infected again (as in, cover it and turn her out in a hoof boot) or is it better to leave it open to the air - and not worry about her walking about in mud.

 

[henryhorn]

I would cover a wound like this with animalintex or a honey impregnated poultice and leave well alone for at least 48 hours. It then has a decent chance of healing. This isn't the conventional advice where you are told to change it daily but we have found
leaving things undisturbed seems to work better. A self stick bandage should keep it clean enough over the top .

 

[Spyda]

I would cover a wound like this with animalintex or a honey impregnated poultice and leave well alone for at least 48 hours. It then has a decent chance of healing. This isn't the conventional advice where you are told to change it daily but we have found
leaving things undisturbed seems to work better. A self stick bandage should keep it clean enough over the top .

I assume a dry Animalintex? That's what I've left her in this morning, covered in a layer of Vetwrap. In or out tomorrow? Or just leave her in another day or two with the cover safely in place?

 

[Benjamin Brown]

My horse pulled a shoe off his front foot just over a week ago and with it he took out a chunk of the heel up to the coronet band.

I had the vet who gave him anti biotics and wrapped the foot in dry animalintex and vet wrap and he has stayed in to keep it dry. Its healing well although I do think that today's fourth vet visit to check it and change the bandage is a bit excessive !!!

That said, its healing without complications so maybe you just need to dry wrap and keep her in until its fully healed.

I am normally a fan of keeping wounds open to the air but this is the second injury to his foot area and the vet gave the same treatment last time with the same quick and clean healing.