Poulticing the face???

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MagicMelon

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Someone I know has used a poultice (ie. animalintex) on a horses body when a cut got a bit dirty / infected. Now, one of mine I think was kicked a few days ago - he has rather a deep cut below his eye (a good enough distance away) which I had cleaned but with him living out (and him loving to roll...) it kept getting dirty so today I had a really good clean and the scabby bit then came off along with a tiny bit of puss! Gross I have to say, poor pony. Theres only a tiny bit (and I did squeeze it a bit to be sure) but obviously I want it cleared up asap. The cut isnt deep enough IMO to stitch so I dont think theres any point in getting the vet out, although I may post a pic soon of it just to ask your opinion! Meantime, does anyone know if I could hold a poultice on the cut for say 20 mins (until it cools) daily to draw out the puss? I've poulticed hooves enough times but am unsure if it works on the body!
 
Hi There, I was always taught "the solution to polution is dilution" meaning if you flush a wound with plenty of saline, you will remove much of the debris and muck. I use 1 pint of warm water with a teaspoon of salt dissolved into it. A poultice wont do any harm, but use it LUKE warm on soft sensitive tissues around the face. Hope it heals soon Dx
 
when one of our horses cut his face we put a fly mask on him whilst he was out in the field and it did a really good job of keeping the mud of the cut. Might be worth a try if you leaving him out in the field.
 
Vallin, thats actually a very good idea and I feel a fool for not thinking of that! I kept him in the yard last night and he was already desperate to go out this morning so I'll pop him out now with a mask.

Genesis - Thanks, I'll wash it out with warm salty water in a minute followed by a not-hot poultice.
 
no worries! it worked well for us and then we just rinced the wound out with iodine solutionvwhen we brought him in and it healed up nicely!
 
There is a fantastic product called Animal Polster which is the stickiest thing I've ever used for dressing awkward wounds. Simply cut a piece to size, put a bit of gauze or other dressing underneath on top of the actual site and presto, it sticks fantastic. It is kind of a foam material so breathes as well.
 
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