One of my horses cut her leg to the bone: keep it covered or open?

Question

She is registered AQHA and someday I would like to show or sell her to someone that will show her. This is a nice little mare but she already has a few scars and is in no perfect condition. Last Friday she laid down to roll and put her foot through our fence cutting her cannon bone and another spot on her heel bulb of her left hind leg. At that time about 3/4in of bone was visible. But on Tuesday morning when I last changed her dressing the bone was already covered with flesh again. Now - most people have told me to keep a firm wrap on the injuries to keep them clean and keep her from getting bad proud flesh (and that is what I had planned to do). But other people have told me that letting the injury get more air and dry out would be better for her.
I will be changing the dressing this evening - cleaning with betadine, applying a little nitrofurozone, a light non-stick guaze pad, and vetrap. Should I try not wrapping it? Im scared its too wet still and it will get dirty.

Answer 1

Ignore all the people who tell you to take her to the vet, I own horses and know that vets are not cheap and an accident like this can be handled by yourself if you have the experience. You sound like you know what you are doing and with the details you have given me I think you should wait for a good week until you take the dressing off completely. At this stage in the recovery the wound is still to fresh and could get infected if your mare did get something in it. If you do notice anything weird such as a foul Oder or pus coming from the wound then you need to call the vet because it could be infected. GOOD LUCK!!!!

Answer 2

Your description leaves me puzzled. You want to show this horse or sell her. She already has some other scars - and this cut showed her bone? That's serious stuff. Aside from the possibility of infection, you are talking about damage that you might not have been able to see - like a torn ligament along with the deep cut or torn muscle matter.

I agree the vet is expensive, but you intend to show or sell this horse - so you need to make an investment in her and have a vet out. It is far too late for sutures - that needed to be done right away - after ensuring there were no other issues. Still, she should have been given anti-inflammotory medication as well antibiotics working from the inside. The heel needs to be addressed as well. That should be washed thoroughly with warm soapy water - ivory bar soap is good for fighting infection - and then wrapped to make sure no other infection gets into that area.

Both versions of what people have told you are correct - keeping it bandaged and letting air get to it. They just didn't elaborate. Initially, the injury needs to be wrapped and bandaged - cleaned out and dressing changed twice a day. With each dressing change, use ivory bar soap and warm water to clean it all again - then pour some hydrogen peroxide over it before bandaging and wrapping it again. Infections come out of nowhere. After about a week or two of this, then you can start letting the injury air dry. The heel may need to be wrapped longer because it is most apt to become infected being on the ground all the time. There are medicine boots you can get that will keep medications on the hoof and protect the hoof wrap from coming off or being snagged on something. The first link below describes this process with a hoof abcess. Same kind of care would work for an injured heal.

Answer 3

Keep wrapping. You can also try cold-hosing the injury for about 10 minutes and drying it - gently - with a soft towel before bandaging. Just be careful if she kicks. My colt cut both knees to the bone about a year ago and I had the same concerns you have, but I listened to my vet and kept the injury wrapped and I'm grateful for it now - not even the tiniest scar! Also, once the injury had dried enough for you to stop bandaging, I would recommend that you treat it with SWAT every day until it is completely healed. That will protect it from infection and flies.
By the way, don't listen to all of those people calling you a neglectful horse owner - you're doing fine. Neglect would have been letting the horse sit there with an untreated wound. And stitches won't work - they need to be administered within the first 4 to 6 hours. And some good news as far as scars go - even in Halter classes, judges don't deduct points for scars - just conformational defects. My stallion has placed first in every halter class I've entered him in, and he has two huge scars on the side of his leg from a collision with a fence. If you're still worried about anything, give your vet a call - they can give you advice (free) over the phone. Don't worry, you're doing fine.

Answer 4

The nitrofurozone is awesome stuff, I keep it on hand all the time. If your horse is good about you working with her injury, I would keep wrapping it for a few more days. You want it to heal from the inside out so it can drain properly. Keeping the wound wrapped and medicated will keep it moist. The answer about getting it stitched isn't a good idea. If it was to be stitched, it should have been done within the first 4 hours. If stitched, it would heal more from the outside in, and could split open again before the inside heals properly. I had a yearling that had a cut on her chest from hitting a fence. It was a foot across, four inches wide and three inches deep. I had my vet out and asked how long to keep treating it and he said that depends on how big you want the scar. When it all healed, all you could see was a little imperfection in her fur. Flushing it with warm water for fifteen minutes or so a couple times a day would help with circulation and healing time too. You might want to give her a tetnus (sp?) booster shot because of the wire too.

Answer 5

First off you never cover any type of open wound- covering the wound only gives infection a dark place to develop and fly a place to lay their eggs.
You need to get the horse to a vet immediately. Your vet needs to suture the wound and try and repair it the best it can be. Other wise you'll find yourself with no horse to sell or take to a show....

Your veterinarian will give you an iodine wash to clean the wound twice a day- maybe three times depending on severity, along with powdered penicillin to put in with feed and CATRON spray to keep flies and the wound from itching. Leave the wound OPEN- it will not heal if it's kept moist. The tissue must dry to repair itself and let a new layer of hide develop.
One of my fillies got badly injured with a 3 inch deep- 8 inch wide open wound to the hip bone- I luckily didn't have to suture the wound and if she had gotten punctured just an inch lower she would have died because it would have hit her abdomen. I washed the wound 2 times a day with Iodine wash, only had to give her penicillin powder for a week, sprayed her with the Catron spray and left the wound open. If I wasn't a vet and had to take her to one- it would have only cost me $110.00. I left the wound open never covered it- it was the middle of summer and I live in Texas- she had no infection and the spray kept the flies away and she healed and developed a new hide and coat over the area in less than a month. I'm pretty sure that if you have a horse you have enough money to shell out $110 to keep your horse healthy- if not- then you should have never gotten a horse.

If you are unable to load your horse and take him to the vet while you are waiting for the vet to come and see the horse- hose down the wound with cold water. Your horse may move away at first but after a few seconds will like the relief she's getting. NEVER WASH WITH WARM WATER- this only stimulates blood flow which you want to stop and cause the wound to itch.

You should have called the vet last Friday- what kind of person are you to let a horse sit there with that type of wound. I'm a retired veterinarian and if I was your vet and knew how long you waited to get her medical attention I would have the sheriff's department with me to seize the animal or write you out a ticket for animal cruelty.

Answer 6

You need to get to a vet before it's too late. I had a 3 year old filly that put her leg through our wooden dog house. For a while, it was just swollen, but then the bruise inside her leg "exploded", leaving a nasty gash near her cannon. I tried to care for it myself, but by the time my friend insisted she go to a vet, it was too late and the vet declared she was lame for life because it had gotten infected. I was devastated. No matter how harmless it looks or how much confidence you have in caring for it yourself, it's not worth the pain of hearing that it's too late and your horse can never be ridden again. Good luck and I hope your horse will be OK!

Answer 7

well, make sure its discinfected. if you want, keep it covered for no more than a day.
then, i'd suggest leaving it open. the air needs to get at it, all so it will close up.
clean the wound 3 times a day to get all the dust out.
if there are scratches on the bone, its not good.
see a vet if there is and redness, swelling, or it it gets hot around that area. there may be infection.

good luck! :)

ps.
hi! im so sorry! i just realized i put down what a qualified vet would do! if you want your horse to ge better, DONT BE CHEAP!!! TAKE HIM TO A VET!!!!!!!
GEEZ! USE UR NOGGIN!!!

Answer 8

have you not gone to the doctors/vet.???????
that is the first thing you should be doing... yes i know that they are very pricey, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
another thing is, if you want to keep the wound open, keep her in the stall. If you would like her to still go outside for more fresh air then wrap up the wound tightly.

see a vet if there is and redness, swelling, puss coming from the wound, or it it gets hot around the area. there may be infection.
**if you do not choose to wrap up the wound, then clean wound ever few hours.



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Answer 9

Your vet should definitely see this animal. Being open like that could lead to an awful infection. She's probably in pain too. Do her a favor!

Answer 10

Jesus, are you kidding me?

If you cut yourself to the bone, wouldn't you go the hospital?
Get the damn vet to your horse today. If no medical attention is given to your horse when he's injured it can be considered animal neglect and you run the risk of losing your horse.