PREVENTION
When your horse cuts himself, especially on the lower leg, take steps to ensure that healing proceeds smoothly.
Proud flesh: When your horse cuts himself, especially on the lower leg, take steps to ensure that healing proceeds smoothly.
hen your horse shows up at the gate with yet another cut or scrape, it’s wise to tend to it right away to head off infection, aid healing and prevent complications.
One complication you’ll want to be especially careful to avoid is proud flesh. Also known as exuberant granulation tissue, proud flesh is the excessive growth of the connective tissue and blood vessels that begin to fill in a healing wound. In severe cases, the mounds of pink tissue can take on a cauliflower-like appearance and protrude beyond the surface of the skin. New skin is unable to grow over the tissue, and healing stalls. Proud flesh develops most frequently in wounds on the lower legs, but under the right circumstances it can appear anywhere on the body.
Several factors increase the risk for proud flesh, including the wound’s severity, level of contamination and location---the potential for disruption of fragile healing tissue in wounds over joints and other mobile areas makes them more vulnerable. Also, some horses are simply more prone to developing proud flesh than others. Consult your veterinarian if your horse
has a wound that “gapes” when he moves, affects a joint, tendon or bone, or contains embedded debris or other contamination. In some wounds, sutures may be the best option, and your veterinarian will want to address any other issues that might compromise healing.
In most cases, you can probably manage your horse’s minor injuries yourself. But if you have any doubts do not hesitate to call your veterinarian. It is far better to get healing on the right path from the outset than to try to compensate once complications have developed. growth of proud flesh. Saline solution, which has the same salt concentrations as blood, is the safest way to flush impurities out of a wound without disrupting injured tissues. If you don’t have any saline at hand, water from a hose can do the job. In fact, the cool water has the added benefit of helping to reduce swelling and inflammation. Inspect the area closely to make sure it is completely clean. reduce the risk of infection even further. If you choose to apply a wound ointment, use a water-based gel during the earliest stages of healing--these help protect the tissues without inhibiting healing. At the outset, avoid heavy, greasy ointments such as ichthammol---these are more effective for protecting tissues during the later stages of healing. At any stage of healing, your best bet is to stick to products labeled for use on horses. Meat tenderizers, hemorrhoid creams and other h t t