HOW BAD IS IT?

Any bleeding wound is cause for concern, but some are worse than others. Whenever you’re in doubt about the severity of an injury, call your veterinarian. Wounds are classified from superficial to severe based on these characteristics:

• Age: If a wound goes undiscovered or untreated for more than eight hours, bacteria have had time to proliferate, increasing the risk of infection and other complications.

• Bruising: The area around a laceration caused by a kick, collision or other high-impact trauma is likely to be bruised.

The same healing resources needed to repair open wounds are required to heal bruises, which occur when blood vessels beneath the skin rupture.

• Complexity: Clean cuts from sharp objects typically heal faster and better than torn flesh with ragged, uneven edges.

• Contamination: Foreign material such as wood, glass, gravel, grass, bedding, manure and hair can irritate a wound and introduce bacteria.

• Location: Wounds on the lower leg are more likely to jeopardize a horse’s soundness than his life, barring complications such as infection. Wounds to the abdomen and neck can be life-threatening if bleeding is uncontrolled or a major organ is damaged. Head wounds that are more than skin-deep are serious.

• Size: The length, width and depth of a wound are all important. Deep wounds are of particular concern because they can introduce bacteria to vital tissues. Note: It can be difficult to determine the extent of an injury, and underestimating the depth of a wound is a common mistake that makes treatment more difficult later.