Horse getting caught in fence

[cah]

okay ...need a little help.. my daughters horse got caught in the wire fence... ripped his hind leg up real bad... we did not know this for about three days...we were not at home and he was on a auto water and feed. We had the vet come out... cleaned it and gave him shots of antiobotic... it is real infected.. the vet is to come back Friday... Any suggestions as to have this heal fast or any "great cures" for this... we have NEVER had this happen before.

Thanks

 

[J&T Farm]

I'm sure your vet told you this but I would soak his legs with running water a couple times a day for about 10-15 min at a time this will help. If you are not already I would use Nitrofurizone in the cuts and try to keep the flies out of it. I would also get some bute to help with the pain and swelling. I assume that the vet did not put stitches in since it had been 3 days. Horses heal pretty good. Infection is bad, the cuts would have healed up fairly quick but that infection will slow the healing process. Good Luck, Hope the horse is ok.

 

[ETF]

What J&T said. Keep it wrapped if you can. We've had several get cut to varying degrees and they get tired of being wrapped and/or the vet wrap won't stay up. In that case, Wonder Dust works pretty well. Be prepared for a lot of proud flesh to form. The vet may need to come back two or three times to cut it off. The good news is that the horse ought to recover unless some tendons were cut or get infected. Good luck.

 

[msscamp]

okay ...need a little help.. my daughters horse got caught in the wire fence... ripped his hind leg up real bad... we did not know this for about three days...we were not at home and he was on a auto water and feed. We had the vet come out... cleaned it and gave him shots of antiobotic... it is real infected.. the vet is to come back Friday... Any suggestions as to have this heal fast or any "great cures" for this... we have NEVER had this happen before.

Thanks

I would start soaking his legs with Epsom Salts (available at any pharmacy/drugstore) - dissolve the Epsom Salts according to the directions in a 5 quart bucket of water , saturate a rag/washcloth, wring it out and apply to the cuts, let sit for a few minutes, and repeat for about 30 minutes. Word of warning - be prepared for a possible negative reaction. The Epsom Salts draw infection out (I've used them on infected cuts/scrapes/etc I've had, and the drawing action can be felt), feels very weird, and some horses don't like the feeling.

 

[peg4x4]

Where on the leg is the cut? If it is in the joint,you have a problem.. If just flesh,it will usually heal..Keep it clean,do what the Vet says..

 

[Kelly]

I have heard really good things about a product called "Underwoods" I think you can google it. It prevents proudflesh I believe. You still have him on Antibiotics right? They use SMZ's a lot for wound infections that you can dissolve in their feed.

 

[J&T Farm]

ETF you are right about the proud flesh, it does need to be removed.
I hope that this is not an issue for you but if it is here is some things you might want to know about it and ways to help prevent it from getting to bad.
Proud flesh is an excessive growth of granulation tissue that has the appearance of cauliflower. It usually develops over an open wound, and most often occurs in areas of excessive tension and motion. Proud flesh usually is seen in injuries of the distal limbs (below the knee or hock) due to the lack of underlying soft tissue structures, which allows for an excessive amount of tension in those areas. These distal areas mainly are comprised of bone, ligaments, and tendons, and lacks underlying muscle. This anatomy causes the skin surface to be tense, which increases the risk of proud flesh because of the difficulty for skin to grow back over a wound.

The best treatment of proud flesh is prevention, and the best prevention i performing a primary closure (suturing) of the wound immediately, or as soon as possible, after the wound occurs. Proud flesh can become a problem when primary closure is not an option, and the skin has to heal through second intention healing. Second intention healing is when the skin has to heal first by granulation tissue forming over the wound, then the skin grows over the granulation tissue. It is at this point you get proud flesh. Another preventative method is to limit the motion in the area of the wound as much as possible. This is generally done by bandaging, or placing the lower limb in a cast. By reducing the motion in the area, you speed the healing process allowing skin to grow over the granulation tissue, which greatly reduces the occurrence of proud flesh.

 

[moserranch]

my horse cut his hind leg on the in front of his hock on a wire fence(wasn't barbed wire) It was not real deep but he did have some hanging skin. I washed it really well, put nitrofuroaone salve on it and washed it. Daily I would hose it down and rewrap it. I wrapped it for 2-3 days then let it heal open to the air-made sure no flies got on it. I put vasaline on it to keep the scabs from cracking back open. He has a couple of scar lines but no proud flesh. I don't like to keep them wrapped longer then neccessary-just my opinion.

 

[Alan]

okay ...need a little help.. my daughters horse got caught in the wire fence... ripped his hind leg up real bad... we did not know this for about three days...we were not at home and he was on a auto water and feed. We had the vet come out... cleaned it and gave him shots of antiobotic... it is real infected.. the vet is to come back Friday... Any suggestions as to have this heal fast or any "great cures" for this... we have NEVER had this happen before.

Thanks

I would start soaking his legs with Epsom Salts (available at any pharmacy/drugstore) - dissolve the Epsom Salts according to the directions in a 5 quart bucket of water , saturate a rag/washcloth, wring it out and apply to the cuts, let sit for a few minutes, and repeat for about 30 minutes. Word of warning - be prepared for a possible negative reaction. The Epsom Salts draw infection out (I've used them on infected cuts/scrapes/etc I've had, and the drawing action can be felt), feels very weird, and some horses don't like the feeling.

Ditto on the salts and soaking method MS suggested. I also would wrap it for a day or two then let it air dry. Have the Vet check it from time to time as it heals.

Did the Vet say if there was any permanant damage to the leg? I have to ask.... was the wire barbed? One of the quickest ways to ruin a good horse is barbed wire. I hate it almost as much as I hate my wifes TB.

Alan

 

[notimeforfear]

we have a horse that about 5 years ago got this nasty gash under his right front leg. it was completely open flesh. we kept him on an 80 acre land so we didnt know what cause it but after the accident e stayed on stall rest for a good 5 months. but for the treatment epsom salt water then rinse. it was a big hassle and scary bc we werent sure if hed make it. still 5 years later the cut comes open every once in a while but it doesnt affect him too much anymore

 

[kjones]

I've had good results by running cold water, followed by peroxide and then Shriner's solution. At the same time giving injections of penicillin. The penicillin was for a short period of between five to ten days. The peroxide and Shriner's was until healed. Ended up with no proud flesh, only scar lines. Whatever you go with good luck to you.

 

[ChrisRet]

You can use Ag Lime to prevent proud flesh forming. After doing the daily clean out and cold water rinse, take a handful of ag lime and press into the cut. Some furazone around the edges will help as well, but the important thing is to keep the flesh dry.

Note that this is AG LIME, not quick (hydrated) lime. Ag lime is not going to burn and is not caustic. There are also commercial products available to prevent proud flesh, if you read the ingredients you will see ag lime first in the list, followed perhaps by charcoal, then other stuff.

 

[HOSS]

I have a guy that works for me who's father was a pharmicist back in the 60's. He was heavily involved in the walking horse business. He invented a salve that he would put on horses who's legs had been cut by the weight chains that they used during training. It would facilitate healing and there would be no scarring. His son still has the recipe and made some up for me. My mare had ran into some sheet metal that had peeled back from the side of the barn. It shaved a chunk off of her flank all the way through the hide. It was a bloody raw spot about the size of a golf ball. I put this salve on her every day for a week. It started healing in one day and by the end of the week it looked like a bald spot. After a couple of weeks I'll be doggoned if the hair didn't come back completely. It just looked funny because it was new black hair and the black spot showed up against the redder sun bleached hair. This stuff is awesome. I used it on a cut above the hoof and got the same results. My mother cut herself with a garden tool and she put it on her hand. By the days end a nice scab had already formed and she said the soreness was greatly relieved. It healed up in half the normal time. I do not know what all is in it as he guards the recipe closely but I do not it has sulfur and denatured alcohol as well as some kind of petroleum based oil.