How do you care for cuts?

[*JumpIt*]

My mare ran through a fence yesterday and luckily all she ended up with is a large scratch along her belly, not even big/deep enough for a vet to come out. I am just curious how everyone else treats their boo boos. This is the largest cut I've dealt with my horse, though she is a klutz she has only come up with a couple of nicks here and there.

I cleaned the cut and put furizone on it as an antibiotic. How do care for the day to day cuts and scratches?

[tpup]

I wash cuts with Betadine (in summer I hose it down first) - I put Betadine in a spray bottle, spray it on and leave it for a few minutes. Then pat it somewhat dry and apply triple antibiotic ointment. I do this daily and it has worked like a charm on very similar cuts. Ours were on legs mostly.

[camohn]

clean and apply novalsan. I have had better luck with cuts not getting infected with novalsan than anything else. The problem with Betadine/iodine is that it does kill the germs....but it is harsh on the skin cells you are trying to heal as well. Iodine works well if you need a drying agent though so I certainly do use it on umbilical stumps post foaling etc. Furazone will work too...it's just that like the iodine based stuff it is also harsh on the healing skin and will slow the healing time of the wound.
For scratches I would not mind using Fura or iodine. FOr deeper wounds I would definitely stick to the Novalsan.

[deltawave]

Make sure it's clean, make sure tetanus is up to date, and pretty much let Mother Nature handle the rest. :) If it's weepy or in an area that's prone to getting dirty, I like Alu-Spray. No antibiotics in or on my horses unless there's very definitely an infection going on.

[Laurierace]

My go to in any situation where you can not wrap is Blu Kote, that stuff works miracles and is dirt cheap.

[gabz]

I use liquid antibacterial soap and water. Make a small pail of sudsy, soapy water, use a sponge, then rinse. If it's on her belly - use a new clean sponge to apply rinse water if it's too cold for hosing so that you can be sure to get all the soap off.

I have a spray that I use for places I don't want gooky stuff. It's Furall. Dries stuff up.

Another basic cleaner is saline solution. Squirts well out of the bottle too.

[jn4jenny]

Make sure it's clean, make sure tetanus is up to date, and pretty much let Mother Nature handle the rest. :) If it's weepy or in an area that's prone to getting dirty, I like Alu-Spray. No antibiotics in or on my horses unless there's very definitely an infection going on.

Ditto this, although if it's got any kind of grossness to it--meaning that I had to flush it with water or saline to get it clean--I'll daub on a coat of Blu-Kote and let that dry, then go to the Alu-Spray.

[Seven-up]

As others do, I make sure the cut stays clean. If it's deep enough to get scabby and crusty, I blast the scab off with a hose to reveal healthy pink skin underneath. A scab will eventually fall off on its own, but I like to speed up the process. The high pressure water also stimulates blood flow to the wound, so I find it makes the wound heal faster than if I don't mess with it. Seems to minimize scarring, too.

If the scratch cut thru the skin, I use furazone or silver sulfadiazine (I'm sure I butchered that word) cream on it. If it's just a scrape, and the skin isn't broken, I use Corona on it. It's goopy, sticky, messy and gross, but it makes the hair grow back faster. My mare had an argument with a fence less than a week ago, and she's already sprouting new hair. I found a little scrape I had missed putting Corona on the first time around, and it's still naked skin.

[sublimequine]

Clean it up with warm water, then if it's just a light scrape, tea tree oil spray. If it's an actual cut with some bleeding and all that, scarlet oil.

[Beethoven]

Truthfully if its just a little scrap then I do nothing as the body can heal itself on its own. Maybe the first day I will put something on it, but usually not. If its bad looking I will keep the dirt out of it and some ointment(although that can tend to draw dirt defeating the purpose) on it the first few days then once its scabs I leave it alone as that it the bodies natural bandaid in my mind.

I am not all into over doing it with cuts and scraps. I mean I do not do much to mine, so I do not worry about theirs unless its major.

Maybe I am bad horse mom, but my horses seem happier that way.

[Bluey]

Furacine salve is bacteriostatic, but it is not an antibiotic.
It is a preparation of sulfur in a cream.
There are better modern products today, already mentioned.:yes:

[missmaserati]

Has anyone used the EquiFit Silver CleanBalm or CleanWash? Is it worth the money?

[MelantheLLC]

Ages ago I read a study from a vet school in which surficial cuts were treated with furazone vs cleaning with water, and I recall that the furazone caused more proud flesh. But I can't find the study now so I'll just pass that along as a recollection, take it as you will.

[merrygoround]

My go to in any situation where you can not wrap is Blu Kote, that stuff works miracles and is dirt cheap.

:eek:I thought that stuff went out with the dark ages. It should have. You've been on the track toooo long. :yes: :)

[Renn/aissance]

Wash with Ivory soap (or Betadine if it's really gross) and warm water and put triple antibiotic on top. Most of the time the body takes care of itself.

[Simkie]

Clean it off and let it scab over and let it be. The body does a fine job of healing and usually the scab is all the protection needed.

[Sansena]

I clip the surrounding area with sz 40 blades so I can be sure the areas kept as clean as possible.

If the wound is in a place that'll hold a bandage, then I will for the first day, if it's bleeding excessively, or is in an especially 'dirty' part of the body. Otherwise, just clean w/betadine or simply antibacterial soap, rinse well, then apply Silvadine or a similar creme.

Re-apply ointment 2x day or as needed, but I don't 'clean' or apply any water more than once a day thereafter. I believe too much water exposure can slow healing.

Temp 2x a day if there's a risk of infection. Restrict exercise as needed.

[*JumpIt*]

For those curious I washed it with novalsan shampoo and put furizone on it 2x's a day for 2 days and now I am going to let it be with application of triple antibiotic ointment mainly for the pain relief because God forbid the Princess be uncomfortable.

The cut really isn't bad just long and skinny, looks like a nail slid across her skin.

[Simkie]

For those curious I washed it with novalsan shampoo and put furizone on it 2x's a day for 2 days and now I am going to let it be with application of triple antibiotic ointment mainly for the pain relief because God forbid the Princess be uncomfortable.


Unless you're using the triple antibiotic with a pain reliever IN it (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ECQ76O?ie=UTF8&redirect=true), TAO does nothing for pain.

[ilikridn]

If it's a little cut, I just make sure it's clean and leave it alone. If it's a big cut that will need some healing time and will likely get dirty, attract flies, etc. I put a big glob of Furazone on it. It has always worked well for my horses and they've never had any scars or proud flesh as a result.

Of course, I've now jinxed myself.

[sid]

I scrub down a cut of ANY size, with a piece of gauze soaked in water/betadine to get the crud off of it and take a closer look. If hair is interfering with a good look, I snip the edges with blunt scissors. I then "spread" the wound to see if there might be a tiny puncture/hole. If so, I take a 10 cc syringe with the same solution and insert into the tiny hole. The amount of solution the opening "takes in" lets me know if I'm dealing with a puncture. If ANYWHERE near a joint I call the vet right away to explore further and treat with antibiotics as a preventative in case of possible joint infection.

If it's superficial, or just an abrasion, I usually smear with Thuja ointment.

I go through this trouble because over the last 22 years owning a lot of horses, you'd be surprised at the number of what seemed like teeny "cuts", once cleaned up and investigated as per the above, were actually punctures. Once a 1/2 inch "cut" just above my mare's stifle tracked about 4" deep almost to the joint capsule.

Remember, a puncture can be caused by a "blow" of any kind, when the muscle underneath the blow can implode. If a puncture is found not near a joint, I use Panalog ONCE to flush the puncture, then keep it clean, scrub any scabbing off and gently expressing internal fluid twice a day, so it can drain and heal from the inside out. I do not apply any topical ointments in that case, so as not to interfere with drainage.

[Diamondindykin]

Make sure it's clean, make sure tetanus is up to date, and pretty much let Mother Nature handle the rest. :) If it's weepy or in an area that's prone to getting dirty, I like Alu-Spray. No antibiotics in or on my horses unless there's very definitely an infection going on.

Yep, this is what I do too:) Mother nature works wonders in healing. I will watch all wounds and it they get worse I will put something on them but for the most part I leave them alone other than a good cleaning.

[*JumpIt*]

The triple antibiotic ointment does have pain relief, it is the same stuff I use on myself. I have looked all over the cut and there is no puncture and no drainage, we so luck she didn't do herself any more harm.

[amdfarm]

I have a 2yo that had an argument w/ the round bale ring the other day and it won. He's got a cut on the inside of his canon and swelling in both lower hinds, the dufus. I gave him bute (cause I felt sorry for him) to help w/ the inflamation, cleaned and dressed the wound w/ all I had, Blu Kote!!

I normally use cut heal or tea tree spray, which I've ordered. He's going to pretty much wipe off everything I put on it from laying down and getting up in the snow. I'm going to keep an eye on the swelling and let nature take care of the cut. As it heals, I'll put vet cream on it to help lessen the scaring, as it's right in the middle of his sock on that leg.

Sounds like your girl will be just fine.

[mandalea]

WAsh it down with clean water, asses on whether or not the vet needs to be called. If not, gets smothered in Filta-Bac or Rawleys Man and Beast

[goeslikestink]

depends on the cut and how deep
but me i would look then get my kettle on then get my white meddy buckets
then get my petherdine then have on the ready cotton wool, gamagee larger roll of orthband which is cotton wool like thin bandage anitbotic cream melimine or animallintex big wad of a cotton wool roll
then vet wrap scissors flat and skin ones

wash me hands in the bucket of warm water empty the bucket then refill with warm water and wads of cotton wool
add a small amount of pethedine

tied up horse look at wound
and grab a wad of cotton wool wash around the wound then throw away one wad of cotton wool then do the same with another wad of cotton wool from bucket onto the wound
and gentle clean the wound out throwing away each wad of cotton wool as i go
ie chuck it on the floor not to be reused so to reinfest the wound iam tryng to clean

then depending on how deep its is wether i can cope with it or not
or it needs vets attention
if on legs - then i prepare another bucket which is also white to hold my animalintex in and soak it to finger hot
then grab that out of bucket and apply to wound on leg - or apply antibotic cream if a graze rather than a cut type wound and apply melimine which is like anmial lintex only its not a poultice
then add big wad off rolled cotton wool, then apply ortherband or gamgee or both
and then apply vet wrap
to help to keep the wound stable and the horses leg stable till vet comes if needed
as it wound might need a pressure bandage due to blood lost

so it depends on how big and what type of wound you have if small and a nick then hose of in cold water and apply antibotic cream and fly wound powder and chuck the horse out