WARNING ..GRAPHIC PICS !!! I might have to put him down...any ideas ?!

[rnoyster]

DO NOT USE Hydrogen peroxide or epsom salts for any reason at this time! The peroxide will cause a bunch of proud flesh to develop and the salts will do it also, just not as much as the peroxide.
To bandage this wound, try using pampers! The have some tabs that you can use to hold the dressing in place until you can overwrap it with vet wrap. Just be careful to wrap the vet wrap tight enought to hold the bandage, but loose enough to allow circulation to remain. If you aren't careful with vet wrap, there is a tendency to put it tight and it can get too tight real quick.
Good Luck! My stallion had a similar wound about 7 years ago and it took nearly 4 months to granulate in completely! There is a horrible scar on his hock, but he is completely sound! Just take your time and it will repair itself slowly.

 

[BluegrassSeramas]

Quote:
Absolutely disagree. Flys will lay maggots, and though maggot therapy can be a good thing, her horse sounds to be slightly unstable (Doesn't tolerate water, was fighting over a fence, won't take a shot in any capacity) and if she can't handle him to get those things done, she may have trouble handling a maggot filled wound properly.

Agreed.

OK, I know absolutely nothing about horses, but I know something about maggots. You NEVER want maggots that came from a fly's eggs being laid in a wound to stay there. You never want to let it get to that stage; you need to keep flies out of any wound.

Maggots are still used in the medical profession (last I heard) on occasion, it is true, as are leeches -- but they do not come from a stray fly landing in the wound, they are raised in a lab and germ free, essentially sterile. And it takes some knowhow to use them correctly.

My brother is here the one that works at the Equine hospital.
He says that they actually use maggots there (raised in a sterile environment) , mostly with hoof abscesses. He says that they have lab raised maggots and they put them in there and wrap the wound. He says you never want FLIES like ddawn says. He says that they carry bacteria and disease.
He also says that this would needs to be hosed out and left open to get air when ever possible.
He says that you can use iodine (or anything like) that to squirt in the wound with a syringe. You want to keep the inside of the wound clean too, that is where the bacteria may not be able to leak out as well....
You dont want it to heal with that junk in there!

 

[unionwirewoman]

Just an update on my horse . Gave him 30cc's of penacylin today...vet said to do it 2x per day . Cleaned out the wound with epsom salt and warm water , and flushed out the pockets .

Thank you to all of those who have read ALL of the posts . Your advice and support are VERY much appreciated .

Here are pics from today after cleaning the wound . Pretty sure the blood coming out gives me a good indication that there's still healthy tissue in there .

Bandage taken off today

 

[waibel zoo]

The blood looks much better then puss. I do not have horses. But I have kids and animals. I am a preety good nurse. DEFINATELY keep washing it. I believe the epsom salt will help immensly. But if you are uncomfortable with that use some kind of soap. An antibacterial one if you have it. I would probably was 2-3 times a day until the puss stops showing up. After the wash let it air dry before wrapping it with some kind of topical antibiotic.

 

[Cara]

The bleeding is a good thing, the tissue is still alive. It's a horrible wound, but I honestly think if you keep on cleaning it and giving him penicillin he'll heal. It probably won't be pretty, but who cares so long as he's better

 

[waibel zoo]

I also wanted to add that whenever you have to do something you know he does not like (washing, shots, etc) bring a treat with you. It may get him to forget or ignore the shot if he is chewing on an apple.

Soaking with a rag and then gently scrubing away the gunk might be easier then a hose. Just have another bucket with clean water and a clean rag to rinse with.

 

[unionwirewoman]

He actually did VERY well when washing the wound....couldn't believe it ! We went through 4 needles trying to give him the penacylin.....finally resorted to an old cowboy trick we saw in a horse scrapbook . We tied a 1/4" rope through the mouth and around the head making 6 wraps and pulling it snug . We laughed at the pic a month ago.....now we're pretty happy it worked...will post pics tomorrow .

 

[AkTomboy]

Its looking better already Keep up the good work

 

[TACEYPERKINS]

You did great! I am so proud of you. I was thinking about you and your horse all day. I am glad to see the blood. That is a good sign. You just need to do this every day several times a day and eventually you will start to see it closing up. You are on the right track. Good job Marissa!

 

[redhen]

I just saw this! UGH! Sorry! You are doing an awesome job!!