How can i get me horse's wounds to heal nicely?

Question

my horse has little TINY wounds on his legs (probs from rubbing his *** on the fence or sumthing). they aren't serious or deep, but everytime they scab over, they go into really big bumps!they're gross feeling, and it looks as though i dont groom him properly, because of these lumps on his legs.the hair grows over them and so im thinking the scab dusnt have a chance to fall off?any tips?

Answer 1

Natural honey is really good. It heals the wound from the inside out. Once it does heal you wouldn't even know there had been a wound.

We rescued a horse that had cuts all over her face that were down to the bone and we used honey. The vet said she would have massive scars. But we kept using the honey till they healed and now you wouldn't even know.

The lady who adopted her off us has been showing her and she is doing well.

The honey has to be natural though, it can't be preserved.

Answer 2

Man that StarQuality Arabian chick is really concerned about your horses immune system...she answers like that in every question...(what a know-it-all...) Anyways...We have this stuff from our vet called Derma Gel...it is so awesome! It stimulates hair growth, and the hair that grows back is the natural coat colour (not white or grey) i dunno how they do it, but it works.(even stopped that corning stuff (black patches) on my bay roan!) If the hair is growing over them, and the scabs arent falling off, you can take your rubber curry & gently curry over them to encourage them to fall off it they are ready...but dont pick at them or they may scar....

Good Luck!

Answer 3

Ignore the poster who said that honey would ruin your horses immune system. That is absolute rubbish. Manuka honey would be fantastic.

It sounds to me that mudfever may have gotten into your horses wounds. I have treated mudfever with a lanolin based cream. Lanolin provided a barrier for the wound. To this I added calendula and lavender herbal extracts but I evaporated the alcohol off first. These herbs are healing and antimicrobial.

edit: those natural zinc oxide based nappy rash creams would also be a good base to make a barrier cream.

Answer 4

*giggles at barrelracer* - I am beginning to think the same thing. She knows more about horses than all of us...not a huge amoutn about spelling and grammer though (ETIRE?)!

Can I just clarify - it will do nothing to your horse's immune system, however, in my opinion and experience it will do nothing for his scabs either. This condition sounds like mud fever. Starqualityarabians just have suggested this as apparantly she has a degree in veterinary work and as I mentioned before, knows more than all of us put together.

Are the wounds on his lower legs, in small "clumps?" with grainy scabs over the top? I will try and find an article or a picture to add so that you can see. If it is mud fever (sometimes called cracked heel or greasy heel) it is caused by bacteria getting into the skin. What happens, basically, is the skin gets wet and soft (from mud or washing) and the bacteria, which lives in mud, gets into the skin and breeds. This causes the wounds and infection. It can get very bad if left untreated. Many people go "my god! The horse has mud fever and so we must wash his legs everytime he comes in from the field!" and then wonder why the mud fever never goes away. The thing to remember is that constant wetting and drying of the skin causes it to become damaged and cracked which allows the bacteria in, so if you're washing legs everyday, you're asking for it even though you think you're doing the right thing. People will no doubt disagree with me here and say that I am wrong, but never mind! When I studied horse health to Advanced NV Level 3, this is what I was told, and prior to that, this is what I have always done! When bringing the horse in from the field, remove excess mud with straw or a scrap towel or something (though straw is better). Then leave the legs to dry and brush off the mud when it has dried. If your horse has mud fever, I suggest leaving him in for a few days to heal up before putting him out. When you do put him out, use a barrier cream but make sure the legs are dry (absolutely totally and utterly bone dry!) before you put the cream on, or you will trap the moisture inside and create a breeding ground for bacteria. I treat mud fever with a cream called Camrosa (I'll find you the link) and it works a treat. Other things I have used include Sudocrem (nappy rash cream, find it in the chemist) and DryCow (a cream from the vets for drying up mastitis in cattle). I'd invest in a tea tree spray (or better still, make your own) to spray on his legs when you bring him in from the field and for when you clean his legs. If he has mud fever, this is what I'd do:

Thoroughly clean his legs with warm water and HibiScrub (or similar antibacterial shampoo). Soak the scabs until soft and they should pick off quite easily. Dry the legs with a towel (not straw as his legs will be pink and sore) then spray with tea tree spray. When his legs have dried, bandage to stop swelling, and box him overnight. The next morning, spray with tea tree spray and apply Camrosa/Sudocrem, then exercise him (try to avoid arenas as the surface dust gets into wounds - go for a hack out?). Clean his stable (obviously) and put him back in, no bandages. On the evening exercise him again, spray with tea tree and bandage. Repeat this until the mud fever has cleared. When you turn him out, cover his heels in a barrier cream (I suggest using Sudocrem for this not Camrosa as it is considerably cheaper!). When he comes in on the night, check for signs of the mud fever reoccuring.

If you find your horse is prone to mud fever, Equilibrium do a turnout chap (I believe called the close contact chaps) to prevent mud fever. I used them on my grey and they worked well, but are expensive and not very hardwearing.

There are products available that are designed as a barrier cream for regular use to stave off mud fever, though their effectiveness varies.

If your horse has long feathers, I'd clip them off if you can. Some people will argue that feathers should be left on to protect the heels but in my opinion and experience they only hinder the treatment of mud fever and often mean that you miss the first, small scabs as they are hidden by hair.

I'll find you the links, back in a minute!

ADD:

http://www.aromesse.com/pages/mud_fever.... (please note, I haven't read the information on this site, I'm posting it so you can see the picture, so the site may disagree with what I've said)

http://www.equilibriumproducts.com/leg_p...

http://www.camrosa.co.uk/

http://www.sudocrem.co.uk/

ADD (again): I forgot to add, to make a tea tree spray use 1 part tea tree oil and 9 parts water, put it in a spray bottle (about £1 from Tesco) and viola!

Answer 5

StarQuality Arabian thinks everything will s***w up a horses immune system.  But anyway, honey like some else said, is a good natural healing ointment. And is actually filled with antioxidants, that would actually help the immune system not s***w it up.  It  was used by ancient civilizations  to cure many different things.  Bacteria can't live in honey, so it will help with healing.  The are also many products on the market like Wonder Dust that help cuts heal and minimize scaring.  Good luck, and i wish your a happy healthy immune system.  

I would just add that what other said about mud fever sounds likely and tea tree oil is an other natural type treatment that works wonders as well.  I don't think it will hurt his immune system, (giggles) it too was used by acient civilazatins, this i know was in Asturlia were it is native too.

Answer 6

Don't use natural honey!!!!!!!!! it will s***w up the horses immune system......use NFZ wound dressing( it a lime/yellow color) i usually get it one pound at a time

Answer 7

If they are down on his pasterns and then going up the legs, it could be scratches (mud fever)  I would use betadine shampoo to wash the areas, rinse it off and dry it thoroughly.  I use EMT ointment on the sores, after I remove the scabs.  It is sticky and stays on well.  The key to getting rid of it is to keep the areas dry.  I buy EMT at Farm and Fleet...it is a great ointment for wounds and a favorite of mine.  Use your fingernails if you have to, to scrape off the crusty scabs.  They will loosen when you wash the areas.  The hair comes off with the scabs.  If this doesn't work, you may be dealing with something other than scratches, but the treatment I am recommending won't hurt if it is something else.