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Horse Owner Dilemma: To Bandage Or Not To Bandage?

It seems like horses injure themselves often but even with lots of practice, determining how to best care for their leg wounds can be difficult. That includes deciding whether a wound needs a bandage, or if a covering will impede the healing process.

According to EQUUS magazine, there are three main considerations when trying to decide whether to reach for the bandaging supplies:

Mobility: A wound that pulls open with every step a horse takes will heal more rapidly if it's wrapped. Though often more difficult to keep in place if over a joint like the knee or hock, a bandage is beneficial.

Depth: If the wound is so deep the underlying structures can be seen, infection is a real risk. Bandaging the wound is the best bet until granulation tissue can fill in the gap.

Proximity to the ground: A wound near the hoof on a pastern or coronet band is more likely to get dirt, manure and debris in and on it than one located higher up the leg. Additionally, if it's a hind leg injury on a gelding or stallion, there's a risk urine will splash on the cut and irritate the tissues. These wounds benefit from bandaging.

Wounds that can remain open do well when covered at least twice daily in a thick ointment to keep bacteria, dirt and insects out.

Wild Parsnip Can Cause Painful Reaction In Horses, But Not For Common Reason

Researchers have recently discovered that wild parsnip can cause trouble for horses—even if they don't ingest it. Drs. Bryan Stegelmeier, Steven Colegate, Edward Knoppel, Kerry Rood and Mark Collett have found that the invasive weed, which is a member of the carrot family that can be found throughout the United States, can cause phototoxic reactions in horses, even if they don't eat it.

Photosensitive skin reactions often occur after a horse eats a plant with photodynamic compounds. These compounds can then found in the horse's skin and blood; when ultraviolet rays from sunlight strike a horse's pink skin, painful burns and blisters can occur.

The research team discovered that horses don't need to eat wild parsnip to have phototoxic reactions—they simply have to come in contact with the plant's sap. The sap contains furanocoumarins, which have been known to cause intense skin reactions in humans who come in contact with it on sunny days. The areas of the skin exposed to the sap may be sensitive to sunlight for up to two years after the original contact.

Ointment Containing Semi-metallic Element Helps Heal Equine Leg Wounds

Texas A&M researchers have found that an ointment containing a semi-metallic element is showing promise in healing lower-leg wounds on horses. The cream, which contains 0.5 percent gallium maltolate, reduced wound size more rapidly, reduced proud flesh and reduced the number of bacteria present on the skin when compared to a similar ointment without the element.

Drs. Shauna Lawless, Noah Cohen, Sara Lawhon, Ana Chamoun-Emanuelli, Jing Wu, Andrés Rivera-Vélez, Brad Weeks and Canaan Whitfield-Cargile noted that wounds on the lower legs of horses are difficult to manage: they can be difficult to keep clean and can be difficult to manage.

Gallium possesses antimicrobial properties, but it had not been studied in relation to equine injuries. The scientists sought to compare healing rates between gallium-treated and untreated wounds to see if gallium could help heal wounds that were inoculated with the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus.

The study team used six horses with induced injuries. The use of the gallium-infused ointment reduced healing time, saw less granular tissue growth and reduced the amount of bacteria in the wound when compared to wounds that were not treated with the element. The researchers concluded that its not just the antimicrobial properties of gallium that assist in healing; the element alters the expression of specific genes that aid in wound healing.