Healing Horse Cuts
When looking after a horse, you should always make sure that their stable and field are safe and have no edges or nails which could potentially injure your horse. However, we all know that accidents happen and even the most cautious horse owner can still end up with a horse that gets cut. Treating a cut on your horse as soon as it has occurred is important as the longer it is left the trickier it becomes to take care of it.
If your horse injured itself, the first step is to examine the damage. If the wound is deep or large in diagonal it is essential to call a vet. If the cut is fresh your vet will be able to stitch it but older wounds will have a risk of getting infected under the stitches.
Whether the cut is treatable by you or not, it is important to take some immediate action. Catch the horse and bring him to his stable. When a horse become injured, he or she may not act in the same manner as a healthy horse.
If possible, shave the hair surrounding the wound. Doing so will make it easier to treat the wound and will help keep it clean.
Wash the cut with running water and an antiseptic solution. Do not use normal shampoo to clean the area.
Once the wound is clean, apply some antiseptic wound cream on top of it. Make sure you ask a veterinarian which product he or she recommends for cleaning out horse wounds. Aloe Vera and tea tree oil is very commonly used on small shallow horse cuts. Natural creams are less likely to irritate a horse’s wounds.
Depending on the size and type of the cut it might be advisable to cover the wound. Veterinarian wraps along with cotton wool is the usual method for covering up large horse wounds. It is absolutely crucial to change the wrap, wash and re-treat the wound every day.
As with other health care issues, if you are unsure about treating a cut on your horse, always ask your vet for advice. Properly treated cuts heal faster and leave a smaller mark. Badly treated cuts can lead to a worse infection.
