How to treat cuts?

[iloveshearer]

S cut his leg in the field at the weekend, i don't know how but it's quite a big cut covering most of one side of the pastern on his front leg. His leg has been quite swollen since and he is lame in anything more than walk. I brought him in and hosed it, dryed it and then put lots of sudocrem on it, but i didn't really now what else to do with it:o:confused: I've been putting sudocrem on the cut since but his leg is still swollen. What should i do with it?

Please help!

[scoob&lill]

Is it still an open wound? becareful of infections etc i'd think about getting vet out to check it. I'm not sure sudocrem will be doing anything but i could be wrong.The potential for germs to jump in there will be enormous.ALso pony might be in need of pain relief.
good luck
Also if leg is swollen and is uncomfortable to walk an infection could already be set in?
x

[teddypony]

If the leg is still swollen then i would advise calling out a vet. There could be something more wrong than just the cut, or perhaps the cut is infected. Especially as you have said he is lame still. I'm not very good when boss gets cut, someone normally tells me what to do as im not keen on the blood :o You could also give the cut a clean with warm water and hibiscrub or if you dont have any of that then salt water does just as well. That way would also help get anything which may be in the cut. Hope thats helps :)

[jenmac_85]

Would maybe get the vet out. Cant remember the exact sizes but I think if the cut is over 2cm long it is preferable to get the vet out.

If you have Hibiscrub or Dettol (not the kitchen clener lol) I would clean it down with that.

What does it look like? (Sounds stupid when I type that, but can give an idea of what the wound is doing lol)

[iloveshearer]

Well it's not so much deep but just covering quite a big area, all the hair's missing and it's scabbed over a bit but not fully, when he first did it it looked a bit yellow which made me think it might be infected but then after i'd cleaned it, it's not so much anymore.

Thanks :)

[scoob&lill]

Is he up to date with his tetnus etc? id still be tempted to get vet out as a precaution as the smallest cut can lead to bigger problems!
x

[iloveshearer]

Yes, he's had all of it quite recently! so worried about him :(

[heartofrainbow]

Call the vet!

May need a tetanus, antibiotics and possibly some pain killers!

[kaytenherponies]

You did exactly the same as I do. I always use sudocrem as a barrier to stop muck etc getting in. I dont use sudocrem after it has scabbed over though as I found it took the scab off, and opened the wound up. All the same if it is still swollen and has heat in it in the morning I would consider getting a vet just to be on the safe side, just incase it is infected.:)

[scoob&lill]

as long as you can keep it clean and dry and it forms a decent scab you should be ok, the problem at the minute with us is the mud so if you have the same problem as me id try him keep him until a decent scab has formed.
the swollen leg is abit of a worry though, even if wound has scabbed, sometimes antibitotics are needed to fight infections.
x

[iloveshearer]

He's in a very dry field atm so the mud is not so much a problem. I will see how he is and then decide what to do. Thanks everyone :)

[Jenbee]

Keep it clean and i would strongly advise to have a vet out to look at it. Better safe than sorry.
My mare came in from the field with a little cut on sunday and now her leg is huge :o can't stress enough that if theres lameness and swelling after a cut its better to have a vet take a look

Good luck, hope horsey recovers quickly :) x

[kat1]

My daughters pony did the same just before christmas in the same place. He was lame in trot but it did not swell and once hosed, the bleeding stopped. The vet was due the next day anyway for vaccinations so she checked it and gave me antibiotics just to be on the safe side and some bute, I would do the same if I was you as she gve them because infections are hard to deal with once they get going.

I just kept getting melonin dressings from chemist, gamge and vet wrap and kept it covered. One night when it was not covered and i decided to let the air get to it, he caught the scab and it was all proud flesh in the morning. I the end, I got some honey and smeared it all over wound and it healed nicely then (one set back was that dressing got stuck to pad with honey and I pulled scab off!)

It is all healed now but it was so much fuss for a little - well it looked litle cut!

[Wally]

Sudocrem is not for open wound, it wil seal bacteria in. Wounds need to be treated with clean water and to start with an iodine type cleanser.

Once it's clean don't put creams on it, it needs to dry up and scab over.

Al you need to do is keep it clean with dry dressings, like gamgee, it's cheap and cheerful.

[jaydevon]

agree with wally, creams arnt great, i always wash a wound with salt water, and i have a kitten syringe for making sure it gets into the wound and flushes it out,

if its any thing more than a graze i would always call my vet, infection and be inside and go un noticed, its not worth the risk,

bute is also an anti inflammitory it will help keep the swelling at bay.

i cant stress enough how important it is to keep a wound on a horse how ever small clean.

[Retty]

Swelling can be part of healing but equally can also be a sign of infection. If it's swollen and warm I would deffo get vet out as he may need antibiotics. Bute/danilon as anti inflammatory and pain relief.

[iloveshearer]

He's alot better now, i'm beggining to think it may not be a cut but actually mud fever, as although he is in a dry field atm, he has only just moved into there after spending alot of the winter in a wet field. I always check his legs for mud fever usually but seeing as he'd moved into a dry field i didn't. He has very hairy legs atm so it is not obvious until you cut the hair away.

The swelling has gone down and there is no heat so i have just been cleaning it with hibiscrub and i've borrowed some steroid cream from someone who had it left over from when there horse had mud fever, He's also living in atm and he seems better!

Thanks everyone :)

[DebO]

If it's an open wound then be careful if you hose, you must have a very gentle trickle otherwise you could force dirt into the wound. If it's a wound that needs the vet you should keep in moist perhaps use a hand help spray with water in case he needs to stitch it, don't put anything onto it.

I always have a saline hand held sprayer in my first aid kit - 1tsp salt to 1 pint of water.

DebO