How to get rid of proud flesh?

B

Bebe

New Member
Aug 15, 2001
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S.Yorkshire
Hi everyone

Bebe had a nasty injury to her nearside pastern a couple of months ago which has now healed. Unfortunately there is a small amount of proud flesh which I'd like to get rid of if possible. You can't actually see it without knowing where it is and doesn't affect her movement, etc so isn't a problem as such, just unsightly to me.

Apart from the vet coming out to cut it off, are there any other ways I can reduce it? I'm not squeamish and she couldn't care less about what I do to the proud flesh (I know it has no nerves) so I'm willing to try anything within reason.

Thanks
Amanda
 
I don't know if this would be any good, but isn't there a product out for us humans that is supposed to reduce/ remove scarring?
Carbon based I beleive.
Sorry I don't know more but I remember seeing an ad in a mag at the weekend.
 
vets don't actually HAVE to cut it off, but it's usually what we do. There is a cream we can make to get rid of it, but it's nasty stuff and you have to be careful putting in on, use gloves and avoid touching any other bits of skin with it as the cream will kill the tissue. It's not available commercially and it's not licensed for use in horses so I'm wary about suggesting it to you.

I don't recommend you try anything yourself, as proud flesh usually does bleed a lot, it does have blood vessels but usually no nerve supply (hence you can prod it without her caring). But once it's cut off you might find the cream useful to keep it back.

If your vet doesn't know what the cream is I'll tell you by PM, but I think you should speak to him first.

PS. it's not a human cream and it's not carbon based.
 
To prevent proud flesh forming use Aloe Vera frequently on a wound, It seems to do the trick. It might be worth trying it on the proud flesh if it is not completely healed.
 
I wouldn't worry unless it's very pronounced.

Carolines horse Charlie had a nasty injury to his jawbone which stayed as horrible proud flesh for months. Now though, there's nothing left at all (although perhaps difficult to tell under all that cobby winter coat! ;)).

My vet advised us that proud flesh often disappears in time and that while she could remove it surgically, this usuall ywasn't necessary (and she was right!).

All we did was to remove any source of irritation, in this case his cavesson.
 
Thanks everyone

I wouldn't actually cut it off myself but have heard from friends in the USA that they have creams, etc available that can reduce proud flesh and wondered if we could get similar products here.

I'll try aloe vera, I'm off to the health shop today and know they stock it so will have a look. There are two tiny areas on the flesh that haven't healed, I seem to reopen them everytime I clean the area (with water and cotton wool, just do it when she comes in from the field to get the mud off). It doesn't bleed, just looks sore and pink. The rest of the cut has healed perfectly, aside from the PF.

If I'm around next time the vet turns up I'll get him to have a look and see what he thinks. Otherwise I'll leave it be and he can always see it when he comes to do annual vaccinations. The only reason it's bothering me is I was thinking that if I ever had to sell her on (God forbid) it might go against her and I would want her to have every chance of finding a good home.

Thanks
Amanda
 
I've been using aloe vera gel (99% pure aloe vera) for a few weeks now and can't say it's helped with the proud flesh, although she did overreach and make it bleed last week so can't tell now.

It has been wonderful for her mud fever though. We did get rid of it for a week or so but it's come back now so I'm using it again. It's brilliant for getting the scabs off, really softens them up. Once the scabs are off I put another layer on.

Amanda
 
green gunk

I don't know if its the same stuff ponyvet was talking about, but my sister's vet gave her some weird green gunk that was supposed to reduce the proud flesh. I seem to recall it was a 'handle with care' thing so may be the same thing.

But I also remember something about the healing process, that the body has to put down spare tissue to make the healing fast but reduces it later ? So if this is quite new, it may still reduce in the future without any help.
 
Yep green gunk it is. And not a very secret recipe really, just very toxic to people!

Aloe vera gel works wonders for healing wounds and that includes mud fever scabs and minor cuts and bruises. However proud flesh is the long term result of a wound in an area where there is not enough skin to come together and cover the wound. As a result the tissue defecit fills in with granulation tissue (the pink stuff) and this grows and grows. Because there is no skin it doesn't know where to stop, as normally it would grow to fill in the space beneath the skin and stop where it reaches.

Horses seem to grow proud flesh, but very few other animals do. The best way to get rid of it is to wait and see, especially in areas where it isn't under any stress, as proud flesh is very susceptible to trauma. However if it's on the legs then it often splits or gets rubbed, and starts to bleed, and sometimes becomes infected. So, if that's happening it's a good idea to try and get rid of it.
 
Thanks for the further info. The proud flesh has definitely stopped growing and doesn't split when Bebe is moving around, and the overreach to it was the first time it's bled since the actual injury itself. If she does it again I might leave an over-reach boot on her, she wore one when she got the injury and for a good while afterwards but hasn't had it on for a couple of months.

The injury took place at the beginning of September so isn't particularly old. Next time the vet comes out I'll get him to check it over, unless of course there are any problems with it before then.

Thanks
Amanda
 
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