# Pastern laceration



## deineria (Aug 22, 2009)

Here is an updated photo o the rescue mare's pastern laceration that came from a rope or cable being tangled around her leg for days before we found her.

We've kept it wrapped and treated it per our vet's advice on wounds like this, 

but I am open to suggestions.

Here is the leg the night we brought her to the farm 8 days ago. Not a clear photo, but it is all I have.










Here is it today, and remember, all of the white on the leg is SWAT for wounds to prevent flies.










It is normally wrapped, but I am giving it a couple hours of air right now and will rewrap it.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

Do you feel your vet is not offering good advice?


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## deineria (Aug 22, 2009)

He has not seen the wound because he is out of town. . .he just saw the fuzzy photo up there via email and said just do what I always do. lol.

I am not sure he'd say the same thing were he to see it in person or see the recent photo.


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## onthespot (Oct 7, 2007)

Holy crap! Put wonder dust on that thing! Keep water off it as much as possible. Just wonder dust. wipe it off, or hose it off as little as possible, maybe every two or three days, then just pack a dressing full of Wonder Dust and leave it on for two or three more days at a time. Water is like miracle grow for proud flesh below the knee. It is okay if it gets crusty and smells a little bit. Just don't hose or soak that thing off. I know, people will roll over in their graves when they read it. I had my filly get a laceration like that. I did what I thought was right, and I will have to post a pic. There is just a small barely noticeable scar now. She was lame on it for about three weeks, but it healed up almost perfectly. KEEP Water OFF that sore if you want it to heal up cosmetically clean looking. Otherwise you will be having the vet out to cut away some of that stuff, and rinse, lather, repeat.


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## deineria (Aug 22, 2009)

I haven't used water except for the initial cleaning and then it was a saline wash only.

I have read good and bad things about Wonder Dust, so I wasn't certain about trying that.

She isn't lame from it - doesn't even effect her.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

My confusion comes from your statement that you were treating 'as per our vet's advice' and I'm reluctant to overrule someone who spent quite a few years training to handle these situation. I was unsure what SWAT is but a quick search indicates it's for fly prevention and sounds a lot like KRS and boraform, which should never be directly applied to a wound because it promotes proud flesh. When used for fly prevention, I apply above and below the wound only.


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## onthespot (Oct 7, 2007)

if in doubt, try some wonder dust on half the wound, ointment will just trap bacteria in there and protect it where it can grow. She would be better left kicked out in a dry pasture and not treated at all, than "doctored" too much. I'm serious.


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## Molly Mckee (Jul 8, 2006)

We've had good results with wonder dust--also a vet told us years ago to use insulin on this type of wound. If you know any diabetics ask them for outdated or partially used vials or you can by it over the counter, it's actually a supplement, not a Rx. Put it on topically and it really helps heal when you are dealing with proud flesh.


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## fetch33 (Jan 15, 2010)

Years ago, I had a horse with a rope burn on his pastern. He developed proud flesh on the wound. I had to scrub the wound with a brush daily to help remove the excess tissue and then bandage. Took a while, but it finally healed up.


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## Momto5 (Mar 10, 2010)

One of our donkeys had a very similar wound in a very similar spot. Not the same animal, but here is what worked for us...bacetracin flush every 2 days, allow to air dry, apply wonder dust to a bladder control pad (lots of wonder dust) and then apply pad to wound and wrap with a self adhesive ace bandage. We changed it every single day and allowed it some air out time...worked wonders. NO proud flesh and no visible to the eye scar (when hoof trimming is done and we are holding the leg we can see the scar). Best of luck!!!


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## deineria (Aug 22, 2009)

WR - With our vet, he will be the first to experiment and see what works with something like this. I don't have 100% faith in any vet or doctor knowing it all - I've had too many human doctors make serious errors in personal experience to just do whatever they tell me all of the time without considering other options, so I apply the same with vets. I trust him by and large, but not enough that I never question.

I am using bladder control pads over a non stick pad.

SWAT is usually something you wouldn't apply to any wound, but they dp make a jar of SWAT wound cream for things like this, and I've used it with a lot of success on the short term when a wound needs some air but bugs and such will not leave it alone.

I went up and rewrapped the leg now.


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## Shoupie (Mar 21, 2009)

Sugardine (an iodine/betadine and sugar paste) will help it dry out and will feed the repair cells. If you're keeping it wrapped I don't think you need to put swat on it since flies can't get to it anyway. Once a dry non bloody scar forms rub bacon grease all over it to soften the skin and keep it from granulating it promotes hair growth and will prevent the scar from being obvious and visible.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

deineria, you pretty much missed my whole comment. 

If SWAT is working well for you, keep using SWAT I'm sorry to have suggested otherwise. Some have used meat tenerizer as a way of treating proud flesh with good results but you're going to have problems with this because the wound edges are so far apart. I actually have a couple treatments of my own but unfortunately, none of them would work at this stage of injury, they're intended a more advanced stage of healing.

Shoupie, I've heard of bacon grease before from a few old timers but I've had very good luck with good old fashioned Pond's Cold Cream.


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## deineria (Aug 22, 2009)

No, you didn't understand - the SWAT was just applied when I took the bandage off to deter flies while I let the wound get some air today. It is just to keep flies off, nothing more. 
I mentioned it in the first post because I figured people would ask what the white stuff was on the leg the second photo. I thought that was evident from the first post, and then I readdressed it when I thought you thought I was using the SWAT fly spray on the leg, which would have been 100% something I should not do.

I was explaining what I was actually using the SWAT for, that is all.

I am not using it for healing or when the leg is wrapped. 

The vet suggested sugar, and it worked well in one much small leg wound last year for us over a long time. That is what I've used as an aid against pround flesh, so far.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

The sugardine that Shoupie suggested has been known to have very good results.


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## deineria (Aug 22, 2009)

I have been using sugar, so maybe I will try mixing betadine with it and using that.


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## 2horses (Jul 19, 2004)

There is a product call Underwoods that just works miracles on those types of wounds, It's what I would use, if it were me. Here's a link: http://underwoodhorsemedicine.com/

Seriously. Try this. You'll be amazed.


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