RE: Horse cut by barbed wire

["Kathy Mayeda" <kathy_mayeda@atce.com>]

I found Beau with a huge gaping cut - I'm sure because
of some pasture brawl by the barbed wire.  Besides, I had
him up for sale because he was my second horse and he
did his best to make sure that he was injured, sick or
lame whenever I had a buyer lined up to look at him!

Well anyway, I didn't even call the vet out because
it looked to old to stitch.  It was above the knee
so hard to bandage.  I hosed it down, but some nitrofurazone
on it and hosed it once a day.  Then I started using
a product call Blu-Kote to dry it up when it appeared oozy.
Then after it started to get scabby, I'd used nitrofurazone
to get the dead tissue soft enough to remove it. I repeated
this cycle several times. Didn't have too much proud flesh, 
but it did take about a month to completely heal and there 
is no scar.  This cut was all the way through the skin and
you could see a little slice of the muscle.  Gross.

I did happen to grab a local vet while he was checking
another horse and he did say that it looked fine, but if
it wasn't healing well, he could always come out and 
cut some of the proud flesh off.  But I didn't need for
him to come out.

I heard someone say recently that proud flesh forms more
when you cold hose a wound.

I'm not a vet and I might have been stupid for not calling
one, but that is my experience with wounds!  And believe
me I'd really be in the poor house that year if I called the
vet out for all the things this guy did that year.  The
veterinary help books always at my bedside, and boy did I
learn a lot.

Kathy