Obviously it’s after hours so I probably can’t get a hold of a vet until tomorrow. Any ideas if this needs stitches?
He split his lip. Not sure if he was playing bitey face and got bitten or just happened to slice himself on something like the gate or who knows?
To me no I wouldn’t think stitches. It would be in such a high use location they would likely not last very long anyway.
Yes the flap of skin looks like it’s going to fall off just from him eating so I think it’s going to be a open wound soon enough.
If you did want to stitch it, best time to do it is ASAP. But it doesn’t look to me like it absolutely needs an emergency call necessarily (for stitching or antibiotics). Face wounds tend to heal super fast.
Bad place to stitch, I think they would cause more harm than good. I’d leave it be, try to keep it clean, though that will be difficult, and I bet it will heal up pretty quick and without a scar.
It is hard to tell how much flap is there. To me it looks pretty deep and flappy.
I personally would have my vet look at it.
Stitching it up, even if the flap later dies and comes off, will cover the wound and keep dirt and debris out of the wound while it heals inside.
I had something similar. Stitches were worth it they didn’t all stay but the wound closed 75% and without stitches it would have stayed completely split.
Unfortunately the flap was pretty loose yesterday and is already falling off. It looks like an open wound but I think it’ll heal up just fine. It certainly doesn’t seem to be bothering him very much.
Slightly more concerning is his swollen front leg. It was pretty swollen yesterday but looked better tonight. He is a little off at the trot. I’m not sure how he managed to beat himself up. I checked the paddock and couldn’t find anything that looked like he got caught in it. I’m seriously thinking I need to put up cameras and see what exactly he is doing. He has a tendency to find trouble. But sometimes an accident is just an accident.
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