Wound not healing, frustrated with vet, any layman suggestions?

Trick with vet bills is not to add them up — ouch, that is a lot of money.

[QUOTE=Foxtrot’s;8708606]
Trick with vet bills is not to add them up — ouch, that is a lot of money.[/QUOTE]

Sadly my CC is more than happy to do that for me. Not all of them where for the horse, some of them were for the dog and the cat too. I have been feeling like somebody put a curse on me lately.

For those of you who have dealt with these types of injuries before, how long did you wait before doing work with your horse again? Where did you start and how much? My vet seems reluctant to give me an answer on what I can and can’t do, but my mare (who has a metabolic disease) is starting to get symptomatic again. She was doing pretty good with 20 minutes of walk and 2 minutes of trot on the lunge line in the indoor, and then we had our set back last week. I am thinking about starting with that again towards the middle of next week, but would love to hear what others did.

Is she sound?! Does exercise reopen the wound?!

[QUOTE=vxf111;8709078]
Is she sound?! Does exercise reopen the wound?![/QUOTE]

Yes she is sound, exercise does not aggravate the wound.

recipe for Vetericyn solution ‘at home’ or Dakin’s solution

http://mhwf.websitetoolbox.com/post/how-to-make-dakins-solution-disinfecting-solution-for-wounds-etc-7211662

Basically dilute bleach solution.
Not going to cost $30.
There is a COTH thread on this somewhere.

Have you tried something like EquiSilver Wound Spray? That’s my go to spray along with Vetericyn.

Best thing I found for wounds like that was furazone spray that stuff was great, sadly no longer manufactured.

[QUOTE=Draftmare;8709120]
Yes she is sound, exercise does not aggravate the wound.[/QUOTE]

If she is sound on the leg, your plan sounds reasonable. I would wrap the leg because she will throw dirt on it with the front foot.

[QUOTE=csaper58;8709512]
If she is sound on the leg, your plan sounds reasonable. I would wrap the leg because she will throw dirt on it with the front foot.[/QUOTE]

I agree. If she’s sound and work doesn’t aggravate it (I assume she’s on turnout still). I would bandage the wound carefully to keep it clean and work lightly. No lateral work or heavy cantering/jumping but light W/T in the ring. Let her tell you if it’s getting to be too much and check the wound carefully afterwards!!!

I don’t plan to leave it unwrapped for a while. The last thing I need is another set back! We had a rather exciting hand walk around the farm today with some rather exuberant airs above ground. Wound looked okay after that so I think I will bump the lunging up to staring Monday. For whatever reason she tends to stay much calmer on the lunge line than in hand right now. She is still on individual turnout on half an acre. She doesn’t move around a ton by herself, mostly she stands by the fence watching her friends out in the bigger pasture.

I would just be extra careful that she doesn’t interfere and bang it and that the wrapping doesn’t affect her range of motion. But if you can keep her under control and she’s sound, so long as the wound continues to look good-- I would think careful, controlled movement u/s would be ok.

So for this type of injury–I’m lucky, I get freebies from the wound care nurse at the hospital for whom my Mom works. I use Aquacel AG, and leave it on for 2-3 days at a time. It’s a surgical wound dressing impregnated with silver, and it works like gangbusters. The vets who have seen my “hospital-supplemented” wound protocol have been really impressed with the rate of healing.

For horses that aren’t lame on the leg with the injury, I leave the aquacel on, covered in vet-wrap and a boot or polo, and go ahead and ride.

The only problem with it is that it’s quite expensive, but after the results I’ve had with it, I think I’d be willing to pay for the non “donated” version.

I always feel that with major, or semi-major incidents, using the best you can is the shortest route - make haste slowly. Over the years there have been so many threads about, say, ulcers, and all the trial and error choices, when going for the Gastroguard in the first place would have been the quickest mended, even though it is scarily expensive (they have us there).

I’m wondering if Aquacel AG is similar to the Swiss product, Derma-gel as it keeps the wound moist yet lets the new baby cells grow without burning them.
They sort of swim through the product.

The Aquacel is like a very thick gauze, and in people they leave it on for 2-3 days, depending on the stage of the wound. It’s great for deep wounds or wounds that are starting to heal, seems to help the granulation w/o promoting hyper-granulation (proud flesh). It’s also antibacterial–the silver in it does wonders in that respect. It’s only good for areas that can have some sort of wrap over, because otherwise it would fall off. I usually moisten the wound with saline or water in a pinch, stick it on and wrap it up. (I usually re-do wraps daily.) With this method, the wound tends to stay nice and moist and fills in quickly.

I just looked at the Derma-gel, I think I might get some for non-bandage-able wounds.

I think they’re probably somewhat similar in mode of action, i.e. they both help re-epethelialize the wound, just different application. I can ask above mentioned wound-care nurse what she thinks of Derma-gel if anyone is interested. She gets free samples of everything under the sun, and as pictures of me and my horses are cute, I get all of the free samples.

She typcically doesn’t have issues with interfering. She is built with “a leg at each corner.” She is also typically fairly calm under saddle. I’m not really sure why hand walking has been such an issue since she’s been injured.

Started the steroid yesterday. I am raising an eyebrow at it a bit, and I hope it works! It goes on clear and I was having a hard time telling how much was enough and even if I got the whole wound fully covered.

Horses can move differently when wrapped/injured

By the time one buys the Telfa pads and the Derma-gel the Aquacell will not look so expensive. My horse’s gash is healing extraordinarily fast, wrapped and padded every three days. Took her back to the vet for confirmation and he said I was doing a very good job and didn’t charge me…I have a wonderful team around me.

This DermaGel? www.medline.com//product/pf/Z05-PF00185

Or this one… www.derma-gel.com/news/

OP… if you are using a steroid product, check with your vet before combining it with any other product.

[QUOTE=csaper58;8710462]
This DermaGel? www.medline.com//product/pf/Z05-PF00185

Or this one… www.derma-gel.com/news/

OP… if you are using a steroid product, check with your vet before combining it with any other product.[/QUOTE]

The second, although the first sounds like it might be useful thing.

[QUOTE=csaper58;8710462]
This DermaGel? www.medline.com//product/pf/Z05-PF00185

Or this one… www.derma-gel.com/news/

OP… if you are using a steroid product, check with your vet before combining it with any other product.[/QUOTE]

I am not planning to use it with anything else.

The larger tube is much more economical per oz., but if you are just stocking it for occasional use the little spray bottle is super easy to apply the light liquid spray - there is absolutely no reaction from my horse when applied. I now have the larger tube for a larger injury.