Re: Proud Flesh

[Sue Brown <sbrown@wamedes.com>]

This is a reprint of a post I sent into Equine-L earlier this year when the
subject of proud flesh came up there.

>Proud flesh develops primarily on the lower legs because of an absence of
musculature in that area.  It is a proliferation of the tissues under the
skin level that are growing faster than the skin edges are healing and is
enhanced by constant movement.  Proud flesh is hard to actually "prevent"
because of the anatomy in that area and the difficulty of keeping a horse
from moving <g> -- and some horses may be more prone to it than others.
Altho a common treatment is the use of (caustic) chemicals that "eat" the
proud flesh, this is actually not the best treatment since the chemicals
also inhibit the growth of the good tissue.  
>
>The best treatment currently recommended for proud flesh already present
is to have the proud flesh cut back to the level of the wound followed
immediately by a pressure dressing (they are very vascular and will bleed)
and then, a couple of hours later, a steroidal/antibacterial ointment
dabbed directly on the wound.  A bulky dressing (to keep slight pressure on
the wound and contaminating debris out) is then applied and changed daily.
During the daily dressing changes, the wound is cleaned and the steroidal
ointment is applied.  The ointment is only put on the wound surface where
the proud flesh was developing and not "into" the wound or on the skin
edges since the steroidal properties slow the tissue growth and will
inhibit the healing of the tissue from the inside out and from the skin edges.
>
>Sue
> 


sbrown@wamedes.com
Tyee Farm
Marysville, Wa.