Re: Cuts and such

[Terry canavello <canajello@echoweb.net>]

Be patient and be calm. Your horse will probably be just fine.

 My gelding scrapped a huge chunk out of his leg just over the knee, knicking
a ligament in the process. For a variety of reasons the wound could not even
be stitched up.  It looked horrid, oozed, crusted, swelled and I thought he
was going to be lame and ugly forever. My vet told me to relax, keep things
clean and be patient. I only used Betadine, gentle soaps to cleanse,
Schreiners and  Blue Lotion (not sticky , keeps away flies and is deeply
antiseptic) and Bag Balm (at the end when I wanted the hair to grow back) Even
though it is ugly, be sure to keep the wound open enough to ooze so you don't
get an abscess.
	It is now five months later. The palm sized wound  is only a tiny scab, the
fist-sized swelling is just a tiny knot (and going down daily)  and he is
trotting and cantering around the field like normal. The old wound is even
covered with hair!
I plan to begin riding him on hill walks as soon as the mud gels and then we
will begin slowly getting his muscles back into shape.

Tincture of Time and gentle cleanliness are the best health remedies around,
it is just hard to trust that they really work sometimes! Good luck to you.

Terry