Wound Dressing for Horses

Use an elastic bandage to cover the padding of your horse's wound dressing.

Wound dressings, or bandages, keep a wound from getting dirty or from being exposed to flies. You may also want to consider a wound dressing if you are worried about your horse moving too much or the damaged skin pulling apart, or if there needs to be compression around the wound. However, not all wounds are suitable for a dressing.

Head and Body Wounds

It is best to avoid applying dressings to wounds on the horse's head or body. Head wounds often need too much treatment, and keeping a dressing on, for example, the shoulders or hindquarters can be difficult.

Leg and Hoof Wounds

Leg dressings are comprised of several bandaging materials. Padding protects the wound and absorb drainage, and also helps to restrict movement in the limb's joints. Elastic bandages cover the padding and keeps it from sliding down. Types of padding are gauze pads, no-bow wraps, pillow wraps and rolled cotton. Disposable baby diapers also work well for absorbing drainage, especially in hoof wounds. Elastic bandage brands include Vetrap or Elastikon, or generic versions.

Warning

Don't apply a dressing (unless using a temporary dressing to cover a wound while waiting for your veterinarian to arrive) until the affected area has been cleaned, and dead tissue and foreign objects removed.

Infected Wounds

Infected wounds with drainage need a moist dressing, one that has had a topical antiseptic, such as diluted Betadine, applied. The dressing also needs sufficient padding to soak up the pus.

Applying a Leg Dressing

First put sterile gauze pads over the wound, then cover the gauze pads with bandaging material large enough for the whole lower leg, such as rolled cotton or no-bow wraps. Cover the bandaging material with an elastic bandage by rolling the elastic wrap around the leg without stretching the bandage, overlapping the wrap slightly each time around the leg to keep from pinching skin between the layers. You can wrap the hoof first if you want to prevent movement even more in the leg.

Follow-up Care

Replace the dressing daily on drainng or infected wounds. If the draining ceases and the infection appears healing, the dressing can stay in place for two to three days before changing.

Examine the dressing every day. Check that it hasn't come out of place, gotten dirty or become soaked through with drainage. Slip your fingers under the bandage to make sure the wrapping hasn't tightened and that no swelling is developing.

References

• Horse Owner's Veterinary Handbook, Second Edition; James Giffin, M.D. and Tom Gore, D.V.M.; 1998.