My horse's deep wound won't close. Is it infected? What should I do?

It does look OK overall but the part that’s not healing is due to proud flesh growth (excessive granulation tissue). Usually the proud flesh needs to be trimmed off to get it to heal and the vet can give you something to put on it to keep the proud flesh down until it heals completely. So, I suggest a vet take a look at it. ( https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&catId=102907&id=4952518 )

Keeping it clean and fresh is the only option left at this stage. Bandages would need to be changed daily if infected or every 3-5 days if clean and dry. It is not recommended to cast or enclose dirty/infected/wet wounds as this can lead to further complications and even the loss of the foot. Skin grafting can be performed if required once the wound bed is granulated (healthy, pink and shiny - like when a scab comes off ourselves)

Hello, sorry to hear about Hunter. You're right that some of that may just be dried up blood. What needs to be addressed is the the size of the wound where that blood came from. The biggest concern is for an infection. The wound needs to be cleaned and thoroughly examined by your veterinarian and decide what the next step in treatment should be. I would recommend calling your vet out so that they can clean the wound and evaluate it. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It is impossible to tell from the picture how this happened, or how deep it is, but what can be determined is that it is a severely infected wound. Possible causes are penetrating traumas (sticks, bites, etc.), some parasites/worms can cause wounds like this, and some tumors can present in abnormal ways, however that is less likely. I strongly recommend that you have Star seen by a vet as soon as possible, as the wound appears deep and is definitely infected. It needs to be cleaned up, explored, and medications provided. Best of luck with Star, I hope she feels better soon!

This looks like a traumatic injury - small laceration above heel and abrasion to the heal bulb. These usually happen when the horse gets their foot stuck in something or scrapes it against a fence. I do not see signs of an abscess, but it's difficult to know without being able to examine the area. If there is infection, then it appears very mild from the pictures. I recommend flushing the wound twice a day with just clean water (no antiseptics) to prevent infection. It should also be bandaged to keep the wound from getting contaminated and help the wound heal quicker. Bute is good for the pain, but should only be used if necessary and should ideally be used per the veterinarian's direction. If there is a cornet band injury (not a picture of this shown here), then this will definitely need a veterinarian's assistance, because these can lead to longterm problems if they don't heal correctly. I understand that you were not happy with the vet that saw Lottie, but it would be worthwhile to have a different vet consult to help with the cornet band injury. I hope that helps and Lottie gets better soon.

This is a large and deep wound that should have been surgically closed. It is going to take a very long time to close on its own without surgery. You will have to keep it clean and prevent him from licking or rubbing it. Amoxicillin is not a very good antibiotic for preventing infection in a wound such as this. If it begins to have drainage, odor, etc. I would highly recommend getting a different and more appropriate antibiotic. I’m not sure how old the wound is, but it does look like you have kept it relatively clean. It would be a good idea to get the hair away from the wound edges if possible. This will probably require weeks of wound management in order for it to heal. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Poor guy. This is a laceration, and it looks like it may be deep. It needs to be cleaned with an antiseptic such as Betadine diluted 50:50 with water or Chlorhexidine solution diluted with water until a very light blue mixture. Then Izzy needs to be placed on oral antibiotics and possibly even suturing of this area so that the skin covers it and allows it to heal. It looks like it is already infected, and infected wounds don't heal, so antibiotics are a must. I would perhaps go to a second vet for another look at this or insist on your current vet treating this wound properly. I hope that Izzy's wound heals up well soon! Best of luck and take care.