In case your horse sustains injuries from a cut or scrape, you need to tend to it immediately. Quick response prevents infection and supports healing and prevents complications. One of the complications you should try as much as possible to avoid is proud flesh. Proud flesh (granulation tissue) results when connective tissue and blood vessels which start to fill in a healing wound grow excessively. Below is a look at how to treat proud flesh on a horse wound.

  1. Thoroughly rinse the wound

Chronic inflammation and infection slow down the healing process and trigger growth of proud flesh. This is cause by presence of dirt and debris-rope fibers, dead tissue, hair and fragments of wood. Dirt and debris must be flushed out of a horse wound while taking care not to interfere with the injured tissues. A saline solution is the best for getting rid of dirt and debris from a wound. In case you do not have a saline solution, use water from a hose. The cool water is beneficial in that it reduces inflammation and swelling.

  1. Apply a suitable treatment

In mild granulation tissue, application of an approved cream or spray reduces further risk of infection and aids healing. The most appropriate treatment to use is a product that is meant for use on horses. In this case, we recommend Vet Aid’s Animal Wound Care Spray. The spray should be directly sprayed on the proud flesh area about 4-6 times every day or after every 5 hours.

Vet Aid’s Animal Wound Care Spray offers the following benefits:

  1. Bandage
    Bandage the wound if it is appropriate to do so. Bandaging horse wounds especially those on the lower leg ensures the wounds remain clean as healing occurs. Priority should be given to bandaging exposed tissue using wound dressings that do not adhere to the delicate healing tissues. But for a horse wound that is above the elbow level, healing can occur without the need for a bandage.
  2. Surgical removal
    In cases where proud flesh growth is extremely severe, surgical removal is considered the best treatment option. Surgical removal in this case is cutting back any overgrown tissue. The process is painless since there are no nerves or nerve endings in the granulation tissue. Sedation or anesthesia of the horse can be done or not done depending on the growth of proud flesh. After the overgrown tissue is debrided, a pressure bandage is needed to control excess bleeding.

Finally, it is possible to treat flesh proud on a horse wound on your own if surgical removal is not required. However, do not hesitate to seek the help of your veterinarian if you have any concerns. This is because it is very important to ensure proud flesh on your horse’s wound heals accordingly right from the outset. This also prevents development of complications during the healing process.