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This week I'm curious about ointment. It seems pretty universal--a horse gets a cut and the owner is immediately all "LET'S PUT SOME GOOPY SHIT ON IT!!!"
Why?
I don't put ointment on myself when I get a cut. Hell, I don't even usually use a bandaid. I realize I'm a bit of a minimalist in the personal care department though. I understand stitches for bad cuts and I'm all about wrapping when something needs to be covered up. I even get using some SWAT (or similar) to keep bugs away from cuts in fly season.
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So why when a horse gets a cut do owners want to put stuff on it?
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I hate ointment - everything sticks to it and gets disgusting. Give me some silver spray for a small wound to seal it up and I'm good to go. I do like aloe (not the kind with all the added crap in it) on hairless spots, but that soaks in quickly and isn't really an ointment either. Most cuts on horses don't require much of anything, I think using goop just makes people feel better...
ReplyDeleteI second silver spray. Silver spray all the things.
DeleteI use ointment depending on the cut... mostly to keep dirt out and prevent infection. If it's just a little scrape, I might slather on some Corona or something similar to keep the skin moisturized and encourage hair to grow back. If the wound is deeper/bleeding, I wash very well with Betadine and slap on some triple antibiotic. It acts as a dirt/bug barrier and helps keep things from getting infected. Once the wound starts to close up, and the skin looks nice and healthy, I'll stop putting goo on it.
ReplyDeleteI generally only use ointment if it's something I'm trying to keep flies out of.
ReplyDeleteI like to have a few things on hand for cuts... Corona (because you can put it on basically anything and its great fro Riley's sunburned pink nose), zinc oxide, Furacine (for various other things) and alushield (which to me is a miracle worker). Depending on how bad a cut is, and where is located will determine what I use, but generally I go back to basics with simply cleaning it with betadine and letting it breathe.
ReplyDeleteI use ointment to help speed healing. If the abrasion gets dry and cracks then it will be worse than it started out. Ointment can prevent infection, moisturize, keep bugs out, provide a barrier under which new skin can grow undisturbed, etc. I'm a bit of a granola hippie when it comes to what I use, I like a simple herbal type solution for normal day to day cuts. When proudflesh shows up though I go thermonuclear and use all the chemicals, burn that stuff away! If a cut looks like it is getting the funk than the triple antibiotic comes out (yep same stuff that is sold for people) or one of a few concoctions I have from the vet. I've also had great luck with silver sulfadiazine cream on massive injuries.
ReplyDeleteMy words exactly! I recently got a sample of Banixx wound spray in my Horsebox and that cleared up a weird fungus on Pongo in like 2 applications, so I'm sold on it!
DeleteYES re the reasons for applying stuff - around here flies getting into a small problem can turn it into a big one really quick.
DeleteI also swear by holy water (Veterycin), for my horse and me. Pricy but reliable. Speedy, effective, tidy healing.
I use ointment to keep flies away or to moisten a cut to get the scab to slough off if I catch the cut a few days late. That way I can clean it more effectively. But normally I just depend on saline solution to rinse the cut out and then a wound spray - Blue Wound or Silver powder, etc.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty minimalist, too! I spray some Scarlex on a cut for anti-bacterial, and will use wound powder if it's deep and need staunching. But that's only for serious cuts, I let everything minor heal on its own. After there's a scab, I'll sometimes use Corona to keep the scab soft (hastens the healing process since the horse won't be ripping the scab off all the time).
ReplyDeleteThe only time I use antibacterial ointment or anything like is for deep punctures. It's hard to keep those from getting infected otherwise.
Scarlex all the way!!!! My vet hates corona. :0) My vet recommends Scarlex because it is antibacterial/fungicidal, adds some oil to prevent cracking, but at the same time, it's NOT goopy and adding excessive moisture.
DeleteI generally spray wounds because it is so DRY here that they tend to crack right away. Scarlex helps with that. I don't even own any ointments. :0)
The only goo I use is silver sulfadiazine, which is human-grade burn cream. It keeps the bugs off, has anti-bacterial properties, and helps the hair grow back. It also doesn't run or get goopy. Sure, it's pricey, but if a cut or scrape is bad enough to merit attention, that's the stuff I put on it.
ReplyDeleteAnd it lasts like 10 years in your med kits, lol, right?! I have a seriously ancient tub in mine and I've used like 1/200th of it.
DeleteI will use Silver Spray to seal up the wound, and if it's a scrape I'll use SWAT ointment. Keeps the bugs off and helps things from getting infected since horses are traditionally covered in feces.
ReplyDeleteI use Corona, as mentioned above, for the way it encourage soft skin while healing and as a barrier against dirt and bugs. Early on in my horse ownership, Tris got a pretty bad cut on his pastern and I mostly left it alone and flushed it. It scarred pretty badly; there is an ugly lump there that I can still feel every time I run my hands down his legs. I feel rotten and guilty about it. So I don't hesitate to slather on Corona now. The stuff lasts forever, so why not?
ReplyDeleteI use Corona or triple antibiotic ointment, depending on where and how bad the cut or scrape is. I see ointment as providing a protective barrier from flies or dirt. Even if it's a minor injury, I like to stay on top of it, clean it daily, and keep ointment on it to keep it from drying out and cracking, or developing out of control proud flesh (although that's unlikely in a minor cut that doesn't need stitches but I'm paranoid). And I do use ointment on myself. The triple antibiotic I use also has an analgesic effect, so if the cut's ouchie, the ointment can make it less so, even if only for a bit.
ReplyDeleteI pretty much SWAT all the things because it's pink.
ReplyDeleteI tend to use wound powder to help a cut dry out and scab over, but I'll use corona or similar to cover a wound while riding to prevent dirt and flies from getting in there.
ReplyDeleteZephyr's Garden's "Anti-Fly Healing Salve" gets put on all scrapes and I use it on ears and around eyes all the time for fly repellent. I usually let just about any minor scrape (so long as it's not an open wound) go untreated except during the summer since the flies are so bad.
ReplyDeleteBag Balm, cures everything
ReplyDeleteWe used both Swat and Corona on one poor mare one summer that was getting eaten alive along her stomach by some sort of small bug. One layer of Corona to protect and sooth, one layer of Swat to keep the freaking bugs off.
ReplyDeleteFYI, pink Swat? TOTALLY blends in if you're wearing an old splatter-paint t-shirt.
I like Vetricin initially (love that shit) and then will use Corona after it has scabbed over, if it needs it.
ReplyDeleteblue coat - to seal it and keep bugs out. Furazone only for deeper wounds that are still bloody!
ReplyDeleteAluSpray for all wounds. Maybe swat in summer. But only if its on top of AluSpray.
ReplyDeleteWell maybe I'm different because I DO put goop on myself when I get a cut. I neosporin that thing up! For the dogs and the horses I use Vetericyn. That stuff is amazing.
ReplyDeleteI tend to use Silver Spray versus the gooey stuff!
ReplyDeleteMy go to is Vetericyn spray... For absolutely everything. But other than that, I don't worry too much about it. I like the classic SWAT for flies... But other than that I'm not a huge ointment fan. I do use Bag Balm for B's old scars and they've been healing up nicely. But Vetericyn... Always. Love it.
ReplyDeleteYears ago, when I was a vet tech, I learned about the practice of Benign Neglect. Benign Neglect is the practice of monitoring a wound for signs of infection, but otherwise allowing the body to do its job. The body does a great job of cleaning wounds itself through bleeding and other secretions, the ones humans are always trying to staunch and cover up. All that yucky oozing is actually good, it's flushing bacteria and dirt out of the wound and promoting healing by bringing nutrients and healing factors via blood and lymph to the injury. When you apply ointments, bandages or anything else that closes off a wound, you're actually promoting infection by stopping the body from doing its job. You're also irritating the injury by manipulating the tissue and promoting inflammation.
ReplyDeleteNow, obviously, if the bleeding is life-threatening, infection is evident, or the wound needs stitches to heal on its own, then it needs medical intervention. But, otherwise, leave it alone!
I like a collagen ointment to support healing with less granulation. People are delicate; most animals have a serious immune system in comparison.
ReplyDeleteI usually use a little bit of Castor oil for hairless scrapes - to encourage good hair regrowth, and maybe a bit of Savlon, a mild anti-bac cream that isn't that goopy - it's a people one - on a cut/wound to keep it from cracking. If it's deep, a wash with Betadine to get out dirt and yuck, and some Savlon on top.
ReplyDeleteReally I follow the Benign Neglect path, I try to just keep an eye on it and leave it alone as much a possible. Horses do tend to heal fine by themselves! I can't count the number of hoof abscesses my boy has blown out and healed from without my even knowing they where there until they were out and done.
bonita of A Riding Habit