1)Wash the wound out gently with soap and water from the hose a minimum of once per day every day until the wound is completely healed.
2)Use human shampoo (Suave is inexpensive), antibacterial human hand-dish soap, or betadine shampoo for animals to wash out the wound.
3)Apply 50% hydrogen peroxide and 50% clean bottled water (use regular water when this is all that is available) to wound daily. Allow it to set for about three to five minutes then rinse. Repeat this process two to three times in a row daily. If the wound is a puncture use a syringe without the needle to squirt the mixture into the wound, then cleanse it out using the syringe filled with bottled water. Always rinse extremely thoroughly after each hydrogen peroxide treatment. If the puncture is in the area of vital organs or near the eyes, please call a veterinarian!
4)Blast the hose water or run cool water over the swollen area to help blood circulation around the area and to help reduce swelling. Do not do this in a manner that causes the horse excessive pain.
5)You may apply an ice pack to the swelling also, however, do no leave the ice on the horse for more than 10 minutes per treatment. Repeat this treatment several times per day.
6)Dry wound gently with a clean towel or napkins after cleaning and apply Swat brand wound ointment after each cleansing.
7)Give muscle injections of Penicillin to the horse in cases where there might be an infection. It is best and rather important to ask your veterinarian about the proper dosage of any and all medications you plan to give your horse. However, if you cannot afford to do so, give approximately 20 CC of Penicillin to the adult horse, weighing 900 or so pounds, once to twice per day, depending on the severity of the condition. Give the Penicillin 7 to 10 days. Watch your horse for any adverse reactions to medication.
8)To give injections insert the needle into the muscle of the horse on the side of the middle area of the neck (within the triangle) or rump and draw back the plunger on the syringe to see if the syringe fills up with blood. If the syringe fills with blood, hold the plunger out in place so that it does not accidentally inject the horse, remove the needle and try again. Do NOT give the horse any shots on the bottom of the neck by the throat nor on the top by the main.
It is vital to keep flies off of the wound because flies eat at wounds and lay eggs inside of wounds. The fly eggs hatch and the larvae eat at the flesh and cause severe infection to occur. Once a serious infection is present expensive surgery is oftentimes necessary to save the animal (this is true with dogs and cats also). Swat ointment, which can be purchased at almost any feed and supply store, is a fly repellant.
Penicillin can also be bought at most feed and supply stores. It is wise to at least attempt to call a veterinarian and ask him or her what dose your horse should get. Explain the size, age and condition of your horse to the veterinarian. If a certain veterinarian will not help you with this general advice, try calling another one or you may have better luck getting this information from a veterinary technician at a large animal hospital.
Whatever you do, put some serious effort into contacting someone in a professional capacity for help with dosing of medications.
If your horse will not allow you to clean the wound then you may get better results approaching it as a daily project where you bath the entire horse. Using this technique you can usually just slip the wound washing into the more pleasant routine of a general bath and grooming schedule.
