PROUD FLESH OF HORSES
The most common reason wounds on horses do not heal correctly is because of a condition called proud flesh.
what is it actually ?
Proud flesh is actually normal granulation tissue that has overgrown the wound edges. If you see a wound on a horse in which the tissue inside the laceration has grown out farther than the skin edge, that is proud flesh. A wound will not heal correctly with proud flesh because the skin will not cover it.
Anything that irritates the wound can cause proud flesh so keep that in mind when you are choosing products to treat horse wounds.
It has also been shown that bandages for long time and casts can also contribute to proud flesh as they increase the oxygen gradient between tissue and wound surface and create a warm and moist environment which was the main reason for this case to be a proud flesh wound
However, a lot of this depends on the environment of the wound. If the horse can be kept in a clean bedded stall, then bandaging may be unnecessary. But if the horse is in a dirty environment, a bandage will keep the wound clean and prevent infection, which will prevent proud flesh and improve healing.
So whether to bandage these lower leg wounds must be decided on a case by case basis by your veterinarian.
Treatment of proud flesh is best done by surgical removal. But still is depends on the intensity of the tissue and the extent it developed and it will be decided by case to case basis by your veterinarian.
By -DR. AMARNATH MUTHUKRISHNAN,CEO,
AMULYA PETS SPECIALITY CLINIC – SALEM
MOB: 9443269490 ( for appointment only )
