Introduction

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Introduction


The temperament and the type of work it has to perform mean that the horse is probably more prone to accidental injury than most other species. Anatomical knowledge is possibly the most important single aspect of wound management. Many problematic wounds have recognizable anatomical complications that could perhaps have been foreseen at the outset. The wrong treatment, or the right treatment badly executed, can result in the opposite effect to that intended, and may even endanger the animal’s life. There remain, however, a proportion of wounds that simply will not heal and these are a major problem in equine practice.


Over the last 10–20 years there have been considerable advances in our understanding of wound healing, and this information is finally reaching the clinical situation for horses. Since 1962, wound dressing technology has played a much more active role in the healing process, and so wounds can reasonably be expected to heal much more efficiently and with much less scar and functional deficit. Dressings can be selected and adjusted for the exact needs of the specific stage of healing in a wound. However, there are no dressings that are suitable for all types of wound and all stages of healing; indeed, there are circumstances when dressings may not be helpful.


Where a wound fails to heal as expected, the clinician should be able to recognize the possible reasons for this in most cases. The horse appears to have particular difficulty with healing, especially in the limb regions of larger horses. Although recently there have been considerable advances, there remains further research to do before we will fully understand the healing process in the horse.


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Related posts:

  1. Definition of Wounds/Wound Types
  2. Factors that Delay Healing
  3. The Pathophysiology of Wound Healing
  4. Basic Wound Management

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Jul 8, 2016 | Posted by in EQUINE MEDICINE | Comments Off on Introduction

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