Wound on a horse - guidelines

When you are faced with any wound on your horse please don’t hesitate to contact Parkside Equine for advice. This is a basic general advice sheet for your information and is not a replacement for veterinary advice. Any wound on a horse has the potential to develop complications including tetanus, so we advise all horses are vaccinated against tetanus. There is a primary course of 2 injections 4-6 weeks apart and then boosters every 2-3 years. If you ask Parkside Equine to vaccinate for equine flu, then tetanus will be included.

What to do with a wound on your horse –

Clip the hair around the wound so you can examine it, you may at this stage call us because you find it is a large wound which may need stitching or a deep wound which needs checking to see what other structures and affected.

Gentle cleaning the wound using hand warm saline (approx 1 pint of water with a teaspoon of salt added to it) with nothing added is the safest option, do not contaminate the wound with what you are using to clean it, i.e. use a clean cloth, swab or soaked cotton wool. If you use an antiseptic e.g. hibiscub, then only use it around the edges of the wound. You can flush a wound but be very careful you don’t push contamination deeper into the wound by either using too high a flushing pressure or too much water. You may call us at this stage as you may have found something you are unsure of, but for some wounds that don’t need covering, this is all you need to do.

If you need to apply a dressing then it should consist of the following layers, applied evenly and not too tight, all of these dressings are available for you to purchase and should be in your equine first aid kit

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Intracite hydrogel applied directly onto the clean wound. This keeps the wound moist so promotes rapid healing.


Melolin non-adhesive dressing applied with the shiny side against the wound. This absorbs any discharge.

Soffban dressing provides padding and more absorption if the wound is producing a lot of discharge, it cannot be applied too tightly because it will tear if you over stretch it.

Conforming bandage supports the dressing, it should be applied firmly (like a stable bandage) but is stretchy so can be put on too tight.


Petflex bandage (or Vetrap) provides a protective layer which sticks to itself and not the horse, so should keep the dressing in place and repels some water. It should be applied firmly but not at full stretch as it can be put on too tightly.

All dressings should be examined twice daily for smell, discharge, heat, discomfort, slipping and any evidence they have become wet (if they become wet then dry out, a dressing can act like a tourniquet causing lots of damage). Dressings should be changed when the absorbent layers have become saturated and wounds should be covered until they heal. Three days would be the maximum time to leave in place a clean, tidy dressing. Most horses need to be stable rested when they have a dressing on to prevent it slipping or becoming wet or muddy. A stable bandage over the dressed area greatly protects the dressing and helps keep it in place - but not too tight! You can buy an equine first-aid oack from Parkside, complete with box with al the above packed and ready.