# Proud Flesh - To wrap? Or not to wrap?



## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

I've used Wonder Dust with good results for drying, stopping and preventing further proud flesh from developing.
The "Dust" actually reversed the proud flesh and dissolved it is best way I can describe it to a tiny hairline scar....

Being it is a "wet" condition the horse resides in...
Me, I would try to keep it dry from the powder affect of Wonder Dust and leave it open.
Wrapping it and it being muddy wet to me sounds like a nasty situation to breed germs in.

I also have Schreiners and it _*is*_ great stuff.
I though would try drying it some to give a barrier of infection kept "out".
I would "try" to restrict her from the mud slop with this being open if possible...I know that is easier said than done many times and horses are their own worst enemy often with injuries.
Good luck.
:runninghorse2:...
_jmo.._


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## filly05 (Nov 11, 2012)

Thanks, I have tried wonder dust in the past with no luck. I had tried the meat tenderizer and every concoction I could find online when my horse had it (miscommunication on who was going to change her bandage while I was gone for a week). The schreiners cleared up the proud flesh in less than 2 weeks. I swear by that stuff! This new filly is being brought in at night just to let the wound dry up. It gets cleaned and then sprayed with schreiners. It's supposed to be warmer and sunny this whole week here so I'm hoping the ground will dry up enough that we can keep the wound dry. Someone else at the barn suggested wrapping it which went against what I thought we should do but figured I might as well look into it further to be sure.


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## Ryle (Jul 13, 2007)

Wonder dust is a good option, but it nor any other topical is going to work miracles. If the proud flesh is extensive, you need to have the vet remove what can be removed and then treat topically. 

If you want to just go with topical treatment, use Wonder Dust regularly until the proud flesh is destroyed to the level of the skin and then talk to your vet about a topical antibiotic/steroid compound to help with healing and prevent further proud flesh formation.


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## ToManyHorsesAndOnePony (Oct 16, 2013)

Can you rope off the wet section of the field with step in posts and electric?


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## filly05 (Nov 11, 2012)

She is coming in now at night until it heals and the Schreiners is definitely helping. Like I said I've never had luck with wonder dust. The proud flesh was just starting when we found it and when my horse had it, schreiners did work miracles. There is hardly a scar. I tried literally everything I could find and schreiners was the only thing that worked to clear it in less than 2 weeks. 

Thank you all for your input. I just wanted to confirm that wrapping it was not the right decision as was suggested by another boarder.


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

Depends on what you use.
Yes, older wounds often need to be debrided first, and have flesh margins established.
I have found Cut Heal to work very well, and you don't wrap-just wash that wound very other day or so


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## LaneyandElena (Dec 15, 2015)

I also swear by Schreiners, my mare had an awful wound on her hind leg. That was the only thing that kept the proud flesh away. She was 6 months pregnant at the time and I was terrified to use anything with harsh chemicals. 
We have soupy awful ground but the wound was high up enough on her leg that it didn't get muddy so I never wrapped but I'm doubtful I would've wrapped if it had been lower. I did wash her leg whenever it was especially dirty though.


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

I've had great success with ProudsOff in the past for proud flesh.
https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=2e87c5f8-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5

Make sure you ONLY apply it where you actually need it. 

Plain OTC hydrocortisone cream also does well to control proud flesh but I've found that this doesn't work as well when you have really bad proud flesh; only moreso when you've kept it under control. Nice thing with the hydrocortisone cream is that it isn't as caustic as the ProudsOff so you don't have to be as careful when you apply it.

As far as her living conditions, I would either:
(1) get her into a non-muddy clean environment
(2) clean the wound really well first, and then wrap/bandage it to keep it clean if you are unable to get her out of the mud

You'll probably need to change the bandage every day or every other day (at the most) but it makes it hard for a wound to heal if it is in the mud every day. 

As far as cold-hosing, you don't want to do that on an old wound that already has proud flesh established. That stimulation will further stimulate the proud flesh to grow. You want to clean it as MINIMUM as necessary. This is where it just isn't a good situation that your horse is currently in the mud, and why I would either (1) get her out of it or (2) bandage to keep it clean. 

But you are correct that the proud flesh needs to be taken care of, or else the wound will not be able to heal and close.


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## absteinhauer (May 1, 2016)

hi, i work for a vet who specialized in catastrophic wound care. he specifically treats wounds with large amounts of granulation tissue. if you want some advice he'd be happy to help. first don't use any caustic medications. the reason: these medications burst blood vessels. you cannot get an epithelial border to grow if you are using medications that burst the blood vessels. second, granulation tissue is mother nature's bandage. b/c of the profuse blood supply it is an excellent barrier against infection. the goal is to suppress granulation tissue with a pressure bandage. it's give and take. you suppress the granulation tissue using pressure from a bandage (granulation tissue is full of water and this is why it swells so fast when you take a pressure bandage off) to allow the epithelial border to close and cover the wound. send me a message if you'd like more advice.


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

^^^This! "Like"


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## liv4myhorses (Sep 23, 2015)

I think there have been many valid points mentioned here. I think that what needs to be done is somewhat dependent on the wound for one thing i.e how big it is, how old it is and whether it is infected or not. The second being how you hope for it to heal... Personally I would be in touch with a vet to determine the best course of action and to make sure antibiotics weren't needed. If this is a small wound and the proud flesh is not such that it is actively stopping the wound from closing then you may get away with doing what you are doing and not wrapping. If the wound is big and you hope for it to close nicely so that there is not a sizeable scar the approach may be a bit different. When my horse cut his leg we scrubbed the proud flesh (because there wasn't a lot of it even though it was a fair size) and bandaged it with vetericyn (spelling?) and not stick pads and then wrapped it. I am confident that the wrapping and the pressure from wrapping made a significant difference to his healing. It was also summer and I was worried about flies getting at it so the wrap prevented that.
Hope that the filly heals up nicely for your friend. All the best.


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## filly05 (Nov 11, 2012)

At this farm there is no option to not have mud when you get 2 weeks if rain just after the 6" of snow melts. It's mud everywhere in the spring. We continued using the schreiners and yes, it did clear the proud flesh and any infection within a few days as I knew it would. Then we just had the problem of getting it to close up which was hard with all the moisture everywhere. The horse ended up getting kicked in the face through the fence and needed stitches. When the vet was there for that I asked her about the wound on her leg. She said that in the mud we had (it has since dried up), she would not have wanted it wrapped. And now that the mud has dried up, the leg wound is scabbed over - so problem solved using schreiners and not wrapping it due to the mud at the time. I'll add the she was perfectly fine that we are just using schreiners. Apparently it's big in Arab show barns in our area.


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## filly05 (Nov 11, 2012)

We did have to hose it off every day to get the mud off so the schreiners could do its thing. She got kicked after the proud flesh was gone so I'm sure the antibiotics from the stitches helped prevent further infection at that point. But I really appreciate everyone's help and suggestions!


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## Palomine (Oct 30, 2010)

Ivermect paste dewormer, and Preparation H are also good on proud flesh.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

There is an article in the May 2016 AQHA Journal entitle Equine ER: Thick Skin. It is an article about a racing mare that came back to her owner with unbelievable proud flesh growth - I have never seen anything like it. Reminded me of the Elephant Man, poor mare. The vet, over a period of months, cleaned it up and has it on the road to healing. 

The article is very interesting but does not indicate if any action was taken against the trainer for allowing the horse to get that way.


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