# Summer Sores driving me crazy! Warning icky photo



## nurse_in_boots (Aug 29, 2007)

Does anyone have any tips for handling summer sores. This is the second year in a row my horse has a bad one. Last year it was on the bulb of his heel, and it took almost 6 months to completely heal. Now he has one on the bottom of his cheek bone. We are keeping it wrapped (which is fun with a face wound) and keeping flies off it, and giving ivermectin every 10 days (all per the vet). Any other tips?

If you are lucky enough to live where summer sores are not an issue, they are wounds that start out just as regular little nicks or cuts, then flies lay eggs into them and the larvae is what causes the wound to worsen. The normal treatment is to give them ivermectin every week to 10 days to kill the larvae and keep it wrapped to keep flies off it. There is only a certain type of fly that causes it, and I think the fact that my barn used to be a dairy barn has something to do with it. We are moving him next week so hopefully that will help. I don't have a photo of my horse's wound, but here is one I found on google images:


----------



## KANSAS_TWISTER (Feb 23, 2007)

what are you wrapping it with? vet wrap and what?..... ok...hhmmm the men in this forum are not going to like this at first but when my old stallion cut him self on his leg really badly and we had to keep it dry and away from flies....instead of goss i took a always maxi pad and vet wrap......yes a always maxi pad...if you think of it...oh never mind but it works...i found that lucky's wund healed 10 times faster by doing this. it drew out musture and kept it dry....i ALWAYS have some in my vet kit now


----------



## nurse_in_boots (Aug 29, 2007)

The maxi pad is not a bad idea - I might try that! I always used them for padding hoof absesses but never thought about using one here. I am having a heck of a time keeping a dressing on it. Since it is on his cheek, the dressing just does not want to stay put. The fly mask holds part of it on, but the front part that is not covered by the mask keeps peeling off. I am going to see about getting one of those summer weight Robinhoods to hold the whole thing in place. At least we got him moved away from that dairy barn yesterday! The flies are nowhere near as bad at the new barn!


----------



## zanytactics (Sep 8, 2007)

*baking soda*

I myself has used pads for treating wounds. They work great, big fan of the diaper doublers. I have also had my fare share of injures and hard to treat wounds. I have found that using a mixture of baking soda and water and using it as a paste helps heal and it may help detur the flys because it wouldn't be so fleshy. It also helps get rid of proud flesh if you ever run into that. Also have you ever seen the fly masks that cover all the way down the nose? or maybe a absorbine fly bonnet, those cover most of the face and jaw area. Hope that you horse gets better soon.

Becky


----------



## giget (May 24, 2007)

kansas twister dont worry i do exactly the same there great for spots that would be hard to pad and wrap otherwise


----------



## sweetypie16 (Jun 19, 2007)

:lol: Yep i do that too, i only buy the cheap brand. But yeah it does the job!! :wink:


----------



## KANSAS_TWISTER (Feb 23, 2007)

i always use then when ever it's posable


----------



## ~AUSSIE SHOWJUMPER~ (Jun 4, 2007)

I can't believe no one knew....


----------



## TxHorseMom (Mar 4, 2007)

Wow! I live in the Huntsville Tx area and my horses have never had anything like that! If yours is anything like the pic, I think I might add some antibiotic ointment and also some Penicillin injection. Looks infected.


----------



## nurse_in_boots (Aug 29, 2007)

Update - sore is doing much better! I still have not taken a pic, but I will try to get one. I kept it wrapped for a few days, but the tape started causing his skin to breakdown, so I tried just using the Maxi pads under one of those mesh summer slinky hoods that Robinhoods makes (I highly recommend these BTW). That did not work for long becuase if he rubbed it the pads shifted. Sooo, I started cleaning it twice a day and spraying it with "silver spray" (not sure what the real name of this is, we call it silver spray because it is silver colored but I think it actually has aluminum in it). I then put SWAT around the outside to keep flies away. This has worked GREAT! My vet was out yesterday floating teeth and said it looked great and keep up the good work. 

We did keep an antibiotic cream on it for the first week or so, but it never really was infected. The spray is working great now. I did pull a scab off and stuck to the back of it was a couple of the dead larvae - gross but kinda cool. We are still doing the ivermectin every 10 days to make sure they stay dead! Thanks everyone for the advice!


----------



## TxHorseMom (Mar 4, 2007)

FYI vet wrap works great and you don't need any tape!


----------



## nurse_in_boots (Aug 29, 2007)

The only way vet wrap would work would be to wrap it around his throat or nose, since the sore is on his cheek bone. I'm afraid that it would slip and he'd have trouble breathing, especially since he is quite active. But, what we are doing now is working well, thank goodness!


----------



## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

So glad it is clearing up, I was going to suggest Swat, have you seen or ever tried some stuff called Tri-Care by Farnum? I use it for every cut and scrap. It works as a barrier from flies and moisture plus it fights infection. Its a pain killer too so don't wipe your mouth or face after applying as it will numb your lips. Huh, did I say that? would I be silly enough to stick my hand near my face after applying goo to my horses ouchies?  guess so. Anyway it works great.


----------



## TxHorseMom (Mar 4, 2007)

nurse_in_boots said:


> The only way vet wrap would work would be to wrap it around his throat or nose, since the sore is on his cheek bone. I'm afraid that it would slip and he'd have trouble breathing, especially since he is quite active. But, what we are doing now is working well, thank goodness!


Oops, I forgot it was on his face.  That would be difficult to wrap wouldn't it? :lol:


----------



## twhbea (Jun 28, 2007)

Ive never heard of summer sores but I can only imagine. I hope the new barn you are at will avoid the next summer's bout of the sores. Good luck.


----------



## stanglady (Oct 1, 2007)

well using a maxi pad makes sense as they are designed to hold the blood away from anything open.. logical thinking to those using the pads..


----------

