18/09/2018
I see so many non healing wounds due to over cleaning (including one in an elephant!). You wouldn’t pick scabs off your own wounds and scrub them with disinfectant so why do we do it to horses? I can only think that advice for mud fever (in which bacteria live under the scabs) has been misconstrued as the best treatment for all wounds. Clean them well once then leave them alone unless they are very contaminated or unless advised by a vet.
Do you use hibiscrub? You might want to read this...
The vast majority of horse owners would have a bottle of hibiscrub in their horse first aid kit, and probably use it regularly to clean the cuts and wounds that our horses pick up.
However several leading vets are now suggesting that hibiscrub is not the best product for cleaning wounds- and here is why
* Hibiscrub is really strong- after all it’s designed for surgeons (equine and human) to prepare for surgery
* Hibiscrub kills literally everything - good cells as well as the rubbish you’re trying to clean out
* Hibiscrub should be very very diluted, but most owners use it too concentrated, it should also be washed off as well
* Hibiscrub works on contact time, but ‘scrubbability’ - leaving it on for a minimum of 2 minutes is better than scrubbing away at the wound
* Hibiscrub doesn’t promote the best healing environment
Saline solution is the best product to clean most wounds with, and hibiscrub is best left for very very dirty wounds, or to be used on advice of your vet. You can use a pre-prepared saline solution, or make up your own using a teaspoon of salt in a pint of cooled boiled water
