Natural Remedies to Help Heal Horse Wounds

| Modified on Jun 17, 2022

In the course of work and play, horses are prone to wounds from all sorts of causes. Wire and wooden fencing, other animals, saddles, rocks, and other environmental components can cause puncture wounds, lacerations, open sores, and deep cuts. Often, these are on the legs where the bones increase the possibility of damage.

Every horse owner should be ready with proper wound care materials to provide immediate and long-term care for wounds to heal quickly and properly, reducing the chance of infection and secondary injury thereby. You'll need cleaning agents, gauze to stop bleeding, bandages, some medical tape, and iodine or betadine for a start.

Natural Remedies for Horse Wounds

A saline solution should be handy in order to clean out wounds initially.

Later on, diluted apple cider vinegar can be a natural antibiotic, helping to keep open wounds clean and free from infection.

Continue reading to learn which remedies have helped Earth Clinic readers with their horses.




Activated Charcoal

1 User Review
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Posted by Katiepune (Pune, Maharashtra, India) on 10/25/2009
★★★★★

Charcoal for local application

My horse hurt himself on his coronet, i.e the portion between his hoof and leg. After the usual applications of betedine etc., we applied powdered charcoal and his lameness disappeared within hours. I read this in John Dinsley's book, which I recommend to everyone as it contains a wealth of info on the various remedies of charcoal.


Castor Oil

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Posted by Kathy (Brisbane, Qld Australia) on 11/20/2011
★★★★★

Have been using castor oil on serious wounds on horses for over 12 years, we are talking wounds where you can put your whole fist into, horses that vets have suggested be put down immediatly due to stripped tendons. We had one horse who staked herself on a metal star picket and since she was in a paddock of 1280 acres we hadn't seen her for a couple of days the wound was not able to be stitched. Vet recommended put the horse down. But as she was walking and eating and drinking normally we thought we would give it a go with the castor oil, we poured the castor oil into it and wrapped it up, making sure it was clean first. Put it on everyday for 5 days then every 2nd day for another week then every 3rd day without bandages for 2 weeks, it healed without a scar and the vet was amazed. Since then have used it for every wound with success everytime, keeps flies off too, but does go yucky for the first 3 days and you question your self every time, but it has never let me down yet and minimal scarring everytime. it heats up and the beautiful thing is that I don't have to touch the wound which makes it great when you have unhandled horses and cuts on their back legs, just pour it in the wound and get out of the way.

Replied by Charlotte
(Texas)
05/18/2017

What if the horse tried to lick the wound with Castor Oil? Would it harm the horse?


Heal Horse Wounds

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Posted by Jennifer (Springtown, TX) on 09/11/2006
★★★★★

I need help with a wound on my horses front leg, just above the knee. Wound was sutured but previous owner removed pressure wrap and sutures busted out and the owner just left it to rot. I have gotten rid of all the proud flesh, and have gone from the size of a cantalope to a small hole about the size of dime, but it is a hole all the way thru the skin. Vet tried to cast so that it would heal and that was a complete disaster! I am treating it with an Equi Stim machine (micro current) with great results, just need that last little bit that is so hard to get!! Thanks in advance for your help! Oh, I am spraying the wound with calendula oil mixed with distilled water.

Replied by Stacia
(Okeechobee, Fl)
08/29/2007

Jennifer from Springtown, TX might want to try honey on the horses open wound. Helps keep infections at bay.

Replied by Ted
(Bangkok, Thailand)
391 posts

Jennifer: Try some aspirin to dissolve scar tissue. Some comfrey to help the last small healing. If infection, just use Apple Cider vinegar to kill it off.


Honey

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Posted by Xanadu1jw (Memphis, Tn) on 09/14/2011
★★★★★

I thought this would work so I researched it and there are lots of links on the subject of "honey wound horse" and this is the first one I looked up and felt it would answer the question. I saw posted on your site by a young woman about her horse: http://apitherapy.blogspot.com/2008/02/honey-used-to-treat-canadian-horses.html


Leg Wound on Horse Remedies

Posted by kokomo44 (australia) on 05/24/2021 2 posts

Hi guys, just wondering what people recommend I put on my horse's wound, she slipped over in a horse transport truck, I had vet out they told me to hose it for 20min everyday and use yellow lotion,

My major issue is she won't allow anyone near the leg let alone trying to hose it, My friend helped me in getting at least would spray on it, I am getting mixed messages, 1 is telling me to have her PTS we did try and strap it with what we had but it came down, she is lame, another person is telling me to keep with yellow lotion, I just found betadine then another 1 is telling me to use manuka honey, Then I read about castor oil for open wounds. Please no negative comments. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


Replied by Art
(California)
05/25/2021
2119 posts

kokomo 44,

Colloidal silver will speed the healing process while keeping the wound disinfected. The dressing needs to stay wet for the best and fastest results. If it was my horse, I would take a wad of gauze large enough to cover the wound and soak it with colloidal silver, then I would wrap it with one of those beige elastic wraps that are used to wrap wrists ankles or joints that has velcro at the end to fasten it. I would change the dressing once or twice a day depending on how it holds up. It is important for the gauze to remain wet with CS as it is most effective that way.

Art

kokomo44
(australia)
05/26/2021
2 posts

Art, where can I buy the colloidal silver from. Do saddlerys stock or vet, or do I have to buy it online?

Art
(California)
05/26/2021
2119 posts

kokomo,

Yes, it will have to be online. Here is a concentrated colloidal silver product that you will have to dilute with distilled water as it is 1,000 parts per million.

https://ultrasilver.com/colloidal_silver_1000ppm

Art


Mineral Oil, Kerosene

1 User Review
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Posted by Ashley (Monroe, Ut) on 01/14/2010
★★★★★

Horse wounds

A mixture of mineral oil and kerosene aids in the healing on virtually any wound on a horse. Just mix 50% mineral oil and 50% kerosene (you can buy it in the paint department at a hardware store). You spray it generously on the wound 2 times per day until the skin closes and heals. It's CHEAP and it kills infection and bacteria.

We had a mare who was caught in the barbed wire and ripped her entire chest open so far it was hanging to her knees. The vet stitched it up and said there will be a huge scar. All we did to take care of it was spray kerosene/mineral oil on it and to this day...3 years later...there is no scar. You wouldn't believe that it had ever happend to her.

This spring, her foal got in the barbed wire (talk about bad luck) and sliced up the side of her neck very deep. The only thing we did was spray it twice per day and it healed up perfectly.

We also just bought a mare that had a hard growth on her back leg from a barbed wire accident from years ago (it looks kind of like a branch growing out of her leg). The previous owner clips it off with the nippers and it just grows back. The vet didn't know what else to do to get rid of it. When we got her, we nipped it off and then sprayed the mixture on it and it hasn't grown back since.

This stuff is AWESOME.

My husband's family has been using this mixture for generations, and this is ALL we use for anything that happens to the horses. The kerosene kills bacteria and prevents proud flesh, while the mineral oil keeps the skin soft and supple to avoid cracking and drying. The kerosene keeps the flies off of the wound. The only drawback to this mixture is that wherever the spray hits, it kills the hair along with the bacteria. The hair will grow back just fine, but until it's healed up, the hair will be gone. This actually helps by keeping the hair off of the wound for easy inspection and keeps the hair from matting to the wound.

We just pour the mixture in a spray bottle and keep it on hand so it's always ready to go.

Replied by Stacey
(Rifle, Co)
09/08/2016

When using it on proud flesh, should I keep it covered or just spray it twice a day and leave it uncovered? Thanks.

Replied by Suseeq
(Sydney Australia)
09/09/2016

I don't know about the kerosene, but on my horses I would keep it covered but change it every day. That way you are keeping an eye on things.


NuStock Ointment

1 User Review
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Posted by Dmg (Philadelphia, Pa Usa) on 12/19/2010
★★★★★

I have read elsewhere that Nu Stock ointment is very very good for wounds, especially abscesses, that will not heal. People are showing photos. Also I have read that it helps clear mange on dogs and cats (although it has the possibility of causing indigestion in cats) I haven't tried it myself (yet), as I'm still trying to figure out if my cat has mange but I read it on so many sites I wanted to pass it on here.


Preparation H

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Posted by Linda (Conneautville, Pa) on 03/22/2011
★★★★★

The best remedy for proud flesh I have found is Preparation H!

I had a pony that got caught in high tensile fence and ended up taking almost all the hide off 3 legs from the knee down. One leg was all the way down to the bone. There was nothing for the vet to suture, so I was left with just keeping them clean and wrapped. I washed his legs every day with an antimicrobial scrub and packed them with furozone & rewrapped until there was tissue covering the bone again. Proud flesh started to grow and I had the vet out to have it debrided. After that, I switched to packing with Prep H. The people at Walmart must have thought I had a real problem because I would go in and buy 3 or 4 GIANT tubes at a time! (I used the store brand) I used it just as you would use any salve, but kept a close eye on it for infection. It never got infected and as it healed I eventually washed it and changed the dressing every 2 days, then every 3. When it was all said and done, there was no proud flesh what-so-ever, and all the hair came back in a normal color. There was just one small scar on his fetlock that never regrew the hair, but it was so small it was hardly noticeable. This remedy was a Godsend, and saved me hundred if not thousands in vet bills since I didn't have to have it debrided every week or so. It also left the pony almost completely scar free, which was the best part!

Needless to say, I no longer have high tensile fence! But there is definetly a tube of Preparation H in my horse first aid kit!


Yellow Paste

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Posted by Colette (Lancashire) on 09/13/2017
★★★★★

Hi, I bought some magic yellow paste it arrived in a tupaware tub I was told 100% natural. I bought to use on horse wounds cuts N grazes. I've used on sweetitch. Over 2 days so far and results amazing. I need want more but can't find please help.

EC: This sounds like a paste made of flowers of sulphur... or simply sulphur. you can find products on Amazon like this.

Replied by Theresa
(Mpls., Mn)
09/14/2017

Hey Colette, Off the top of my head, you might be talking about Fura-Zone [ Nitrofurazone] which is yellow in color and treats many things including infections like rain rot. It is commonly available at most farm and fleet type stores.