Proud flesh (exuberant granulation tissue) is a common complication of wound healing in horses that causes chronic wound failure and requires targeted management to achieve resolution.
Proud flesh represents a welfare failure of wound management — a wound that has failed to progress through normal healing becomes a chronic open lesion susceptible to infection, contamination, and ongoing pain from the underlying wound bed. The cosmetic appearance of proud flesh is often less concerning than the functional implications: wounds on the lower limb may restrict movement, cause lameness, and become chronically infected. Fly strike of open wounds causes additional suffering. Inappropriate home management — application of caustic substances or failure to bandage — worsens the condition. Prompt, correct initial wound management that minimises proud flesh development is the most welfare-positive approach; once established, proud flesh management requires veterinary expertise and owner commitment to bandaging regimes.