Understanding equine wound healing biology enables better welfare-focused wound management decisions that promote healing while minimizing unnecessary interventions.
Poor wound management choices prolong the time horses experience pain, restrict movement, and face infection risk. Many commonly used wound treatments including blue spray and honey applications delay healing rather than supporting it. Exuberant granulation tissue allowed to overgrow creates a proud flesh mass that cannot epithelialize, requiring surgical removal and prolonging the welfare impact. Evidence-based wound management using appropriate pressure bandaging, selective topical treatment, and specialist assessment for complex wounds minimizes healing time and the welfare burden of wound management. Understanding wound biology enables more rational decisions that serve the horse's welfare rather than satisfying the handler's need to 'do something'.