This is a review of the kinds of wounds that occur in horses, what needs to be done about them, and how to make them heal with the best possible outcomes. In a nutshell, there are partial skin-thickness wounds and full-thickness wounds. Partial skin-thickness wounds can be bloody and will heal without much attention needed for their good outcomes.

Full-thickness wounds can be divided into fresh and chronic. All can be declared infected, possibly with a surgical incision made in a controlled environment. How they heal can be divided into “primary intention” (suturing) and “secondary intention” (not sutured). The key to success is to eliminate infections first.

I discuss all these factors based on attending the virtual AAEP meeting of 2021, where a multi-part series of presentations discussed biofilms, debridement, and grafting. The horse owner needs to understand all of this, as quick action in fresh wounds or appropriate action in wounds discovered a day or more later will determine how successful the outcome will be.

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