Effect of a Proprietary Medication on Wound Healing in the Horse

The purpose was to objectively measure the rate of healing of equine distal limb wounds when a 10% Natural Proprietary Compound (NPC) was compared to a topical antibacterial cream (1% silver sulfadiazine- SSD). Five horses had two wounds measuring 6.25cm2 created on the dorsomedial aspect of each limb. Two contralateral limbs were randomly chosen to be bandaged and the other two limbs were un-bandaged – with one limb of each group being treated with either NPC or SSD. On each limb the most proximal wound was left without topical treatment to act as a control. There was no significant difference between SSD and the compound evaluated in this study when either perimeter or area was assessed. Control wounds were significantly smaller than those treated with an ointment regardless of other variables, giving rise to a proposed location effect. Bandaging by day was significant for the time period approximating 2-5 weeks