Hi,

I am sorry Dusty has a wound on her foot.

It may well not be infected if it looks 'clean and healthy' and the swelling is from inflammation (antibiotics won't reduce inflammation or swelling directly)

It is possible there is some granulation tissue growing which can happen a lot in horse wounds especially lower in the leg. Unless in extreme quantities this granulation tissue will shrink down with time.

Swelling in the lower limb is a pain as it naturally drops down with gravity and can take some shifting.

If the wound is not discharging pus/liquid and the wound looks fresh pink in colour then it is likely to be relatively clean.

Tissue swelling can be reduced using phenylbutazone and this may be needed to speed things along.

What I would recommend is cold hosing the foot twice a day, this will help with swelling and flushing the wound, if you have the patience do it for 10-15 minutes.

You can give the penicillin for as long as you want, but it may well have reached its limit now or in the next 2-3 days and Dusty will be getting tired of the daily injections.

Consideration should also be given to possible damage to deeper structures so if the wound was near a joint or tendon/ligament then healing will be prolonged if these were affected and so may explain the persistent swelling. The likelihood of this will be increased if Dusty is particularly lame still on the leg. If she is then I would encourage you to get a vet to check the foot to ensure no deeper longer lasting injury has occurred.

If the environment is dry and clean and you are able to keep the foot clean, you may not need to poultice dress the wound at all (as long as it can be kept relatively clean and dry) if there is no discharge on the dressings then exposure to the air may speed things along.

Another great treatment to encourage wound healing, is manuka honey, this really helps and speeds up the regrowth of skin along a wound.

So I would cold hose twice daily, maybe continue the penicillin for 2 more days (make sure you use a different muscular location each time-bum, neck and chest)

If there is pain/lameness then get a vet out.

I hope this helps

Good luck

Dr Dan Makin