Two novel methods of wound treatment were used on five valuable American Saddlebreds attacked and injected with an unknown caustic substance in the back of their left front pasterns on June 30. The tissue in the injected area became necrotic (died), leaving painful, difficult-to-treat lesions that has resulted in death of two of the horses. The attackers of the horses based near Lexington, Ky., have not been apprehended despite a $100,000 reward.

Lacerum
The first treatment used by veterinarians in these cases was Lacerum, a topical solution including equine platelets, which are cells that assist in blood clotting. The platelets are harvested from whole blood drawn from disease-free members of a United States Department of Agriculture-approved equine herd (an alternate BeluMedX product called Lacerum A is derived from the injured horse’s blood). The platelets are then concentrated and put in 10-mL single-dose vials that are frozen and sent to veterinarians, who thaw and activate the platelets with a biologically prescribed material including thrombin, an enzyme involved in clotting. The resulting “gel” is applied to a dressing for the wound after the wound is washed with a special solution