In horses, the inflammatory phase can be weak and prolonged—particularly in leg wounds—leading to less-than-ideal wound healing. | Photo: The Horse Staff

—Via e-mail

A.Clinically, we observe four phases of second intention wound healing—that is, healing without the use of sutures to close the wound. These include:

• The inflammatory phase. during which white blood cells enter the wound to clean it of contaminants;
• The proliferative phase, during which granulation tissue fills the wound bed;
• The contraction phase, during which the wound gets smaller circumferentially; and
• The epithelialization phase, during which new cells cross the remaining open wound bed and form a scar.

Unfortunately, in horses (but, interestingly, not ponies), the inflammatory phase can be weak and prolonged—particularly in leg wounds—leading to less-than-ideal wound healing. Other factors that may contribute to poor healing include motion at the wound site, bacterial contamination or infection, and the presence of foreign material