In late summer it seems horses are commonly presented to vets with lacerations. Over the last three weeks at our clinic we have seen three very severe lacerations; what made them severe was that they involved joints or tendon sheaths. Fortunately, all of these wounds were seen within 24 hours of discovery. The concern is that when a laceration occurs, how do you tell if a joint of tendon sheath is involved? The only method is to have a veterinarian carefully examine the wound under sterile conditions. This must be done quickly as it has been shown that joint or tendon sheath wounds that are over 24 hours old have a much lower chance of survival than those less than 24 hours.

To determine if a synovial structure is involved, many times the horse must be anesthetized for a thorough sterile exam. If your vet can not visually determine if the joint or sheath is involved, your vet may be required to inject sterile saline in the joint to see if fluid exits the wound. If it is determined a synovial structure is involved, these wounds are usually flushed daily for 3 to 5 days with large volumes of sterile solution followed by installation of antibiotics directly in the joint. Antibiotics given oral or even intravenous may help but will not kill an infection in a joint or tendon sheath. Correct treatment of these wounds is expensive but it is important to realize that many of these horses will not survive if not treated correctly. One common sign of an infected synovial structure is severe lameness. Many times bandage casts are required for lower leg wounds to allow healing. If your horse develops a wound especially on a lower leg, it should be considered an emergency regardless of how serious it looks.