Make certain the wound remains open to facilitate drainage. Place the horse on a seven-day treatment protocol with antibiotics, specifically procaine penicillin. Vaccinate the horse against tetanus. The five steps are aimed at facilitating the healing process and heading off lockjaw or malignant edema. The risk of infection is greater if there is no blood flow from the wound, says Gamble.
Blood can wash out debris that has been left at the inner wound site.
If there is no blood flow out of the wound, the debris will remain in place and might carry with it Clostridial spores. It is for this reason that flushing the wound with antiseptic after the penetrating object has been removed is highly important, he emphasized. The flushing action can substitute for blood flow in clearing debris from the site. The rule of thumb, he said, is never tightly bandage a puncture wound or suture it completely closed. The reason for clipping away hair at the edge of the wound, he said, is to prevent it from matting and shutting off drainage, much the same way that complete suturing would.