M. Sapon, M. Montufar, M. Upjohn and V. Fowler.
Presented by: Dr Prem
EVALUATION OF CURRENT METHODS
USED TO TREAT BACK AND WITHER
WOUNDS IN EQUINES, GUATEMALA

Working equines in Guatemala2

Working equines in Guatemala
• Estimated 227,938 equines in Guatemala
 74 % horses, 21% mules and 5% donkeys
• Mainly used for transportation of goods by pack (TGP)
• Common welfare problems include:
 malnutrition,
 dehydration,
 overloading/overwork,
 infectious disease,
 parasite infestation,
 work-related injuries
3

Work-related injuries
• Wounds on the back and withers are frequently
observed work related injuries on TGP equines
• Anecdotally, wounds are rarely treated due to:
 lack of owner knowledge;
 poor availability/affordability of veterinary
resources
• Treatment usually comprises topical traditional
medicines made from locally available plants
4

Aim of study
To evaluate the effectiveness of topical treatment with
traditional medicine made from a combination of four
local plants against, a licensed veterinary medicine
containing 2% Nitrofurazone (Furacine) in their ability
to heal back and wither wounds
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Standardised Wound Assessment Tool6
0 No wound 1 Superficial/healed lesion
2 Skin and immediate
subcutaneous layers broken
3 Lesions deep enough to
show muscle/tendon/bone

Study design
• Twelve horses with varying sizes of a score 2
wound each randomly assigned to one group:
 Group A: Nitrofurazone 2%
 Group B: Medicinal plants
 Group C: Saline (control)
• Daily treatment for 45 days
• Wound size and severity recorded at day 0 and
every 5 days thereafter
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Results: Mean severity of wounds8

Results: Mean severity of wounds9
• By day 45 mean wound severity in horses
treated with Nitrofurazone 2% improved to
grade 1.25 (SE 0.08)
• By day 45 mean wound severity in horses
treated with medicinal plants improved to
grade 1.25 (SE 0.11)
• Improvement in horses treated with
Nitrofurazone 2% began at day 5, for those
treated with medicinal plants began at day 25
• No improvement was seen the control group

Results: Mean size of wounds10

Results: Mean size of wounds11
• By day 45 in horses treated with Nitrofurazone 2%
mean wound size reduced to 52% (SE 4.9) of
original size
• By day 45 in horses treated with medicinal herbs
mean wound size reduced to 51% (SE 5.4) of
original size
• By day 45 the mean wound size in the control
group was 56% (SE 5.0) of original
IQR: Interquartile range

Study limitations
• Size of study
• Standards required to evaluate efficacy
• Potential for variability in preparation of herbal
treatment (owners vs. single source)
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Conclusions
• Even intensive treatment of wounds for extended
period is unrewarding
• Treatment of wounds with either Nitrofurazone
2% or medicinal plants may improve their
severity and/or size to a greater extent than use
of saline alone
• Improvement in severity seen sooner with
Nitrofurazone than with medicinal plants
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Potential applications
• Small study limitations of direct evidence for use
of alternative treatment
• Equine work-related injuries difficult to treat
• Use of findings for owner discussions
• Owners’ perceptions of avoidance strategies
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