If you have horses, then you're probably used to having to nurse the occasional wound, irritation, or injury. It's always a good idea to have a well-equipped first aid kit on hand so you have the right products to work with. One product that you may want to add to your first aid kit is some oxygen healing gel. Here are a few of the key ways you can use it on horses.

To Combat Scratches

Scratches is a condition that horses can develop on their legs after standing in water or mud for long periods of time. The skin becomes sore and red, and sometimes it scabs over. Scratches is perpetuated by bacteria and fungi—specifically species that don't love oxygen and thrive in the moist mud. So, if you apply oxygen healing gel to the scratches, it will often help the skin heal faster. Make sure you thoroughly clean the horse's legs before you apply the oxygen healing gel and keep the horse in a place where their legs will remain dry until the gel is fully absorbed. Use the gel daily until the scratches resolve themselves.

To Treat Sunburn

Horses with white markings are often prone to sunburn. This is because the skin beneath the white hair is pink and non-pigmented and also because white hair lets more sunlight pass through than darker hair. As in humans, sunburned skin can become sore. You can apply oxygen healing gel to the area to help the sunburn heal. In the short term, it will soothe the burn. In the long term, it will help give the cells what they need to replicate and heal the sunburn.

To Treat Minor Abrasions From Play

If you have a horse who loves to play with their buddies in the pasture, then you're probably familiar with all the tiny, little wounds that playful horses come in with. One day it's a little scrape on their neck. The next week, they're missing some hair on a hip. These little wounds don't require a ton of care, but rinsing them out and applying oxygen healing gel is a good approach. It will help soothe the skin, promote healing, and encourage the hair to grow back without being too intense.

As a horse owner, you should definitely have a tube of oxygen healing gel in your first aid kit. You can use it in all of the ways described above, and more.

Contact a company like Derm Creations for more information.