The purpose of first aid is to minimize the damage done by disease or injury and prevent infection, so that healing can proceed as rapidly as possible. Sometimes first aid is all you need, other times it is a temporary measure until further help arrives. First aid can remarkably affect the outcome. Indications for bandaging:

• To reduce dead space and to prevent the formation of hematomas, seromas and edema in a wound.
• To reduce skin movement around a wound so that adjacent fascial planes are not disrupted.
• To minimize wound contamination. Dressings provide direct protection from environmental contamination and may absorb and hold exudate away from the wound.
• To maintain dressings and other medications on the wound surface.
• To prevent further injury to soft tissue.
• To compress an open wound bed and suppress the development of ermberant granulation tissue.
• To protect a wound against mutilation by the patient.
• To immobilize the limb and provide support.
• To protect various suction and irrigation devices that have been incorporated into the final repair of a wound.
• To protect limbs when horses are transported in vans or trailers.

In the following descriptions of bandage applications, it is understood that the appropriate wound preparation and dressings have been completed before the final bandage material has been applied. For information on treating wounds see

• Bandages applied to the extremities of horses should be composed of materials large enough to cover the affected areas. The materials used should be safe, tested by previous use, and durable. Other properties such as the imperviousness and absorbency of the bandage are important in individual cases.
• Bandages applied over joints are best secured with an elastic outer layer because this material conforms to underlying structures and maintains a snug fit when subjected to motion.
• Lower limb bandages should be applied snugly. It is difficult to describe how tightly the elastic components of a bandage should be applied because a feel for the correct degree of tightness can only be obtained through practice and experience. A loose-fitting bandage is often as harmful as an excessively tight one because the motion of joints under the bandage may loosen it further and knead the material into constricting lumps and ridges.
• The degree of tightness is of no greater importance than the evenness with which the bandage is applied. An uneven bandage containing many lumps and ridges can cause pressure sores and localized points of swelling over the extensor and flexor tendons.
• A bandage should be thick enough so that padding is evenly distributed along its entire length and should protrude from underneath the gauze and tape at both ends.
• Isolated portions of padding within the bandage material can cause undue pressure and produce skin necrosis and tendinitis, especially over the accessory carpal bone and Achilles tendon. Leg bandages should span the affected parts by sufficient margins to reduce swelling above and below the diseased tissues. It is recommended that leg bandages extend below the coronary band so that edema does not develop between the lower part of the bandage and the hoof.
• "Pressure" bandages should be well padded with at least eight to 10 layers of cotton, folded to double this thickness. The tightest components of the bandage, such as the elastic outer layer, are applied starting from the distal part of the limb and continuing upwards.
• When wound dressings are applied over joints or in areas where considerable motion and swelling are anticipated, it is preferable to keep them in place with a soft, yielding material under the cotton layers. Four inch wide cast padding is preferable for these purposes because it is soft, conforms readily to irregular shapes and contours, and is easily applied. Successive layers of the material adhere to the underlying layers so that dressings can be held snugly in place while the bandage is being applied. Gauze bandage materials have sharp, unyielding edges that bind and cut the skin when stretched across it by flexion or extension of joints. In addition, the gauze does not yield under the influence of underlying swelling and, hence, it constricts the expanding skin beneath it, so should not be applied directly to the skin.
• Bandages covering open wounds with minimal exudate are changed every three to four days. More frequent changes may result in wound contamination and trauma. Additional absorbent material can be used for wounds producing copious erudate. Bandage changes are required more often for these wounds because accumulation of exudate provides a medium for bacterial growth.
• Leg bandages should never be secured in place with constricting ties or any material that would produce a tourniquet effect.
• Bandages should always be changed and the wound examined if the horse becomes lame or develops a fever or the limb becomes swollen above the bandage.