Horse wounds healed by maggots
A new study has suggested that maggots could play an integral role in modern veterinary care for a variety of horse wounds. The study has been recently published in the Equine Veterinary Journal's (EVJ) special American Association of Equine Practitioners supplement.
Researchers from the University of Lyon assessed the effectiveness of maggot debridement therapy on a range of equine lesions, finding that the method was beneficial in 93 per cent of cases.
During the study, researchers analysed 41 horses with various lesions, including foot injuries, limb lacerations, soft tissue abscesses and musculoskeletal infection. Maggots were applied either in direct or indirect contact with the wounds, depending on their type, size and location. In some cases, a second maggot application was used.
Debridement, disinfection and healing occurred in all but three cases in under a week. Of the three horses who did not respond to the treatment, two were complicated by the presence of tumours, and one by pre-existing damage to the underlying bone.
Leader of the study Olivier Lepage concluded: "These results show that maggot debridement therapy potentially has an integral place in modern veterinary wound care. It can be used to treat many types of lesions, although not those involving tumours or bone sequestration.
"Associated high costs present a limiting factor but maggot debridement therapy should certainly be considered for lesions that fail to respond to conventional methods."
Maggots, which destroy and digest bacteria, have already been used to treat wounds for hundreds of years. Their wound-healing action is attributed to a combination of a debridement effect, an antiseptic effect, and a direct effect on cytokine and cell proliferation involved in wound healing and breakdown of biofilm formation.
Editor of the EVJ, Professor Celia Marr, said of the study: "It shows that maggots can be an effective way to clear damaged tissue and this is an important adjunctive approach in equine wound management."
The BSAVA has opened submissions for the BSAVA Clinical Research Abstracts 2026.
