Sat waiting for the vet

[Trewsers]

@Trewsers she's not had any pain relief. The reason is that it will mask what I can see. At the moment she's noticeably lame just moving, I hope to see an improvement, ifI do but she's had pain relief she might not actually be improving, it's the bute giving me that impression.

She's been busy cooking this for a number weeks, initially she was slightly off in trot. So I rested her, then just walked thinking she's pulled a muscle.
No mum I am trying to fight an infection in my hoof. If I hop you will need to give me a hand with it.
Fingers crossed it all drains. And the farrier is due on the 1st to check everything.

Lots of healing vibes coming again today. Joe was so bad we all thought he'd broken a leg - he was that lame. I am sure the vet gave him an injection initially as he was in such a bad state. It came out of the blue too - least I didn't notice it brewing. I hope it drains quickly for both of you, it's hard work poulticing too.

 

[Doodle92]

They are awful things. They come in so quickly and are so painful. I have dealt with way too many and so am brilliant at poulticing with no help and in double time . Best tip is with you duct tape tack 4 strips and overlap slightly one way. Then do the same the other way. To make a square of tape. You can then lift the foot and put it flat on the sole then wrap it up round the foot. Put the foot down and make sure everything is stuck. Then another strip front and back to cover over the ends and job done. If they are going out I then overlap 3 strips then put over the tie as that is where it wears first. Make sure the vet wrap and duct tape is right up over the heels tk the pastern and then it won’t come off.

 

[newforest]

They are awful things. They come in so quickly and are so painful. I have dealt with way too many and so am brilliant at poulticing with no help and in double time . Best tip is with you duct tape tack 4 strips and overlap slightly one way. Then do the same the other way. To make a square of tape. You can then lift the foot and put it flat on the sole then wrap it up round the foot. Put the foot down and make sure everything is stuck. Then another strip front and back to cover over the ends and job done. If they are going out I then overlap 3 strips then put over the tie as that is where it wears first. Make sure the vet wrap and duct tape is right up over the heels tk the pastern and then it won’t come off.

I watched the vet do the square. I need to go and get more duct tape, great invention.
If you are an expert I might need to borrow you
Though quite a lot of it is stuck to her feathers, so I will plait that out the way.
This is actually the first horse I have had that's needed to be treated for an abscess.

I knew something was off as her trot wasn't level, but I didn't give an abscess a thought, my thinking was that she pulled something from being in the field.

She's had one abscess in the past and dealt with it herself. The only clue then was the hole underneath that grew out. I never saw anything burst.

 

[carthorse]

Re the feathers, cut the toe off an old sock and then pull that over her leg first to hold the feathers out of the way.

 

[Doodle92]

Ah yes, I have not had to deal with the feathers too

 

[Doodle92]

Ps I want pics of plaited feathers!

 

[newforest]

Ps I want pics of plaited feathers!

I will see if I can find an old sock. But will share photos of a plait when she's feeling better.

 

[GaryB]

I've used a star of tape rather than a square of tape over vetwrap , and also had luck with abscess boots. Also I have just discovered they do animalintex in hoof shapes (rather than square) which makes life much easier. I've recently used one of these which with a bit of extra tape to hold it on survived a day in the field (actually its not this exact one as this says not for turnout, but it looked the same!)

Shires ARMA Breathable Poultice Boot

Made with a touch, breathable, waterproof outer fabric, the Shires ARMA Breathable Poultice Boot benefits for a reinforced base to help hold poultices or dressings in place to help keep them clean and secure. Not suitable for turn out.

gsequestrian.co.uk

 

[newforest]

Okay, this shouldn't be a hard question. Which one did the vet do, and which one did I do.


I managed to forget the sock, though I will remember that tomorrow I hope.
I did do the square which worked well. It stuck to my face initially, then itself.
But she listed her leg up and volia it just stuck where it should.

@GaryB I have also ordered one of those boot things as you can see my skills are somewhat lacking.
Its the boot instead of the duct tape?

Yesterday she was sleepy and depressed, today she's awake and looking a lot brighter.

 

[GaryB]

We used tape and the boot (belt and braces )

 

[Doodle92]

The wool wear medical boots are brilliant too. Not cheep tho but saves duct tape

 

[carthorse]

I never got on with the making a square method, I'd just put strips of tape across the toe, then loads on from the roll then a few more strips to cover any missed areas. Or if the tape was very hard to get off the roll I'd cut a load of strips that I'd lightly put onto something like an upturned bucket and use them to cover the vet wrap - always from the sole up as it seems to hold better that way.

 

[chunky monkey]

When i polticed chunky years ago i cut up plastic feed sacks then duct taped over that. The toes had to be extra layered as he was on concrete or it just wore through in no time.

 

[Huggy]

When we poulticed Hogan this evening we used the square of a feed bag. Animalintex, a long foot off a pair of tights, plastic square, and lots of tape. Had to tuck his massive feather into the tights!

 

[Jessey]

I always just wrap the tape the same as you wrap the vet wrap on, it took me a few to get proficient but Jess gave me plenty of (too much) practice!

 

[newforest]

Hopefully it will will stay on overnight. I need to get more tape.
I will only need the feathers out the way to do then they can hang over. I keep the fronts shorter anyway.

 

[Huggy]

Last night's in the field this morning, today's, fresh on. Damn it's difficult with his hairy feet!

 

[Jane&Ziggy]

There's a "Here's one I made earlier" look about that! A for effort

 

[newforest]

Today I did a square of vet wrap over the poultice and waited for the window of opportunity to put it on. Have you ever tried a lift a leg on a horse that just ignores you. I don't blame her, you've just had my hoof to take all that stuff off.
Eventually she decides okay you can have it. So I then carry on with the vet wrap round the hoof since she has stomped it back down, she's not exactly a fan of wet is she!
I am slightly lame since she managed to flick her knee into my leg at some stage.
Its not coming off since I have loads of tape.
I did glance at ebay for a cheap hoof boot as I would add that to triple make sure my work doesn't fall off.

@Huggy yours might actuality have taken his off. I had a gelding that would nibble bandages, things stayed on until his curiosity got the better of him!
He used to remove fly masks as well off his companions if they asked.

 

[newforest]

How to poultice a hoof

Learn how to poultice a horse's hoof with our step-by-step guide. Lecturer in Veterinary Clinical Skills Caroline Mosley shares her expert tips.

harryhall.com

I wonder if a nappy is an easier option than the vet wrap?
Anyone tried it.