poultice tips needed

itsonlyme

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I am currently poulticing a hoof for ten days on the advice of my vet.
X-rays have shown grit that's worked its way up the white line and is possibly causing abscesses, which would explain her lameness.
It has been 7 days so far, but no sign of anything yet. I'm using Animalintex as the poultice, with epsom salt soaks inbetween. Today i have been looking at alternatives and came across some clay stuff that is supposed to help draw abscesses out. Has anybody ever used anything like this with success?

Also, any tips for poulticing on your own? Im getting better but she was initially getting them off. It's so goddam fiddly!!

I was meant to phone my vet today to ask for how many of the 10 days i am supposed to hot/wet poultice, even if nothing has come out. Any ideas?
Any previous experience of retrieving grit from up inside the foot?!

Thank you muchly. :)
 

Sara Stanley

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my mare is currently lame intermittently on her near side hind leg, blacksmith says he can't find anything and vet said she is over weight and has too flat feet and her feet need to be concave. shes 4 in june and has always been bare foot. so after reading your post, i am wondering if my mare has some grit that has worked its way up through the white line? my tips for poulticing are, have everything you need close to hand, i use an upturned large bucket with a towel on the top for cleaness and everything i need on said upturned bucket. plus i have a spare towel on the floor for her to put her foot down should i let go of her foot! i also partly unravel the vet wrap so when i need it, its easier to use. i buy my vet wrap in bulk off ebay - cheaper that way. i hope you find something of use in my post! good luck. sara. :)
 

itsonlyme

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Thank you Sara.
Here's one of the xrays
Im000000.jpg


you can see the white specs towards the lower left side - this is the grit. Might be worth a quick xray of your horsey? Good luck though either way. And thank u for the tips - you've made me realise how unorganized i am! :D
 

Reindeer Rider

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Hi there,

Is the clay you are thinking of Kaolin? I used it once back in late 80's and remember my farrier saying, 'Cor, that takes me back.' So it must have been around a very long time. I found it more trouble than the animalintex. But I think the lintex was really expensive at the time.

A plastic bag and sock over the vetwrap works well.
 

The Fuzzy Furry

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Kaolin is great stuff, tho nowadays comes in plastic tub & is a much easier compound to spread on than the old stuff in tins from yrs ago that we used to boil up in a pan on the cooker.
I keep a tub in the fridge so it can go on cold onto legs, tho some can be scooped out & warmed to also be used on abcesses etc if required. (1 or 2 turns in microwave in an old pudding pot works a treat :D )

I'll alternate between Animalintex & Kaolin on occasions.
Just remember if using kaolin its a good idea to put something over it before bandaging on - I use brown paper (with a lot of success) on legs for example.

Hope your Fuzzy recovers soon :)
 

Dab

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I usually use lintex, then wrap with vetwrap, followed by gaffa tape. Before starting I make up a big square using the gaffa tape cut into strips and layed on top of each other and have that handy so that once the vetwrap is on i put the gaffa tape square onto the bottom of the hoof and it goes up the sides of the hoof and then have a couple of strips handy to wrap aound the top of the hoof, making sure it is secure but not to tight. It stays on and doesnt wear through!
 

brown tack

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Tip 1 let the hoof air dry for a few minutes after tubbing, unless your doing an dry wrap

Tip 2. Use nappies far cheaper,

Tip3 after putting nappy on add a layer of plastic, feed bag or a shaving bag is good as thick

Tip 4 add a men's thick sock over the top of it all before adding the gaffer tape square

Tip 5, make a square hatch of gaffer tape before sticking it on the hoof, also cut tabs into it every 2-3cm so it molds to the hoof.

Should hold all day and be water proof
 

brown tack

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Oh and with the square make it first and stick it to your bum, then all you have to do is slap it on!
 
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