Poulticing ..

tonitot

tonitot

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I was just having a think of some stuff I might need for Ethel and had a thought about stuff for poulticing. I then realised that despite being taught/shown how to do poultices many times whilst at college and work, that I can't remember for the life of me what I'd need to poultice, nor have I remembered HOW to do a poultice :o

So, I'd be very grateful if someone could tell me what I need and how to poultice, or point me in the direction of any helpful websites or books that can help me. I think this is something I need to learn quickly as I'll be stuffed if she needs one and I don't have a clue what to do, and as I'm on a tiny yard with only one other livery who isn't always there at the same time I wont have anyone to help me. Can't believe I've owned a horse for nine months without knowing how to do a poultice :o

Mince pies in exchange for help :D
 
You will need;

epsom salts
a poultice! Animalintex I think its called
nappies
vet wrap (or cheaper alternative)
duct tape (or cheaper alternative)

I also used a boot for turn out - I had old macs

soak the foot in epsom salts and warm water for 15 minutes or so
dry the foot on a clean towel
apply the poultice (it will have instructions as you can use it hot or cold)
then put a nappy over the top, followed by the vet wrap and finally duct tape.

There are a few clips on you tube which I found helpful.

Its quite fiddly and I needed someone to help me before I got the hang of it!

It might also be a good idea to get your horse used to standing in a bucket of water before you have to do it for real!
 
....and make sure you put the slimey side of the animalintex poultice against the wound....!!!
I have lost count of the number of times I have removed poultices to find a lovely bit of shiney plastic stuck to the wound!:D
 
yes I have done that before!

Also it needs to be changed at least every 12 hours and don't forget some latex gloves as whatever it is on the poultice isn't very nice on your skin!
 
Thanks for the help! Haha bert .. I've taken loads of poultices off, but never put one on. How do you poultice wounds on legs? (I'm sure wounds on legs can be poulticed too, unless i'm being incredibly dumb here!)
 
ahh ok I have abcesses on the brain!

I guess it would be similar thing though - but maybe you wouldn't need the nappy?

The instructions on the animalintex tell you what ailments to use it for either hot or cold. And then I guess you would just need to bandage it on as best as you could depending on where it is?
 
MissCandy said:
ahh ok I have abcesses on the brain!

I guess it would be similar thing though - but maybe you wouldn't need the nappy?

The instructions on the animalintex tell you what ailments to use it for either hot or cold. And then I guess you would just need to bandage it on as best as you could depending on where it is?
Click to expand...

Ah okay :D I'll have a look through my medical stuff for Ethel and see what I have (really should get a seperate box, its all muddled in together with my spare bits and bobs :p )
Am I right in thinking you shouldn't poultice on joints as it can draw out joint fluid rather than pus, which wouldn't be good (or have I completely made that up??)
 
If you want some poulticing practice I'll send you Merryn. In 3 months he's had 3 foot abcesses :eek: Just stopped poulticing his latest one after 2 and a half weeks :eek:. I must be the queen of the foot poultice by now :p :D.
Hopefuly he'll have no more but if he throws another do you want him? ;) :D
(I'm seriously considering buying shares in animalintex, vetrap and ducktape at this rate ;) :p :D )
 
Poulticing leg wounds are generally much easier than feet. Clean wound and trim away long hair from around the site if you can (helps keep out infection). Soak poultice in boiling water (to sterilise) drain and allow to cool to apply to wound without your horse jumping into the stable next door.

Some people like to wrap a bit of plastic around the leg (over poultice) at this point, and then bandage over using gamgee or fybagee and a stable bandage. Be careful to prevent any ridges as the leg may well swell over night. Normal stable bandage tension will suffice. Also bandage other fore or hind limb for support.

Always re poultice or dress twice a day and never more than 3/4 days as you may encourage proud flesh which is a pain in the :D
 
Laura - errr no you can keep him :D don't think I could cope with that many abcesses! I'm quite lucky that Ethel hasn't had any major injuries, only a hock wound which she had to go to the vets for and some other cuts and bangs (now I've said that I'll go back to find her with abcesses all over the place! :p )

Bert - Thank you thats really helpful :) Maybe I'll try and watch a few more horses at work beign polticed and try to pick it up :)
 
For a foot abcess you can wrap the finished poultice in silage tape or similar which helps keep it clean and in place. One vet told me to use epsom salts mixed with iodine for a foot abcess which was surprisingly effective, and cheaper than animalintex, but you can't go wrong with aninamlintex. Usually two/three days wet then a day or two with a dry poultice. You will see black discharge on the poultice from a foot abcess, then you know its working.
 
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