Splint treatment if you don't have the magical ice/cold boots?

Damnation

Damnation

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Buffy has decided that it is a *really* good idea to throw a splint and go slightly lame.

I am going to go out tomorrow to get some devils claw and see if I can get some cold therapy boots as her leg is hot but I may not be able to source some locally. (Not a lot of equestrian shops around here!)

Is there a way of fashioning something with icepacks or that magical cool clay or bandages until I can order some?

Just after peoples ideas as to what they do? Also good to know for future reference in case of other lower leg injuries!
 
Anything to get the leg cooler will help, ice packs bandaged over some gamgee, even a bag of frozen peas will do the job, if you hose first to cool the leg it will last longer, even just hosing several times a day will help take the sting out of it but most splints will settle fairly quickly if the horse is rested and does not gallop about the field too much, you may find she is sound within days.
 
be positive said:
Anything to get the leg cooler will help, ice packs bandaged over some gamgee, even a bag of frozen peas will do the job, if you hose first to cool the leg it will last longer, even just hosing several times a day will help take the sting out of it but most splints will settle fairly quickly if the horse is rested and does not gallop about the field too much, you may find she is sound within days.
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Thank you, I may go get an ice pack, I have bandage pads, will they do or is gamgee better?

She did throw a splint a few years ago and the lameness was barely noticeable, I cold hosed it off for the night and the next morning she was sound with no heat, this time though she is noticeably lame and sore so thinking more treatment may be needed this time.
 
We just cold hosed 2-3 times a day for 20mins. We only hosed if the splint was hot though, not much point in hosing a cold one!

They settle quickly usually :)
 
I just cold hose, I would box rest initially for a couple of weeks if they are lame to let it settle ..(mine do gallop around a lot though, depends on how sensible your horse is!) . Once they are sound and not reacting to hard pressure, I give another 2 weeks to be sure, trot up again and then back to work :) I had one that was fractionally lame, I left him out and he ran around playing, he then came in quite lame and ended up on 3 months rest ! So it is best not to rush it, just in case.
 
Nothing works better for cold treatment that a good old ice cube bag! They wrap round the leg nicely and are cheap! These ice therapy boots aren't a patch on them. The gel packs go warm in 15-20mins where as ice lasts for hours and actually gets the cold through the skin. The gel packs dont stay cold enough for long enough to do anything other than cool the skin down.
 
EKW said:
Nothing works better for cold treatment that a good old ice cube bag! They wrap round the leg nicely and are cheap! These ice therapy boots aren't a patch on them. The gel packs go warm in 15-20mins where as ice lasts for hours and actually gets the cold through the skin. The gel packs dont stay cold enough for long enough to do anything other than cool the skin down.
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Actually, you are not supposed to ice for longer than 20 minutes at a time. It is better to cold hose (or ice) several times for short periods than to keep the area cold for a long time. You are also advised not to apply ice directly to the skin, but put it over a towel or similar.
 
Tubigrip and an ice cube bag. Really long tubigrip so you can fold it over a few times. Have 1 or 2 layers of the tubigrip by the skin and then put the ice bag (slightly crushed) between that and the next layer of tubigrip to keep it in place quicker than bandaging and easy to remove and replace for shorter icing periods.
 
Cold hosing and box rest is the best.

Our pony threw a splint earlier this year listening to all these stupid remedies made his whole leg swell up
 
I have recently been through this with one of mine. I purchased some ice cube bags from the supermarket and bandaged them on with a stable bandage. They work well as quite flexible, my particular invalid would not stand still for 20 mins cold hosing!!!

She is now quite sound and back to jumping clear rounds.
 
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