Page 128 - The Veterinary Care of the Horse

1 Prepare all the materials you will need, i.e:

– a poultice
VetBooks.ir – a bucket of clean hand-hot water

–
scissors
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– Gamgee or disposable baby nappy
– a conforming bandage

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– a self-adhesive conforming bandage, e.g. Vetrap or adhesive bandage, e.g.
Elastoplast ®

– 7.5 or 10 cm (3 or 4 in) black PVC tape or heavy duty tickitape.

2 Clean the whole foot thoroughly and dry it as much as possible.

3 Stand the horse on a clean, dry surface.

4 Cut the materials to size.
5 Apply the poultice.

6 Pack the foot (see below).

7 Secure the dressings in place with a cotton conforming bandage.

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8 Apply a layer of Vetrap or Elastoplast for extra security.
9 Finally, cut strips of heavy duty tape to reinforce the dressing and make it waterproof or
use a protective poultice boot.

10 Keep the horse stabled on a thick, clean bed.

Tips for applying poultices

PACKING THE FOOT
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Use layers of Gamgee on top of the poultice to pack the concavity of the foot. Then apply
another layer which extends just beyond the sole to cover the weight-bearing edge of the

hoof wall. Secure these in place with a conforming bandage. The packing has 3 functions:
1 it keeps the poultice firmly in contact with the wound, ensuring maximum efficacy

2 the pressure on the sole forces pus out of the hole when the foot bears weight

3 the padding under the hoof wall reduces the wear on the covering bandage, especially if
the horse is shod.

Alternatively, a disposable nappy can be used as an outer layer to hold the dressings onto the
foot (see Figure 3.18c).