Re: RC: using poultice

[CLRidnhigh@aol.com]

I have used poultice a lot, on several horses. I train and condition 
endurance horses for a living and what I haved learned is, it all basicly 
pertains to the conditions you use it in. I have had great results useing it 
and I defenitly recomend it as a basic preventative method. Stocking up 
creates scar tissue, that end up being called wind puffs! Wind puffs are very 
unsitely and can be prevented to some extent! I have experienced not so great 
results but mostly because of error on my part like leaving the wraps on too 
long in certain weather or while traveling etc. When the horse accumulates 
heat within the bandage after it dries that is not good! That is the oppisite 
effect of what you want after a ride and will end up swelliing after you take 
the bandages off and can somtimes create bandage burns to an extent. 

This is what I have learned that what works best for me using the poultice:

First I Ice the legs for 15 to 30 minutes with some type of ice boot, don't 
leave them on too long they can easily get warmed by the body heat of the 
horse depending on the weather.
Wet the leg prior with ice water out of your ice chest.
Also soak quilts and leg wraps in the ice water.
Apply poltice thick as for it to take longer to dry. The object is to keep it 
wet and not allow it to dry!
Apply quilt, slightly wrung out while still cold!
Then wrap with the soaked wrap in a backward direction pulling the wrap from 
the outside of the leg in the direction to the rear of the horse, the quilt 
will help prevent you from making it too tight so make it snug but not to 
tight, don't muscle it! Start 1/4 below the knee down around ancle and then 
back up.
Leave on overnight only! Take off in the morning. Unless you did a 100 miler 
take off before weather gets too hot, I would say no longer than 4 hours in 
the heat of the day and i recomend not to travel with them on, they get too 
hot as well.....unless you don't have too far to go! 
The poltice should still be wet when you take them off if you did not leave 
them on too long! 
Another thing I do is put Bag Balm on the back of the pasterns to prevent 
getting scratches the water dripping from the wraps can somtimes encourage 
scratches to grow! Or for horses that have scratches already apply some of 
Trail-Rites Magic ointment and that heals it and prevents the scratches from 
taking over.
I feel poltice it a great product! Yes sometimes I like to see if my own 
horse might stock up without it and I don't use it at times for that reason. 
But  if she did stock up I then wrap them! I belive it depends on how you 
rode and what distance you did and how old is the horse you rode. If the 
horse is young or if you rode hard defenitly wrap, if you barly finished on 
time and went very slow then you may not need too wrap at all. Was the ground 
hard? These kind of things you can evaluate as an owner weather to warp or 
not. As a trainer with clients horses I always wrap! I like to keep my 
clients horses in perfect shape and I do see results if used properly!
Charlene 
Trail-Rite Training Center

Trail-Rite Training Center