Elasticon and more.....

[lorilu]

You know, the stretchy-sticky stuff. Is it my imagination or has it really changed in the past year? Seems thinner, not as stretchy (doesnt “rebound”), and def. not as sticky/tough to pull off roll. And so it does not stick as well to the horse either.
I have a mini who rubbed a sore on the outside of her knee - the side she lays down on (of course). I have been trying to get it to stay healed up for a SOLID YEAR. Every time it’s healed over, she rubs it open again on the ground or rubbing on the fence. The skin never has time to really toughen up.

So, I cover it with a non-stick pad, vet wrap, and try to hold it in place with elasticon above and below the knee. (of course I am careful re: the stretchiness (or non-stretchiness these days), please dont worry about me getting it too tight.). It lasts maybe two days before the stickiness has released above the knee and the whole thing has slipped down.

Any ideas?? I have tried blue spray, spray bandage Pureshield, the clay and zinc oxide pastes, and my vet’s summer sore compound which is trip antibiotic, DMSO, and ivermectrin. I use that if it gets open for long enough that I’m worried about flies/midges.
I wonder if a gall salve would toughen up the skin?

Maybe there is a better way to wrap it? Remember the wound is not on the front of the knee - it’s on the outside.

All ideas appreciated.

[Simkie]

I do love gall salve for this sort of thing, give it a try!

When my gelding had a puncture wound at his elbow, it was just a bear to try to wrap. It needed to stay clean, and he looooooves to roll. So I cut up a pair of jeans and made him leggings! He looked ridiculous, but it worked SO well. Cut the legs off the pants, connect with a pair of blanket leg straps that go over the withers, and he had all the protection he needed. I bet you could rig up something like that, probably with a kids pair? A picture will help, I found this one. Mine were not nearly this long!

https://www.equisearch.com/blog/donkey-pants-23388

[walktrot]

@Simkie

I do love gall salve for this sort of thing, give it a try!

When my gelding had a puncture wound at his elbow, it was just a bear to try to wrap. It needed to stay clean, and he looooooves to roll. So I cut up a pair of jeans and made him leggings! He looked ridiculous, but it worked SO well. Cut the legs off the pants, connect with a pair of blanket leg straps that go over the withers, and he had all the protection he needed. I bet you could rig up something like that, probably with a kids pair? A picture will help, I found this one. Mine were not nearly this long!

https://www.equisearch.com/blog/donkey-pants-23388

Magnificent, Simkie!!! I forwarded the link to the vet and farrier. I’m putting this on the list with the roll of duct tape to protect a hoof with am imbedded nail.

What next???

[IPEsq]

There are some alternate brands of elastic bandage out there (3M for example), and they are not all quite the same. Maybe that’s the trouble you are having?

Would something like the Equifit gel socks work to pull over the knee? Or a knee boot with your vetrap bandage under?

[lorilu]

@Simkie

I do love gall salve for this sort of thing, give it a try!

When my gelding had a puncture wound at his elbow, it was just a bear to try to wrap. It needed to stay clean, and he looooooves to roll. So I cut up a pair of jeans and made him leggings! He looked ridiculous, but it worked SO well. Cut the legs off the pants, connect with a pair of blanket leg straps that go over the withers, and he had all the protection he needed. I bet you could rig up something like that, probably with a kids pair? A picture will help, I found this one. Mine were not nearly this long!

https://www.equisearch.com/blog/donkey-pants-23388

cool idea!!! she is big mini/smallest pony size… hmmmm

[lorilu]

Today I used the 3M product. Felt identical to the elasticon. Frankly I dont think they make anything like a knee boot small enough… and not sure it would stay up any better than something stuck (supposedly) to the hair… I do hve some of those sox for horses, maybe I’ll try that next. And Gall salve, try to toughen up the skin which is what it really needs.

[outerbanks77]

I really like Underwood’s Horse Medicine for areas that can’t be bandaged. It is a weird blackish spray that you then coat with baking soda. Just keep layering on the Underwood’s and baking soda and it forms a crust that protects from flies and gunk. The wound will heal underneath and the crust will flake away. I used it when my mare got kicked right in the pectoral and had a 4" wide slice that couldn’t be stitched. It healed perfectly so that there was just a thin hairless line, but almost no scarring.

[Amordoro]

I have been buying elastikon practically by the case since March for a stubborn leg wound. At the vet hospital’s instruction, I always unroll and then loosely re-roll each roll before using to prevent over tightening, so I am intimately familiar with the properties of each roll. Some rolls are super super sticky and require a lot of force to unroll. Others, from the same box, unroll easily and stick to themselves with much less…aggression. There doesn’t seem to be any pattern, but there are fewer loose rolls. I don’t find a great deal of difference in how they stick to his leg, but I’m wrapping over the elastikon, so I might not notice. I haven’t found anything that works as well for my purpose - I don’t like the 3M as much - but I’ve used every ounce of google-fu I can muster to find the best price, which is still exorbitant.

ETA: one of my horses - the one with the leg wound, as it happens - has sores in the same spot, and after trying all sorts of things, including silicone wound/scar patches, I’ve just given up. Nothing will stay in that area no matter what I do, and even if they healed completely, he’d just open them up again.

[SecondInCommand]

One thing I’ve seen with hock sores before is duct tape. You put ointment on the sore, cover it, and then put a square of duct tape over top. To be very clear, you do not encircle the leg with tape. Just a patch over the sore. Leave it until it falls off, and repeat.

[theresak]

My vet said heat and storage conditions can affect the quality of the elastikon after I complained about several rolls that I could hardly get off the roll and onto the leg. It was winter, which I think also made the elastikon seize up. I also found the off brands not as easy to wrap with as the J&J elastikon.

I’m dealing with fetlock sores and a knee sore on a horse with sleep deprivation that falls down every so often. He also rolls every day, which keeps abrading the same areas as the sores and my vet says to get the hair to grow back, we want to dry up the wound and let skin grow - so I’m spraying with Alushield and covering with a tiny square of animalintex and the elastikon.

[walktrot]

@SecondInCommand

One thing I’ve seen with hock sores before is duct tape. You put ointment on the sore, cover it, and then put a square of duct tape over top. To be very clear, you do not encircle the leg with tape. Just a patch over the sore. Leave it until it falls off, and repeat.

What about Gorilla tape? Too strong and sticky?

Pass it on!!! I sent Simkie’s link for donkey pants to the vet last night and had a reply at dawn this morning. I expect to see horses wandering around southern Maine in donkey pants any day.

[2DogsFarm]

OP, sorry to hijack… & I hope you get a solution here for your little gal.

But, is it wrong I want to put donkeypants on all (not an owie on any of them,currently) 3 of mine?
16H horse, 13H pony & 35" mini - gonna have to hit Goodwill for jeans of various sizes

[flyingchange]

@2DogsFarm

OP, sorry to hijack… & I hope you get a solution here for your little gal.

But, is it wrong I want to put donkeypants on all (not an owie on any of them,currently) 3 of mine?
16H horse, 13H pony & 35" mini - gonna have to hit Goodwill for jeans of various sizes

LMAO … I was wondering the same thing! Just the word, “donkeypants” is making me crack up!😂😂😂😂 Then the pic of that donkey sporting the dp’s and the straw hat … dying…

[walktrot]

At least you just need jeans to make donkey pants. Imagine if they had to wear donkey breeches. We’d have to develop guidelines for knee patch vs. full seat. :lol::winkgrin::lol:

[Simkie]

Alright guys since you like the donkey pants, here are a few more variations :lol: :lol:

https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/sanctuary-donkey-dapper-in-volunteer-made-custom-pants-1.3983531

It’s actual traditional garb for the Poitou donkeys in France:

https://www.amusingplanet.com/2016/12/the-island-where-donkeys-wear-pyjamas.html

Word of warning–they’re truly hilarious looking, but are a PITA to keep clean (esp when it’s wet!) and it can be a bit of a struggle to keep them up, on and even. Depending on how you run your … uh … suspenders, they can also rub or make the horse sore around the withers. Worth it when you really need it for protecting a wound or when nothing else is working for flies, but probably not something you’d want to do “just because”

[SecondInCommand]

@theresak

My vet said heat and storage conditions can affect the quality of the elastikon after I complained about several rolls that I could hardly get off the roll and onto the leg. It was winter, which I think also made the elastikon seize up. I also found the off brands not as easy to wrap with as the J&J elastikon.

I’m dealing with fetlock sores and a knee sore on a horse with sleep deprivation that falls down every so often. He also rolls every day, which keeps abrading the same areas as the sores and my vet says to get the hair to grow back, we want to dry up the wound and let skin grow - so I’m spraying with Alushield and covering with a tiny square of animalintex and the elastikon.

If it’s when turned in, a friend had good luck using Back on Track quick wraps on her horse with fetlock sores for the same reason. They cover the area well and made a huge difference, and were less labour intensive and more effective than daily first aid.

[SecondInCommand]

@walktrot

What about Gorilla tape? Too strong and sticky?

Pass it on!!! I sent Simkie’s link for donkey pants to the vet last night and had a reply at dawn this morning. I expect to see horses wandering around southern Maine in donkey pants any day.

I’m not sure! Give it a try - if it’s too sticky it’ll just take more days to loosen. But I think GT’s defining characteristic is more its physical durability than its glue, no? At least that’s been its appeal when I use it for abscess boots!

[lorilu]

Just a patch of gorilla tape sounds interesting for my OTHER problem - the belly sore on the horse who sits down and rubs his belly… thanks everyone. Lots of good ideas.

[theresak]

Duct tape does work pretty well, unless your horse has a reaction to the adhesive and looses all the hair underneath - which of course happened to me last year. So just keep an eye on it.

@SecondInCommand - horse falls down in turnout too, so he wears the elastikon wraps and fetlock boots suitable for turnout. He needs more than just boots - once he’s got a sore, getting up and down to roll makes the sores open back up even with the fetlock boots.

[2DogsFarm]

@Simkie

Alright guys since you like the donkey pants, here are a few more variations :lol: :lol:

https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/sanctuary-donkey-dapper-in-volunteer-made-custom-pants-1.3983531

It’s actual traditional garb for the Poitou donkeys in France:

https://www.amusingplanet.com/2016/12/the-island-where-donkeys-wear-pyjamas.html

Word of warning–they’re truly hilarious looking, but are a PITA to keep clean (esp when it’s wet!) and it can be a bit of a struggle to keep them up, on and even. Depending on how you run your … uh … suspenders, they can also rub or make the horse sore around the withers. Worth it when you really need it for protecting a wound or when nothing else is working for flies, but probably not something you’d want to do “just because”

Yeah, Yeah, keeping them clean could be an issue… :rolleyes:

But after seeing the Poitou Donks, all I can imagine is my 3 in a version of Orange is the New Black “panties” :lol:
Horse would be Alex
Pony would be Pennsyltucky
Mini would be Crazy Eyes
I need more horses…