%&#@ing hock rubs

[Abbie.S]

Poor gelding can’t seem to get up on the damn hock rubs this winter. Big 'ole quarter sized one that keeps getting reopened on his right hock, left is scuffed up but not open.

Horse lives out 24/7, access to a run for shelter. I’ve already spoken to the BO and she will not bed the stall area or even allow me to add sand as she believes the horses will just use it to pee in. The floor of the run-in is hard packed dirt.

I don’t have much choice but to buy a pair of protective boots of some kind for his hocks, at the least the right one, and have the farm staff put them on at night and take them off each morning. BO has already agreed to do this.

Suggestions on what will actually stay on? Or have a prayer of staying on? I think this will be an exercise in futility but such is the cost of having a horse who lives out and loves life that way. It’s really only until spring hits us and the ground starts to soften up.

[cbg]

Instead of hock boots, I make a duct tape or elastikon patch. The tricks seem to be:

1. Putting a little piece of gauze in the center of the tape, over the actual rub, to keep the tape from sticking to it.
2. Making the hair tacky so the tape will stick. If the tape is warm it helps. And I’ve also painted liquid bandage on the hair itself because it helps the tape stick.
3. Figuring out exactly what shape and how big to cut the tape so it covers the hock rub and has enough hair to adhere to.

The first couple of days the tape may or may not stay on overnight. But as the hair gets stickier the tape will stay on longer and longer.

[wildlifer]

If you decide to try @cbg method, FYI there is a sticky spray for human medical use (should be available at drugstore) which is used to help bandages or therapeutic tape stay in place. I have used it to help tape stick to horsehair, as well on my own skin with no ill effects.

[demidq]

Friar’s Balsam (tincture of benzoin) is available at most drugstores and works well to to make skin/hair sticky.

[Goforward]

Yup, what cbg said.
I used to board at a place where they put lots of bedding in the stall but banked it on the walls, none in the middle. Elastikon saved the day. I found that generic didn’t stick well but the real Elastikon stuck for 2 days.
At the time it was happening, I posted here for ideas. Some posters suggested that horses get rubs when they need their hocks injected. My horse did need his hocks injected but it didn’t solve the rubs.
Now he lives at my farm and hock sores are a distant memory because his stall is bedded thickly or he sleeps outside in the grass.

[jonem004]

Hock Shied Ultras actually stay on pretty darn well if they stay dry. I would still put a duck tape (I prefer gorilla tape) or elastacon patch over the sore, but the padding helps. I’m a little weirded out that your BO wouldn’t let you dump sand. It won’t hurt anything, and will definitely help if he uses the sand as his roll/rest spot. What was her idea to help your horse? Just wait until the bone is showing?

[ShotenStar]

I third cbg - a bandage made from strips of Elastikon and/or duct tape is the most workable option. My big WB mare gets hock sores, more so in the summer when she is in a stonedust paddock overnight. I own an entire tack store worth of commercial hock boots – and NONE of them stay on. Most don’t even make it overnight. They end up around her fetlocks or in the paddock someplace. The system cbg describes – a medicated cream or spray, plus a gauze pad over the sore, plus strips of Elastikon and/or duct tape to form the bandage – is what stays on. I will leave mine in place 2-3 days before changing.

I create my bandage by cutting strips of Elastikon – 6-10 inches – and then forming a top “base” and a bottom “base” above and below the hock joint. Doing the base in strips is easier than trying to wrestle Elastikon off the roll in a single piece. It also allows me to control the amount of pressure, so I am sure I am not getting the wrap too tight. Once these top and bottom anchor sections are in place, I form a criss-cross pattern over the hock sore, going from the top anchor section down to the bottom and back again. I tuck the ends of the criss-cross pieces under the base sections to help hold everything where I want it.

Star

[stressgirl37]

I had good success with Hock Shields.

[equiniphile]

https://www.statelinetack.com/item/h…IaAlOuEALw_wcB

I like the hock shields. My horse’s stall is very well bedded, but he lays down out in the pasture and gets sores from that. The only downside to these is that if you use them in the muddy season they get dirty fast and need to be washed frequently. They stay on well though.

[SLStar]

I HIGHLY recommend the Hock Shield Ultras.

I was in the same position as you…reoccurring hock sores because my horse likes to lay down in the most frozen part of the paddock he can find. If you search the board for suggestions on hock sores, I’ve tried them all.

I keep them on my horse 24/7 (except when riding or working with him), but I do check them at least once per day and brush off any dirt or mud. I’ve never had one come off on it’s own, and we have very snowy, frozen winters. If it gets too wet, I just switch it out for another pair to let the soggy ones dry.

My horse was right in between sizes, so I sized down. Was very happy I did, as the elastic stretches out a lot.

I’d keep a bandaid or piece of elasticon on the wound, under the boot, until it’s scabbed over, and then you should be good to just use the boot.

[Abbie.S]

@jonem004

Hock Shied Ultras actually stay on pretty darn well if they stay dry. I would still put a duck tape (I prefer gorilla tape) or elastacon patch over the sore, but the padding helps. I’m a little weirded out that your BO wouldn’t let you dump sand. It won’t hurt anything, and will definitely help if he uses the sand as his roll/rest spot. What was her idea to help your horse? Just wait until the bone is showing?

Yes, I was a bit perplexed (and TBH irritated) as well, but at the end of the day this is a seasonal issue and not a hill I felt like dying on.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I just ordered a pair of Hock Shield Ultras. Elasticon bandage wouldn’t stick in this cold so I have to bring it home to warm it up and pull it out right before I tape him up.

[endlessclimb]

I don’t make a bandage for the sore area, I just carefully smear a little corona on it so the tape can’t stick. Stick square piece of tape right on the hock. I call it a poor man’s hock shield.

[cnd8]

My guy gets them from time to time. Like yours, he stays in the pasture and loves his daily roll! I have had good luck with applying Neosporin a few days in a row.

[LadyB]

@cbg

Instead of hock boots, I make a duct tape or elastikon patch. The tricks seem to be:

1. Putting a little piece of gauze in the center of the tape, over the actual rub, to keep the tape from sticking to it.
2. Making the hair tacky so the tape will stick. If the tape is warm it helps. And I’ve also painted liquid bandage on the hair itself because it helps the tape stick.
3. Figuring out exactly what shape and how big to cut the tape so it covers the hock rub and has enough hair to adhere to.

The first couple of days the tape may or may not stay on overnight. But as the hair gets stickier the tape will stay on longer and longer.

Can you ride with this? Or do you take it off? I’ve been battling hock sores for years now I constantly am putting on Vitamin E.