Leg care for the horse that won't wear wraps

[adult_ammy]

I am looking for some advice. I normally wrap my horses after a show day or a big jump school, with standing bandages and cottons (and poultice, blue lotion etc.)

However, I recently leased a horse who is not a big fan of wraps. She is fine with shipping boots in the trailer, jump boots/polos while being ridden, but I was told she will kick and pull off wraps if they are left on for longer than an hour or so.

I’m looking for some alternatives to wrapping for her legs after shows (e.g cold hosing…)

Thank you in advance!

[KateKat]

What about the BOT quick wraps?

[woodhillsmanhattan]

Depends on what level you compete and now much your horse needs…but if they don’t tolerate wraps and they jump pretty big I usually go with a good 30 minute long rein walk after riding, hose off, liniment rinse with warm water, ice all around for 15 minutes while grooming or drying in cross ties (I just polo wrap some homemade 50:50 water alcohol ice bags on each leg. Hocks if needed), you can slab some poultice on without wraps or rub down legs with liniment if it makes you feel better, 1 hour hand graze, 1 gram of NSAID in evening if needed. The following morning I take them out for a 30min-1hr hand walk after breakfast. Granted all this walking is time consuming and only works if you only have 1-3 to take care of unfortunately :lol:

[Jsalem]

I hear ya! I’ve got several of these- very successful show hunters that Will Not wear bandages.
Ice- your best friend.
Clay poultice. Put it on there and leave it over night.

One horse (ribbons at Devon, leading the country for awhile in the Jr Hunters) ships in open front boots, nothing behind. How embarrassing. Whatever…

[BostonHJ]

My horse will take off standing wraps in very short order and duct tape is no match. Lots of hand walking after jumping (or turn out if possible) and if a heavy workload, ice followed by poultice. I got the Ice Vibe boots and I’m not sure they are any better than regular ice boots but they ended up costing me the same, so why not? If your budget is open, my horse LOVED the Game Ready when we tried it.

[adult_ammy]

Thank you for all the advice!

I tried the BOT quick wraps the other day and they didn’t go over well

She is an 8 year old showing in the 3’0" hunters, and we keep our show schedule pretty relaxed, so she isn’t pushed too hard.

The cold-hosing, liniment rinse, and icing all sound great! She typically gets lots of turnout even during shows as we mostly ship in to shows locally. When she can’t get the turnout she definitely will be getting lots of hand walks as she’s not a big fan of standing around in a stall!

I’ve never used clay poultice without wraps, do I just put it on like I would when wrapping just with nothing over top? Sounds messy, but I guess her well being is more important :lol:

[poltroon]

Cold hosing and ice are good therapies. It can be hard to get the ‘cold hosing’ cold enough, so the ice boots are probably more practical unless your water is naturally quite cold and you are able to use lots of it.

The sad secret truth is that the wraps probably have little to no therapeutic benefit anyway. So if the horse doesn’t tolerate them, don’t argue with her about it.

[norcalammie]

My horse will only tolerate wraps at a show - at home if he needs something it is cold hosing and clay poultice. Have several other people try the clay poultice and works great to remove a little heat. Easy to hose off in the morning.

[ElisLove]

My horse has never been a huge fan of wraps, but especially now as he is an outside horse so is rarely wrapped. Before he would kick at them if I didn’t wrap his hind legs high enough, but now he always bites them off, including the back ones.
I have pretty much decided that he’s fine not being wrapped much at shows. I might do BOT for a couple hours after his classes but will leave him bare overnight.
HOWEVER, at our last show, he got kicked on the trailer on the ride down and had some slight swelling in his leg so I wanted to wrap the leg for that. I ended up stealing my trainer’s Bitter Apple Spray she had for her dogs and sprayed in on his wraps. He didn’t touch them the entire show (which was a 7 day long show). I still always made sure to wrap his hind legs higher than ‘normal’, but he didn’t bother them.
He will still likely go naked at shows for the most part, however it’s good to know I have that option in the case of injury or such.

[Ridesrealfast]

A couple of tips…if you poultice and leave open (no bandages) then braid her tail skirt to keep it clean overnight. My regime for legs (bandages or not) cold hose or ice but also soap wash those legs with a warm water rinse and then finish up with cold for as long as possible. Dry and towel dry, liniment massage always hair smoothed downward or poultice with damp paper towel and pillow wraps or no bows. And an easy deterrent for wrap chewers; cheap perfume

[asterix]

An eventer’s on-the-cheap ice boots: I stuff his shipping boots with ice for the ride home from offsite schools and competitions. I rarely stable over si by the time we get home, legs are cool and tight. Mine live out so between the ride home and going out they are usually just fine.
You could try shipping boots with ice even if you aren’t shipping if he will tolerate shipping boots.

[adult_ammy]

Thank you for all the awesome advice! I`ll definitely braid her tail up, and its a good idea to have some anti-chewing spray on hand in case of an emergency It seems like ice and cold-hosing will be our best friends

[yellowbritches]

Honestly, a 3’ hunter probably isn’t putting enough strain on their legs to warrant too much after care unless there is an old issue. My eventers didn’t typically see ice or bandages until prelim (3’7", with galloping), and even then they only got wrapped if they were stuck in a stall over night.

In this horse’s case, I would be sure she got plenty of hand walking before putting her to bed at a show and again first thing in the morning, or even a hack around the show grounds. Ice or cold hose never hurts, though probably isn’t totally necessary at this level of work. And, the very best thing you can do for ANY of them, if it’s an option, is turn them out. Movement is what keeps them loose and limber and pain free. Not always an option, which is why lots of hand walking and lazy hacks will help.

Fwiw, poultice and liniments do basically nothing except make us feel good. Poultice makes legs feel tight, but they just tighten up the skin. Liniment might feel good, and I do occasionally use it, but it doesn’t have any big benefit. Wraps are ok for those that stock up over night, but, again, movement is best. steps off soap box

[devvie]

Related icing question, horses .vs humans, that’s bothered me for a time: why is it OK to put ice directly against skin for horses, but a total no-no for humans?

[masquerade]

[QUOTE=devvie;8104482]
Related icing question, horses .vs humans, that’s bothered me for a time: why is it OK to put ice directly against skin for horses, but a total no-no for humans?[/QUOTE]

Horses have hair between the skin and ice

[lindsay.anne]

I also wonder how he would react to the BOT Quick Wraps. Although they’re not cheap if he’s going to ruin them to attempt to get them off. Worth a shot though!

Ice and cold hosing you can never go wrong with. Poultice doesnt HAVE to be wrapped, same with just rubbing down with liniment or rubbing alcohol.

Good luck!

[SimonandGus]

https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/rap-last-5066

This does contain Capsaicin which is a prohibited substance, but if you have an injury and have to wrap, this stuff is like super powered bitter spray for horses.

[devvie]

Here’s how some keep bandages on at the racetrack: a thick paste of cayenne and water brushed onto bandages with a small paint brush. Means a lot of laundry as of course you can only use wraps once, but it sure does work.

[NancyM]

[QUOTE=devvie;8104858]
Here’s how some keep bandages on at the racetrack: a thick paste of cayenne and water brushed onto bandages with a small paint brush. Means a lot of laundry as of course you can only use wraps once, but it sure does work.[/QUOTE]

THis works. However, the mixture is cayenne, water AND a squirt of soap. The soap makes it go on smooth, and stick better. You can use the bandages multiple times and the cayenne will stay on, and can be spruced up every time. Works especially well if you use the same bandage on the same leg each time (wraps on the same way, leaves the cayenne on the outer parts).

However, I agree with Yellowbritches and Poltroon, the bandaging is usually done to satisfy the human, does little for the horse. IF your horse has sustained an injury during his performance, bandaging may compress the swelling, and make it look better than it is, fooling you into thinking he is OK to continue the next day, thus making the injury worse. If the horse has a fresh injury, it is best to FIND it the next day, don’t blindfold yourself and think everything is OK when it is not. 3’ hunters should be OK without bandaging, unless there is some specific reason as to why bandaging is necessary (a cut or abrasion that needs dressing and or kept clean).

[hunterrider23]

Just poultice and pack hooves. No need to bandage. The poultice should keep his legs tight. Or if you have a 8am class, and no time to wash off poultice, just liniment should be good too. Honestly my horse does stock up without turnout, even though he’s younger and only doing the 3’, and I wrap at night with sore no more. I don’t think skipping the wraps would make much of a difference however, and I’ve definitely forgotten to wrap before. I find the hoof packing does make a difference though, and my horse is definitely less foot sore on all the concrete.