Post Hunt Care Question

[rennyben]

Hi all,

Years (and years) ago I would do an Absorbine Liniment rub on legs and a body brace wash, and pack hooves with Forshners after a tough XC school or competition. I was going to do the same post hunting next season. But since there are so many new products I’m not familiar with I thought I’d ask…

Is the Sore No More better? Is another method better? Would poultice be better? Because the horse is on pasture board he would only be able to wear stable bandages for 2 hours after hunting so I’m not sure poultice is doable.

The horse has hunted for 9 years, but I’m new. He’s not rock-hard fit and we’ll only be able to get out about 6 times this season. I want to do right by him for looking after my butt on hunt days.

TIA!

[2ndyrgal]

I think that sounds like a great post hunt regime

Made me feel a little old though. If I had a nickel for ever hoof I’ve packed with that stuff.

It was always great with straw in the stalls.

Congrats on getting a good one.

[Lifting_Chickk]

I usually dissolve some Cool Pack Green Jelly in the cold water I bring with me to the hunts. I sponge this over her body and legs after a good run.

Helps cut the sweat and grime and leaves her cool and refreshed.

It’s not as drying as the Absorbine Liniment and Vetrolin blistered my mare two years ago, so I stay away from it.

I don’t boot for hunting (she hates boots and they just trap too much mud when the going is mucky) and don’t wrap after. Just the Green Jelly rinse and a chill chaser if it’s cool, a fly scrim if it’s hot.

She’s starting her 5th season and this after-care has been sufficient to keep her happy and refreshed after the hunts.

Good luck with your new mount!

[Bogie]

I usually mix a bit of vetrolin in the wash water that I bring to the hunt.

If the ground is very hard, I might pack my horse’s hooves with Magic Cushion.

Other than that, I just turn my horse out. He lives out 24/7 with access to shelter and I think the ability to move around more keeps him feeling good.

ETA: I forgot that this year I started giving him Previcox two days before a hunt. Especially in the beginning of the season I worry about him getting a bit sore but basically being too full of adrenalin to slow down. My vet suggested that Previcox was easier on the stomach than bute and it’s very easy to feed (1 small tablet in a treat for two days).

[2ndyrgal]

I like vetrolin

for almost everything after bath brace wise.

Still old school, I love Absorbine.

I remember mixing up some kind of clay and vinagar hoof packing.

Too old.

[saaskya]

for our staff horses, they get vetrolin rinse after the bath, vetrolin or some other liniment spray on hind legs, poultice or bowie mud on front legs, and feet packed with epsom salt or epsom salt poultice. sometimes they dont really stay in (nerves, etc) long enough to be wrapped but still get poultice/bowie mud and get turned out in it. a friend recently was telling me its bad for their skin but ive never seen any reaction, and most are very sensitive.

i really like the sore no more poultice with arnica and all the nice herbs in it.

[Benson]

Mine raced for 10 years before he began his Hunting career. His ankles are huge and he has a dropped suspensory, but knock on wood has remained sound. He gets monthly Adequan IM along with the following treatment:

His post Hunt care varies depending on how hard he Hunts. I am a Whipper-in, so he can have some tough days. On easy days, he gets thrown out in the field to graze with just some Sore No More liniment on his back and legs. Later in the season when we tend to go harder, he gets a.m. bute, p.m. bute, papaya in his feed, poulticed knee to fetlock, wrapped and turned out.

He’s just ending his third season and I’m interested in hearing how folks who have older horses with some previous wear and tear keep their horses Hunting.

[JSwan]

I have a 20 year old who is still hunting. Draft cross.

Post hunt care:

Vetrolin rinse down.

Bute on a hard day.

Electrolytes after a hard day or when its very hot/humid out.

Front pads (both my guys are big horses and one tends towards bruising so I pad both)
I use studs instead of borium. The goal being to minimize stress on joints when he’s at liberty.

Pentosan IM as part of general maintenance.

Turnout. Turnout except in wretched weather or before a high holy day.

I have poulticed his legs after really tough days - I just wrap with butcher paper and turn out.

I tried Sore No More but all he wanted to do was lick it from my hand. He loved the taste and I could barely get any on him. So I went back to Vetrolin.

He seems to enjoy a good massage - not sure if it’s therapeutic or he just likes the attention.

Hoping he’s around for many more years… I adore him.

Oh - forgot to add that last year I injected his hocks. He’ll get it done again before the next season.

[2ndyrgal]

JSwan

Do you think studs are better all around? Do you take them out in off season?

I pull shoes in the off season, borium during hunt season.

If you leave them in, does your pasture suffer any more than just shoes?

[JSwan]

These are borium tipped screw in studs. I remove them after hunting and stick oiled cotton or a rubber plug in there to keep grit out.

It’s more work for my wretched back - so to make things easy I bought a hoof jack and use the cradle for the hoof. Then the trick is putting them in without getting dirt on your clothes. (hint, wear sweatpants or surgical scrubs over attire)

Vet suggested it, and I agreed, as the horse is older and we wanted to mitigate stress on him to the extent possible. If someone has a different suggestion I’d be glad to consider it.

The horse is working soundly and is enthusiastic so I’m pleased. His hocks do get sore - the hock injection (lower joints) turned back the clock. A little too much. He was a real pistol last season.

I wouldn’t want to see his radiographs though. I’d probably faint. No doubt he’s got all kinds of things wrong with him - but he’s forward, willing, his expression is soft and kind, he certainly has plenty of energy… so I’ll count my blessings.

[2ndyrgal]

Thank you for the explanation

I’ll stick with borium for now.

I know what you mean about radiographs. I see mine and start thinking “when did I do that?”

[rennyben]

Bute is a good idea too! Thank you for the input. As the horse budget grows I might be able to add in the injections, etc… He is 15 now and going strong. I want to keep him that way.

[gothedistance]

Be careful with the bute! Make sure the horse is fully hydrated before you use it - and most horses after a hard day of hunting are often borderline dehydrated - or it can cause more harm than good. It is hard on the stomach, too. You should really only use it when it is really needed.

If you want to do something good for your guy, start giving him Flex Free Sodium Hylaruonate on a daily basis. That stuff is INCREDIBLE for tuning a stiff horse limber and flexible. Personally, I don’t like injections - they tend to bring their own problems, being invasive to the joint fluid capsules. Oral supplements DO work if they are given slowly so that they are absorbed through the mouth tissues, not in the feed or in a glob that the horse has to swallow into the stomach where the HA does zero good.

I do love Sore No More - early on in my endurance career some of my endurance buddies were using it and urged me to get some. I used it for years after every endurance ride. Seemed to make my guy less stiff (actually a hell of a lot less stiffer than me!) the day after a 50 and especially the day after a 100. I finally learned to use it on myself - boy, did it make a positive difference! No more hobbling around like a little old lady the next day - I could actually walk normally.

My guy is 22, and besides hunting for the past 8 years (whipping in for about 3), he has 11 years of endurance riding under his belt as well. Lotta miles on those legs.

[Flagstaff_Foxhunter]

Some really good thoughts for the coming season! Good to see some activity over here on the Hunting board. It was looking like everyone was out on grass for the summer.

[Bogie]

@gothedistance;6302058

Be careful with the bute! Make sure the horse is fully hydrated before you use it - and most horses after a hard day of hunting are often borderline dehydrated - or it can cause more harm than good. It is hard on the stomach, too. You should really only use it when it is really needed.

My vet recommended Previcox for that reason.

[wateryglen]

JMHO!!

I’m in the “less is more” camp. I think good nutrition/fluids and added electrolytes AFTER hunting is the best thing. They recover from inside out. And immediate turnout so they don’t get stiff, can roll to their hearts content, rejoin the herd, graze & relax/unwind is most important. Lotsa fiber & water.

Forgive me but…all that leg care seems…unnecessary…UNLESS there’s heat/filling/lameness etc. I don’t see it as preventative at all but really just a way for the owner to feel better. :yes: Maybe it works off the guilt they might have for how hard they rode today. :winkgrin: Bandages might hide problems, create problems etc. I always giggle at eventers who do a course of maybe a mile or 2 then bandage the heck outa the horse and do the leg care. If there’s a tendon problem cooking then the leg care can mask it. I wanna SEE the swelling that warns me. I wanna FEEL the heat etc. So nope, no leg care for me…just check/feel/watch. If they are that fragile; then they shouldn’t be hunting.
I think a good washdown is good. Maybe a brace (mostly to cut sweat) but the rubbing has got to be good for them. I don’t get the hoof packing/poulticing when there isn’t any problem.
Maybe a lot of horsecare is just traditions that don’t have much medical basis.

[jawa]

Wateryglen, where’s the like button when you need it.

[FitToBeTied]

For mine, I pull studs out at the meet when we are done hunting. They get a bath unless the weather is really cold with some liniment mixed in. When we get home I check legs for any dings or injuries, do some cold hosing and then make sure they get several hours out in the field. If it has been a tough hunt then they will get some bute or robaxin mixed in with their dinner that night.

I think the eventers over do with boots and legs. I took one of my fox hunters out to an event. He ran novice with naked legs and some people were appalled.

[Beverley]

I do like the Sore No More, been using it for a little over a year. And it works great on humans, too.

Post-hunting, mostly it’s just a good old fashioned elbow grease grooming to get the sweat and mud off, especially on a cold day. If a warm to hot day, sure, I will sponge off with water and add Vetrolin or Absorbine to that. On a rare occasion where I might see some filling on a leg, I would apply Sore No More (or the good ol’ Green Jelly, I do still like and use that stuff, too).

If I’m going to use bute at all, it would be beforehand for an older, high mileage horse that I know can use the help to be comfortable. After the hunt, in my experience, what they mostly want is turnout, a good roll, and moving about and eating good hay/ drinking at will. I don’t want to use anything that might mask a problem that developed during that day’s hunt- if there is something obvious, of course I’ll address it, but in my experience, absent an immediately apparent issue, better to wait and evaluate the next day.

So far this has all worked well including for horses that have hunted up to 20 seasons and up to age 28.

I am too lazy to use studs…if I were hunting regularly would still use borium and in that regard, what I do use now is the tap-in and stay in pins with the borium tips- which I use during the summer ‘Pony Express’ season when between that event and parades I know I’ll be on pavement a lot.

[otterhound]

I’m with wateryglen here - less is best. Our horses are huntsman’s horses, and after each hunt all they get is a wash down with water - cold at the beginning of the season while the weather is still very warm, and warm water as the temperature goes down (like now!). I give them Recharge (electrolyte replacement) straight after the hunt while they’re still tied to the truck, along with water with a little molasses added to encourage drinking. They also have a haynet with half hay, half lucerne (alfalfa) baleage. We don’t use any liniment type products at all. When we get home the horses are given a small feed then put straight into the paddock. They live out 24/7 and are happiest having a roll and a good feed of grass. =) We never wrap legs, except for trucking boots while in transport.