Poultice without wrapping?

[SirGali]

There is a woman at my barn who goes through Sore No More poultice like crazy. She slabs it on her horse’s legs after she bathes him, hand grazes him or lets him relax in his stall for about an hour, and then wipes or hoses the poultice off. I was always taught that you poultice under standing wraps overnight if you are going to poultice at all. I’ve never poulticed my horse because I have always been under that impression. She also packs her horse’s hooves with the same stuff.

Is there any benefit to poulticing a horse short-term and without wrapping?

[dalpal]

sore no more poultice description…

An excellent topical application for sensitive skinned animals to cool and tighten before and after exercise, training or competition Silky smooth and creamy rich clay base.

Non-irritating drawing poultice
Easy on and off
Apply to legs or body to reduce heat, swelling, inflammation, and infection
Use as a cooling hoof packing
Great to use over WrapArounds for quick clean up, if it is too cold to hose or there is no water handy

I’m a big fan of their products…the arnica really does work.

[Wayside]

I poultice without wrapping, although I leave it on until I either brush it off before I ride the next day, ot it falls off on its own.

Not sure if it makes any real difference, but my mare seems to enjoy having it put on (she’s not much into being groomed). Makes me feel good to fuss over her. And I figure if nothing else, it at least provides a nice physical barrier against the insects :lol:

[baysngreys]

A vet told me years ago, it’s all the cold hosing to get the poutice OFF that does the horse good

[BigMick]

I’m just not sure how practical that would be as MY horse would surely rub his big head all over his legs and end up covered in the stuff. Who is this majickal horse that leaves it alone?? :lol:

[deltawave]

IF you believe that poultice actually does anything, via drying or “drawing heat” out of the leg (even though poultices heat up as they dry), then putting it on and letting it dry seems to be the most logical method, from a strictly chemical/thermodynamic viewpoint.

I doubt it does much for horses, although it does seem to make owners feel better.

[dwblover]

I love Sore No More poultice. I use it alone, no wrapping. I let it dry overnight though and either brush or hose it off before I ride the next day. I only use it after tough workouts or hunter paces though. It significantly reduces the size of my guy’s windpuffs. In only ends up on his tail which easily washes out.

[foundationmare]

Bays, I agree with your vet for the most part. I would thickly poultice after exertion or injury, but either leave open or wrap with paper toweling/feed bag, soaked and perhaps a standing wrap. The idea is to draw heat and let it dry. But, absolutely, hosing off every single bit of dried poultice gives the horse a good cold hose. And, for that, a really sticky poultice thwarts the lazy groom and benefits the horse!

Furthermore, not all poultices are alike. I also like Bigeloil (liquid or gel), but don’t bandage or you might blister. In any event, massage the product in so it doesn’t just sit on the surface but penetrates the skin. Same goes for poultice.

[Audrey79]

I use Sore No More poultice on my horse’s hind legs multiple times per week, sometimes I wrap and sometimes not. This stuff is amazing, it really reduces the size of his wind puffs and makes them nice and squishy. It depends on how much time I have left at the barn after riding if I wrap or leave on as is

[yellowbritches]

@deltawave;4974682

IF you believe that poultice actually does anything, via drying or “drawing heat” out of the leg (even though poultices heat up as they dry), then putting it on and letting it dry seems to be the most logical method, from a strictly chemical/thermodynamic viewpoint.

I doubt it does much for horses, although it does seem to make owners feel better.

DW- I used to be right along with you on this, but, I gotta say, using the Sore No More poultice on Vernon makes a remarkable difference (don’t know if it is just poultice in general or this particular one). I had been icing or cold hosing after cross country, then wrapping until he could go out. At some point in the last couple of months, Vernon was having some issue (I don’t even remember what it was now) and I had tried various things to make it better and nothing was really helping. I had some SNM poultice that I had won, so I slapped it on, set him up, and damn if his legs were not BEAUTIFUL the next morning. Cold and tight. Lovely. Not that he has ugly legs, but, now that I’ve done it a few times at events, I see a good bit of difference between just wrapping with maybe a little SNM gel underneath, and poulticing (both with icing or cold hosing first). I hate to poultice-it’s so messy- and I really always figured it was more for the human than the horse…but I see a difference with Vernon.

As for the OP. This seems like a pricey, messy thing to do. And, if the horse is sensitive enough, a good way to set their skin off (having a horse with very sensitive skin, I only poultice for events). However, I leave my horse set up with wraps until he can go out…usually after dinner in the evening. I’ll then pull off his wraps and paper and leave the poultice. Usually by morning he’s got it all over his face and a lot has flaked off, but it seems to still do a little something.

[nextyear]

I had a horse that was prone to bouts of lympingitis and besides meds Vet always said to put a open poultice on. Also the race barn we have a 2 yr old in ,more than half the horses in there are open poulticed after breezing.
I also like using the sore-no-more for open poultice and the ice tight if I am wrapping.

[Meadow36]

[QUOTE=Wayside;4973029]
I poultice without wrapping, although I leave it on until I either brush it off before I ride the next day, ot it falls off on its own.

Not sure if it makes any real difference, but my mare seems to enjoy having it put on (she’s not much into being groomed). Makes me feel good to fuss over her. And I figure if nothing else, it at least provides a nice physical barrier against the insects :lol:[/QUOTE]

Ditto - I use a cheap poultice to put on the legs prior to the big bug “swarm” in the evenings - works GREAT.

[SirGali]

Thanks for the advice! Since my boy does have windpuffs and gets worked pretty hard, I think i’ll give open poulticing a chance after hard work. I already cold hose him after every ride but we’ll see if this helps, too.

[mpsbarnmanager]

poultice for injury?

This thread got me thinking. My 17 yo TB mare recently strained her deep digital flexor tendon on her left back leg playing in the pasture. Even with proper meds, its still pretty swollen, even though it never made her lame. Would poulticing it help take down the swelling? Can I do it every day? I thought I would do it while she is stalled from 8 to 5 and see how she looks? Any
opinions?

[SirGali]

MPS, the traditional way to use poultice is under standing bandages in a stall. If your horse is sensitive read reviews of various poultices, as i’ve seen some horses have bad reactions and it not be noticed until the wraps are removed. It usually draws out heat and swelling pretty nicely.

Try to get someone at your barn to show you how to poultice with paper and wraps, as it can be kind of messy and tricky to figure it out on your own. They make poultice paper now and while some people still use feed bags the paper is so much easier.

[shakeytails]

Huh, I didn’t know you could poulice without wrapping. You learn something new every day. But then, I don’t use such stuff often- I have a tub of poultice in my tack room somewhere, but I think it’s like 15 years old and probably dried up…

[pintopiaffe]

Here’s my theory… (DW, you still there?)

You know how the taping is the new thing in sports & sports med? Remember the woman Volleyball Player in the last Olympics with the spidery tape on her shoulder?

What the Docs say it does, is pull the skin (lightly) with the surface fascia, which helps increase motion/flow/circulation etc.

I had it done to my knee when I wrecked it. Can’t honestly say it helped healing, but it DID feel good when it was first done, and the ache was lessened.

So, as a poultice dries, especially with hair stuck in the clay, it does the same thing. It ‘pulls.’

So while it may not ‘cool’ all that effectively once the moisture is gone, it still may help.

I have used plain clay poultice on bad sunburn and windburn, and LOVE it. When nothing else works, the Miracle Clay cools immediately, and even when it is dry, the result seems to last.

This is my theory only. Not a STITCH of science to back me up.

[cripplecreekfrm]

I work for a big racing stable when the track is open here for Harness racing and EVERY horse they have gets their legs polticed with sore no more with no wraps and they get their feet packed with it after every race. The trainer swears by it and he seems to have less horses with major leg problems than others I have worked for so I guess it works. I use it on my guys but I only have one that has any leg problems as he is a retired STB racehorse and it seems to help him.

[IterAndEra]

The swelling is already way down today if present at all. He’s out in the paddock stomping flies so hard to check completely but definitely almost gone. I’m thinking windpuff exacerbated by heat and stomping. My vet will call me back later today

[My3Sons]

I’m a HUGE poultice fan! Does wonders