Hello, I'm Alex from Sense Equine and today I am going to be doing a second part to the poultice video that was shared yesterday. The way I am going to show you today, is the way that I have been shown. It is the way I have been advised. Things you will need: a pair of scissors, a nappy, duct tape or similar, a poultice dressing. So what I'm going to do is cut my duct tape into sections I'm going to do the strips with about... I dunno... about four or five strips and I'm gonna place them horizontally and then vertically across my leg.
I'm going to show you how to do this in a minute. The idea is that you're making, basically, a boot out of the tape itself, so when you put the poultice on the hoof, you then cover it with the vet wrap or the nappy and then we put this hoof boot that we've made out of the tape over the top. It's just a very quick and simple way of doing it. It means that if your horse wants to then put its foot down on the ground it can do so, it's nicely covered and it's going to keep all of the wetness and any dirt out of that dressing so I'm going to show you how to do that right now.
So, Duke is rearing to go! ...Well not literally... but he's ready to come out and get his dressing changed, so I'm going to bring him out now and show you how to do a poultice with a nappy! I have the poultice in one hand and the nappy ready in the other. I ask him to lift his leg up and rest it on my leg. I hold the foot by the toe if I need to. My poultice, I put shiny side up over the area. I get my nappy and open that up. I very much put it around the hoof, like a baby's bottom! I let him have a rest on my leg again.
The next thing I do is get the tape which is on my leg. I then put it on the base of the hoof and gently wrap it around. Then I gently allow him to put his foot down. So we've got the nappy around the foot, we then have to tape around the nappy. And finally...we wrap the tape around there. Duke's a little bit fidgety today, he's been in for the best part of a week, on box rest. His abscess wasn't the usual kind, which is unfortunate for my poor boy!
It was a suspected keratoma, although now we suspect it was an abscess which was slightly higher up in the hoof. So he's ready to go out in the field! I want to make sure there's a little gap behind here, so it's nice and comfortable for him when he moves his leg. I want to make sure that the tape is covering the whole of the nappy. The nappy is providing a nice bit of cushioning to the foot, it is also going to keep any bacteria and water out and off the poultice dressing. I'm allowing some space at the back here so my horse can move his foot and he can be comfortable - so we don't want that too tight. As you can see, it's not the most beautiful thing in the world! But it's going to be functional and it is going to do the job.
So there you have it! How to change a poultice with a nappy! Super simple, super easy. Don't worry too much about how it looks, the most important thing is that it's functional that it's going to keep your horse's hoof nice and dry and clean; we don't need it to look like perfectly wrapped presents! I am a horse trainer, not a vet, but this is how I have been shown, how I have been taught, how to do a poultice. It's especially useful to know that there are other items you can use; other normal household items that can help you change this dressing.
How to Poultice a Horse's Hoof with a Nappy or Diaper
I'm going to show you how to do this in a minute. The idea is that you're making, basically, a boot out of the tape itself, so when you put the poultice on the hoof, you then cover it with the vet wrap or the nappy and then we put this hoof boot that we've made out of the tape over the top. It's just a very quick and simple way of doing it. It means that if your horse wants to then put its foot down on the ground it can do so, it's nicely covered and it's going to keep all of the wetness and any dirt out of that dressing so I'm going to show you how to do that right now.
So, Duke is rearing to go! ...Well not literally... but he's ready to come out and get his dressing changed, so I'm going to bring him out now and show you how to do a poultice with a nappy! I have the poultice in one hand and the nappy ready in the other. I ask him to lift his leg up and rest it on my leg. I hold the foot by the toe if I need to. My poultice, I put shiny side up over the area. I get my nappy and open that up. I very much put it around the hoof, like a baby's bottom! I let him have a rest on my leg again.
The next thing I do is get the tape which is on my leg. I then put it on the base of the hoof and gently wrap it around. Then I gently allow him to put his foot down. So we've got the nappy around the foot, we then have to tape around the nappy. And finally...we wrap the tape around there. Duke's a little bit fidgety today, he's been in for the best part of a week, on box rest. His abscess wasn't the usual kind, which is unfortunate for my poor boy!
It was a suspected keratoma, although now we suspect it was an abscess which was slightly higher up in the hoof. So he's ready to go out in the field! I want to make sure there's a little gap behind here, so it's nice and comfortable for him when he moves his leg. I want to make sure that the tape is covering the whole of the nappy. The nappy is providing a nice bit of cushioning to the foot, it is also going to keep any bacteria and water out and off the poultice dressing. I'm allowing some space at the back here so my horse can move his foot and he can be comfortable - so we don't want that too tight. As you can see, it's not the most beautiful thing in the world! But it's going to be functional and it is going to do the job.
So there you have it! How to change a poultice with a nappy! Super simple, super easy. Don't worry too much about how it looks, the most important thing is that it's functional that it's going to keep your horse's hoof nice and dry and clean; we don't need it to look like perfectly wrapped presents! I am a horse trainer, not a vet, but this is how I have been shown, how I have been taught, how to do a poultice. It's especially useful to know that there are other items you can use; other normal household items that can help you change this dressing.
