# Home made poultice for foot abscesses?



## spottydottypony (14 December 2011)

Does anyone know of any recipes for home made hoof abscess poultices. I am running out of money buying the vet wrap and animal lintex ideas anyone ??


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## flyingfeet (14 December 2011)

Nappies are a good alternative


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## Lotty (14 December 2011)

Jen_Cots said:



			Nappies are a good alternative
		
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I use nappies and duck tape


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## spottydottypony (14 December 2011)

Yep that sound good do you know what ingredients i can make into a poultice to apply to the hoof? I have read kaolin, Bicarbonate of soda or witch hazel is good


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## elizabeth1 (14 December 2011)

I have made a paste of epsom salts and a little water painted over the hoof area affected and then wrapped it all up in a nappy and duct tape.It worked really well!


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## spottydottypony (14 December 2011)

That sound good i will try that one thanks


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## flintfootfilly (14 December 2011)

A quick easy way to apply the duck tape is to cut a strip of duck tape a couple of inches or so bigger than the hoof diameter, stick it on a wooden surface or your jodhs (somewhere that it can be peeled off from easily), and keep adding overlapping strips, probably four or five or so, until there is enough to cover the sole.

Then apply that on top of whatever you choose as a poultice (some people just use a nappy with hot water applied to it), and you only have to tape around the strips and up the sides of the hoof.

If you carry on using animalintex, I find it a little cheaper to use the rectangles of it rather than the hoof shaped ones.

Sarah


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## Maesfen (14 December 2011)

Very Heath Robinson Here!

If not using Animalintex then I use either very hot bran with Epsom salts or Kaolin.
The bran one is inside a carrier bag with a small bandage to keep in place, then the whole thing is put inside a corner of a sack with a stable bandage on top.
The kaolin one is smeared all over a piece of paper (preferably strong wrapping paper although greaseproof will do the job too) then the same bandages as before.
If the horse needs to go out, I will use an old plastic feed bag doubled over  and bandaged in place or duct tape if I have any.  Very rare to lose one in the field yet and once you get into the hang of doing them they don't take as long as I did to write this!


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## TBB (14 December 2011)

One of the top two vet hospitals here recommends Epsom salts and glycerene (spelling?). You make a paste of it and hold it in place with gamgee or nappies and grey tape, very cost effective compared with ready made ones and really 'draws' an abscess.


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## JCWHITE (14 December 2011)

Pearl barley and vinegar, is what my French blacksmith advised.
Me using a  New born size baby nappy was a new on on him though!!
Ditto grey tape and a plastic bag on top, which is what I will be using tomorrow.


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## ILuvCowparsely (14 December 2011)

In the old days we used to use  bran  so making a bran  poultice.
 or  you can use bread


 then there is nappies  and duck tape


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## KarynK (15 December 2011)

Have used brown bread before too, it is very effective and less hassle than bran, plus you can toast what you don't use and you can get it in hoof sized portions! Bit of cheap cotton wool from boots and some silage tape or even parcel tape and off you go!


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## Bess (15 December 2011)

I've used epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) both as a poultice and also for hot tubbing before applying the poultice.   You can get it from old fashioned gardening stores in a 5kg box for less than a little pot costs from the chemist.


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## Doncella (15 December 2011)

Maesfen said:



			Very Heath Robinson Here!

If not using Animalintex then I use either very hot bran with Epsom salts or Kaolin.
The bran one is inside a carrier bag with a small bandage to keep in place, then the whole thing is put inside a corner of a sack with a stable bandage on top.
The kaolin one is smeared all over a piece of paper (preferably strong wrapping paper although greaseproof will do the job too) then the same bandages as before.
If the horse needs to go out, I will use an old plastic feed bag doubled over  and bandaged in place or duct tape if I have any.  Very rare to lose one in the field yet and once you get into the hang of doing them they don't take as long as I did to write this!
		
Click to expand...

I was going to say this as well.


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