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HORSE BOOTS & BANDAGES
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BELL BOOTS MY WARMBLOOD GELDING IS ALWAYS PULLING OFF FRONT SHOES WITH HIS HIND FEET. WHAT KIND OF BELL BOOTS ARE THE BEST AT PREVENTING THIS? Hate to tell you, but in my opinion, they don’t do much good. Think about it - if the bell boots are long enough to cover the shoe, the horse is liable to step on them and rip them off. (I’ve seen an event horse step on a rubber bell boot and flip over). They are really intended to protect the coronary band and the heels of the foot, rather than the shoe, and if your horse overtracks that much they’re probably a good idea for those reasons. Standardbred racehorses sometime wear a rubber "grab boot" - a rubber ring which stretches over the heels of the shoe and across the front of the foot, but I don’t know how effective they are. I would remove the back shoes if possible, but otherwise your farrier can try shortening the hind toes and set a square-toed shoe back from the front of the foot. If your horse is green and/or unfit, you may find this problem will resolve itself with conditioning and maturity. STABLE BANDAGES HOW SHOULD STABLE BANDAGES BE APPLIED AND WHAT IS THEIR PURPOSE? Stable, or standing bandages, may be left on a horse in the stall for many reasons, including to prevent the legs from 'filling', or swelling, after hard work; to provide warmth (and therefore improve circulation), which can benefit arthritic joints; to support and stabilize injured structures in the leg; to protect a wound from flies, dirt, or the horse himself; and to hold medications in place, for example, poultices which help draw heat and soreness from legs. Properly-applied stable bandages cover from just below the knee or hock to just below the fetlock joint - the horse should be able to bend his joints to lie down comfortably when wearing them. Bandages should always be put on in pairs (both front legs or both hind legs, even if you are treating an injury on only one leg). The horse is likely to put more weight on the uninjured leg, so it makes sense to support it as well. The keys to good bandaging include using the appropriate (clean) wraps (under layer) and bandages (to hold the wrap on). A medium-thick wrap of the correct length (a 16 h horse would likely need 14" wraps in front and 16" behind) with a bit of stretch to it is ideal. I prefer to use 'no-bows', a flannel-covered wrap with a foam core, as they have a little bit of stretch that makes it easy to wrap them so they are smooth against the leg without any wrinkles. Big, fat pillow wraps are great, particularly for shipping when more protection is required, but they require a lot more skill to apply correctly without wrinkles and without slipping. I never recommend cotton quilts as they are difficult to put on without any bunching or wrinkling, and because they are so thin, any uneven pressure of the bandage can be transmitted to the leg. The bandage itself can be a 'track' bandage which is usually 4" wide and 9' long in a cotton knit, or a nylon 'standing' bandage, which is 6" wide and 9' (or 12') long. Polo bandages tend to collect too many shavings and may be too stretchy; the old flannel bandages still work very well with pillow wraps, but do not stretch and are unsuitable with thinner wraps. The legs should be clean and dry. It will be easier to bandage if the wraps and bandages are rolled up tightly before you begin. Make sure any liniments or braces you apply are safe for use under bandages - some may get too hot and blister the leg. Lay the edge of the wrap on the inside of the leg and pull it smoothly and firmly around the leg so it lies flat against the leg. The general rule is to wrap counter-clockwise on the left leg and clockwise on the right so the pull is across the front of the cannon rather than across the tendons, but I have always felt that a properly-applied bandage should put even pressure around the entire leg, so I ignore that! Once the wrap is smooth and firm, tuck the edge of the bandage inside the edge of the wrap about 2/3 of the way up the leg, and, keeping the bandage close to the leg and keeping an even tension on it, wrap down the leg overlapping the bandage by about 3/4" each turn until you are about 1/2" from the bottom of the wrap, then go back up the leg the same way, fastening the bandage at the end. Once the bandage is fastened, I take the leg in both hands and try to gently rotate the bandage - the bandage should not slide around the leg. Then I gently try to slide the bandage up and down - it shouldn't ! If a reasonably thick wrap , and bandages that are not overly stretchy are used, chances are the bandage will not be so tight to do any harm. Damage may occur when the bandage is too loose and slips, when there is uneven bandage pressure over a thin wrap, or when there are wrinkles in the wrap. A well-applied wrap will not bother the horse and should still be in proper position in the morning. Practice makes perfect with bandaging, so put them on for short periods of time and see what happens before bandaging your horse for an entire night.
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