8 minute read
Your Healthy Horse
Learn how to properly wrap your horse’s legs with these expert guidelines.
By Eleanor M. Kellon, VMD
Leg wraps—such as polo wraps (shown)—can be useful, but improperly applied wraps can damage your horse’s legs. Learn leg-wrap basics with this expert guide.
PHOTO BY CLIXPHOTO.COM
One way to protect your horse’s legs in the trailer is by wrapping his legs. Leg wraps are also called for to protect and cover an injured area; provide warmth to stiff/ old tendons, ligaments, or fetlocks; and control acute-injury swelling and movement.
Leg wraps can be useful, but improperly applied wraps can damage your horse’s legs. The blood supply to the tendons in the back of his lower leg is compromised if the wrap is too tight, is applied with uneven pressure, or if it slips down and bunches up.
How much tension to use when
Step 1. When you bandage a leg, use an inner layer of cotton or fleece.
Step 2. Apply the inner layer so that it lies smoothly along the leg.
Step 3. Always start the wrap over bone, not the tendons.
Step 4. Each layer should overlap the one before by half the width of the bandage.
Step 5. Wrap down to cover the fetlock joint and then back up, ending on bone, not tendon. applying a wrap depends on the leg-wrap materials you choose. A properly applied bandage will stay in place without slipping and will lie snug against your horse’s skin, but not snug enough to indent it. You should be able to slide a fingertip between the bandage and your horse’s leg.
Here, I’ll first go over wrap materials and leg-wrap lingo. Then I’ll give you an overview of three common types of leg wraps: Stall wraps; shipping wraps; and wound/injury wraps.
Leg-Wrap Materials
Here’s a rundown of common leg-wrap materials. Cottons: Cottons are used for the inside layer of stable bandages, and sometimes work bandages. This term may refer to either disposable cotton sheets or reusable and washable wraps of cotton or synthetic materials. Quilts: Quilts are cottons with a quilt pattern. Pillow wraps: Pillow wraps are extra-thick cotton wraps. Fleeces: Fleeces are lamb’s wool wraps used in place of cottons.
Leg-Wrap Lingo
Here’s a rundown of useful leg-wrap lingo. Polo wraps: Polo wraps are typically made from fleece or nylon, and are 2 to 6 inches wide. These are used as the outer layer of a stall wrap or shipping wrap, or during exercise. Polo wraps are available in varying amounts of stretch. Stall/stable/standing wrap: Wraps your horse wears when in the barn. A regular stall wrap (also called a stable wrap or standing wrap) has an inner layer of cotton, fleece, or nylon and an outer bandage to hold that layer in place. Note: Most horsepeople use standing wrap synonymously with stable wrap, while others mean a wrap that comes down to cover the pastern and coronary band, like a shipping wrap (below). Stall/stable/standing bandage: This is the wrap’s outer layer. It may be made from no-stretch cotton, fleece, or nylon. Shipping wraps: Shipping wraps are those worn in the trailer. Shipping wraps should be long enough to cover the pastern, heel bulbs, and coronary band.
Stall Wraps
A regular stall wrap (also called a stable wrap or standing wrap) has an inner layer of cotton or fleece and an outer bandage to hold that in place. For full-size horses, the inner cottons are available in 12- and 14-inch lengths. The 12-inch cottons are for your horse’s front legs; his front-leg cannon bones are likely shorter than those of his hind legs. Look for an outer bandage that’s between 9 and 12 feet in length and 4 to 6 inches wide.
Here are three rules of thumb when bandaging: • Always start the wrap over bone, not the tendons. • Bring the wrap around the front of the cannon bone first. • End the wrap along the cannon bone. Stretchy materials are easier to work with than cotton-flannel bandages, >>
PHOTO BY HEIDI MELOCCO A shipping boot or wrap must cover your horse’s pastern, coronary band, and heel bulbs. The easiest route is to invest in one-piece shipping boots designed for trailering (shown).
but can also be pulled too tight. As a rule of thumb, never stretch to more than 1.5 times the resting length of the fabric, and never, ever stretch as tight as it can go. To get an idea of how much pull/force this requires, first unravel a 4- to 6-inch length of bandage, hold it in front of you and gradually stretch until it is 1.5 times the original length.
Before you begin, clean the leg where the bandage will lie. Brush the hair so that it is lying smoothly. Start at the cannon bone. If you’re right-handed, start the wrap on the left leg on the outside of the cannon bone, wrapping clockwise. On the right leg, start the wrap on the inside of the cannon bone, again going clockwise, to come across the front of the cannon bone first. If you’re left-handed, reverse this.
Apply the cotton so that it lies smoothly along the leg, with no wrinkles. While holding the cotton in place lightly with one hand, begin the outer bandage by tucking it under the end of the cotton for a short distance, then wrapping in the same direction, first down to cover the fetlock joint, then back up again to end at the top of the leg. Each layer should overlap the one before by about half the width of the bandage.
One of the trickiest things to learn is where to start the outer bandage so that you finish wrapping at the top of the leg without too much bandage left over, or not enough left. This will depend on bandage length (9 or 12 feet), the width (between 4 and 6 inches), and how much stretch it has, as well as how long your horse’s cannon bone is.
Experiment with bandaging materials to find out what works best. In general, the outer bandage is started anywhere from halfway up the cannon bone to just above the fetlock joint, worked down to take in the fetlock, then brought back up again.
Shipping Wraps
When your trailer your horse, sudden stops and sharp turns can throw him off balance. In the scramble to regain his balance, he could step on himself, usually along the lower leg or coronary band. This can result in serious injury. Shipping boots and wraps help protect his legs from such injuries.
A shipping boot or wrap must cover your horse’s pastern, coronary band, and heel bulb. The easiest route is to invest in one-piece shipping boots designed for trailering. These are easy to apply and are typically secured with a hook-andloop closure.
If you opt to wrap your horse’s legs for travel, 14-inch cottons and long polos are usually sufficient for horses with fairly short cannon bones. For longer cannon bones, you might need to go with regular stall wraps and a pair of bell boots or use shipping boots—or simply use shipping boots.
Wound/Injury Wrap
Whether it’s a pulled tendon, a wrenched ankle or a nasty wound, wrapping can improve your horse’s comfort by controlling swelling and, in the case of wounds, keeping the injuries clean.
Wrapping over a wound, whether sutured or open, can be tricky. You don’t want the cotton in direct contact with the wound, because of lint. It’s less of a problem with the disposable sheet cottons, but these can end up sticking to wound drainage.
Your best bet is to cover the wound with regular gauze sponges that have been lathered with plain petroleum jelly, a skin rejuvenator (such as Veterinus Derma Gel), or an antibiotic cream. (Don’t use Telfa dressing, as it won’t adhere well.) Smooth out the gauze so that all edges are well stuck to the skin before you begin wrapping.
When wrapping injured legs, be careful with pressure. Too much pressure is painful and can cause additional damage when combined with swelling. Wrap just tightly enough to ensure that the bandage doesn’t slip down. Check the wrap every few hours to make sure no swelling appears above or below the bandage. USR
Eleanor M. Kellon, VMD, is a staff veterinarian for Uckele Health and Nutrition, Inc., and is the owner of Equine Nutritional Solutions, a nutritional consulting firm.
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