Hey Trailblazers!
I want to share my post-ride poultice tutorial with you, because this is one of my favorite ways to keep my senior horse comfortable on the trail. Although poulticing is just one way that I help to keep my 24-year-old Morgan comfortable and sound on the trail, I think it’s a really important part of my whole senior-horse-comfort system!
Bamboozal spent a lot of years trotting the roads as a driving horse, and he occasionally has wind puffs that flare up. I’ve found Sore No More poultice to be the ABSOLUTE best thing at taking the heat and swelling out of puffy legs. Even if Bamboozal’s legs aren’t puffy or hot, I like to poultice after strenuous rides. I know the cooling clay and arnica just has to feel good after a long trail ride!
How to Poultice a Horse’s Legs
Poulticing a horse’s legs doesn’t have to be a complicated process. If you use Sore No-More, you don’t have to wrap the legs. First, you just have to make sure your horse’s legs are clean and free of any mud, dirt or debris. I always curry the legs really well and then use a stiff brush to get any remaining dirt off of the legs. Once the legs are clean and smooth, you can slather on the poultice. I apply the poultice from above the knees and hocks down to below the the fetlock, about midway down the pastern. To me, it’s most important to have the joints well slathered, so make sure you have the knees, hocks and fetlocks well covered. These are the areas that are likely to be most sore on an old horse too.
When to Poultice a Horse
A good poultice like Sore No-More can be a little pricey, so I don’t use it as an everyday product. I save it for camping and trail riding trips, where I know we will have long and strenuous rides. For my senior horse, I consider anything over five miles or with hills or sand to be strenuous for him, so that’s when I poultice. Different horses have different comfort zones and tolerance levels, and that may be a walk in the park for your horse, or maybe, you have a horse that a two mile walk/trot trail ride is a tough ride for. You know your horse best.
A poultice can also be used for a horse coming back from injury or that needs to recover for another upcoming ride. There is arnica in Sore No-More and other types of poultices, which is a banned substance for some organizations, so definitely check show rules if you plan on poulticing before a class or competition. In most cases, it’s perfectly okay to poultice at the end of a show or competition.
Without Wrapping Legs
With Sore No-More clay poultice, you don’t have to wrap the legs. This is critically important for me, because wrapping and unwrapping legs takes time, and I like to have my horse camping experience streamlined and efficient. For some types of poultice, you have to wrap to see the benefits, but not with this kind. The cooling clay and arnica in Sore No-More goes to work right away, so wrapping is completely unnecessary.
Sore No-More Poultice Ingredients
- Bentonite clay
- Extract of witch hazel bark and leaves
- Arnica
- Rosemary
- Lavender
- Lobelia
Benefits of Poulticing a Horse’s Legs
There are so many benefits to poulticing a horse’s legs. First of all, a poultice can help to reduce inflammation, soreness, swelling, heat and pain. Sore No-More poultice in particular is bentonite clay with a variety of extracts and herbs to help reduce inflammation and heat. I like Sore No-More in particular because it has arnica in it, which is well known for anti-inflammatory properties. Since some competition organizations actually ban arnica, I feel really good about it’s efficacy in reducing pain and inflammation! A lot of people use clay poultices for horses recovering from tendon and ligament injuries, so it’s not just for post-exercise recovery.
One of my favorite things about poulticing is that it gives you a really (literally) hands-on experience with your horse’s legs after a tough ride. Without poultice, you can feel your horse’s legs after a ride for any heat or swelling, and you might find some or you might not. When applying a clay poultice, it’s like you’re feeling your horse’s legs with a 10-times amplification. Any heat, puffiness, swelling, fluid, or bumps is SO EASY to detect. I don’t know why, but slathering the clay on by hand gives you a much more clear picture of what’s really going on with your horse’s legs. Try it after a ride, and you will be amazed at what you notice about your horse’s legs, that you had never noticed before.
Finally, poulticing is a great way to bond with and care for your horse after a long ride. I usually give a little bit of alfalfa hay or if my horse is tied up, give him a hay bag and let him just relax. He may have carried me up to 10 miles that day, and he’s tired and maybe even sore! He deserves to have a nice cooling clay slathered onto his tired legs. It only takes a few minutes, and he really seems to chill out during the process. Poulticing is kind of meditative for me too. There is something soothing and relaxing about applying a clay poultice to your horse’s legs after a tough day.
Can You Poultice a Hoof?
This type of poultice isn’t just for legs! I’ve used Sore No-More poultice on a horse’s hooves after getting trimmed too short, and it made a visible difference in the horse’s comfort level. My hoof poulticing method is to clean the hoof really well. Pick it out and use the hoof pick brush to get any additional dirt and debris out. Slather on the poultice and then wrap the hoof with a baby diaper and duct tape. It should stay on a good 12+ hours. A hoof poultice can also be used for tender footed horses, after a stone bruise or in cases of abscesses. Stay tuned for a hoof poulticing tutorial in the future!
Until next time,
Happy Trails!
P.S. go check out my Five Tips to Keep an Arthritic Horse Comfortable!