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  Discussion on Icing the hoof/homemade ideas.
Author Message
Member:
Jojo15

Posted on Friday, Jul 21, 2006 - 12:10 pm:

How does one put an ice pack on the hoof? on the coronet or on the bottom of hoof. should have made the vet do one for me. Any how, after a frustrating morning trying to get the horse to stand and me alone, trying to wrap some ice packs around the hoof, all i did was frustrate me and get the horse riled up. and melt the ice. I don't have money to go out and spend oodles on cold boots and such.

Any ideas using everyday supplies?

I ended up putting her foot in an ice bath. But that only lasted seconds at a time, for 5 minutes on each foot. Not nearly enough as it should be...and only after i read that its not a good idea to do this, am i now wondering what to do for round two.

any help would be apreciated.
Member:
Aannk

Posted on Friday, Jul 21, 2006 - 12:23 pm:

jojo,
In the past I have used a plastic grocery bag full of ice, put the foot in the bag, and tape it to the pastern with duct tape. As it melts, it softens the tape making it pretty easy to come off by the time the ice melts.
Alicia
Member:
Mrose

Posted on Friday, Jul 21, 2006 - 12:58 pm:

I've had good luck with an ice bath that I keep adding ice to. As long as this horse was eating, he was happy to stand with his foot in a bucket of ice. The grocery bag idea sounds like a good one. I think I'd double or triple the bags to make it stronger.
Member:
Canter

Posted on Friday, Jul 21, 2006 - 12:59 pm:

jojo,
I've soaked a padded cotton wrap in water and then put it in the freezer. Once it's frozen, you can bend/fold it to fit around the part that needs icing and then secure with vet wrap, polo wraps or duct tape. I've never had to do this for the bottom of the hoof so I'm not sure how well it will work and you may have to get a bit creative, but it may be worth a try.

Oh, freeze a couple of them at a time so when the first one warms up, you have another ready to go.
Member:
Dres

Posted on Friday, Jul 21, 2006 - 2:15 pm:

Its been mentioned before .. use an old large truck tire inner tube..

On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with spots..
Member:
Paul303

Posted on Friday, Jul 21, 2006 - 2:39 pm:

If it's not for the bottom, which I've never done, I put a bag of frozen peas in a large zip lock plastic bag, and duct tape it on. This molds to fit almost any area.

Errr.....I re-use my bags of peas. I mark them clearly so that they don't get eaten.
Member:
Jojo15

Posted on Friday, Jul 21, 2006 - 4:55 pm:

cool thanks guys... i called the vet. said the same about the peas.. ha.. and i soaked some towels in water and they are freezing now... and the vet said an old tube sock could help.

amazing how stupid you get when you worry...

I had to call to confirm placement. And told them of my disastrous morning. Its fine to put around the pastern not needed to put on sole underneath. So that helped clear THAT up...grin...
Member:
Tuckern

Posted on Friday, Jul 21, 2006 - 5:00 pm:

What happened to your horse, jojo?

I know exactly about that stupidity when worried thing, been there, done that. :0)

Nicole
Member:
Jojo15

Posted on Friday, Jul 21, 2006 - 5:50 pm:

We got into some chicken feed. that went rancid in the garbage.Damn pig scooted the garbage can to within her reach. she knocked it over and they feasted. Pig i can deal with. Horse is 24. And although she always ignores food that smells off. I can't imagine her eating much of it, but i can't be too sure. i caught her within 2-4hours of it happening. But vet said it could take up to four days to present problems. Had the vet out to tube the stuff out. and oil. But now i'm a bit worried of secondary problems like laminitis. I didn't even think about that issue, vet did. And told me keep her stalled for the next 4 days and ice her feet as much as i can.

She shows no signs of illness whatsoever. So keep your fingers crossed.
Member:
Vickiann

Posted on Friday, Jul 21, 2006 - 8:39 pm:

Some chicken feed has ingredients that are very toxic to horses. Good to keep chicken feed far away from any other animal getting into it.
Member:
Paul303

Posted on Saturday, Jul 22, 2006 - 2:10 am:

Much luck, jojo!
Member:
Djws

Posted on Saturday, Jul 22, 2006 - 2:43 pm:

JoJo-

Just pretend that your mare is at the spa getting a pedicure for the next four days (positive vibes to the mare)! I don't know if it's hot there, but my horse would probably like the cold foot treatment because it's miserable here! Think good thoughts, nix the negative ones. I definitely have my fingers crossed for you. How lucky you were to discover the "feast" in relatively short time.

Why is chicken feed toxic to a horse?
Member:
Vickiann

Posted on Saturday, Jul 22, 2006 - 4:38 pm:

Because of the supplement Monensin (also called Coban or Rumensin), which is common in chicken feeds and cattle feeds. Only 1 - 2 mg of Monensin is reportedly a lethal dose for a horse.
Member:
Jojo15

Posted on Saturday, Jul 22, 2006 - 6:17 pm:

Medicated chicken feeds are the easiest way to keep chickens wormed, treat coccidosis, and beef them up as quickly as possible. which isn't my goal, just pets. and mabye a few eggs. I knew not to buy the medicated feeds, just a ground corn, and mash.

BUT, i threw out some of it knowing i didn't need a 50lb bag. it would go bad so i tossed. Not thinking and not putting at the edge of the property soon enough. So the the corn can cause a kind of toxoplasmosis? (not sure if that is the correct term) and that is toxin that once in the gut causes toxemia. The best case scenario is just a small colic. Worst is what happened with those 28 horses in texas. so it can be really serious. And i'm glad i called the vet when i did. I really just called him to ask what an activated charcoal dose would be for my horse. And how much banamine i needed to dose, since i had both on hand. BUT then we started chatting and he sufficiently scared me....This isn't something to fool with. I couldn't tell him HOW MUCH she might have gotten into. If i knew the amount, he would have probably not had to come out for less than a quart of it. But since i couldn't tell him, i opted for the lets be safe... (so this all could be just an exercise, i hope)...

All is still well. I'm at the halfway point of being in the clear. No hot feet. no temp and she is MAD. and keeps kicking the ice off. i haven't had her stalled this much in years. She is on Banamine twice a day and just hay...
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Jul 23, 2006 - 6:35 pm:

Since you say we don't have to worry about additives the question does become how many pounds of corn did the horse eat? We have articles that explain what dangerous levels are, how grain overloads can hurt horses, and gives important management tips for prevention, see Diseases of Horses » Colic and GI Diseases » Colic in Horses » Grain Overload in Horses.
DrO
Member:
Jojo15

Posted on Monday, Jul 24, 2006 - 9:52 am:

Today is day 4. I think she's in the clear. I let her out this morning. raging lunatic... 4 days stalled. no heat in feet... gums ok. eating hay, and drinking... no temp. The article was exactly what my vet did btw...

curious though what is the difference between a drench and tubing? and the oil doesn't stop the process of fermentation just slows it down, so they manure it out before it takes hold is this the idea? would activated charcoal stop the process of fermentation?
Member:
Vickiann

Posted on Monday, Jul 24, 2006 - 8:47 pm:

Drench is making the horse raise the head and then trying to dump it down their throats expecting them to swallow it. The trouble with doing that with mineral oil is that mineral oil is colorless, odorless and has no flavor. That makes it a substance that can more easily be aspirated into the lung, causing a life-threatening pneumonia. That is why health care professionals should tube the horse to get mineral oil into the stomach. Dr. O will have to answer about the activated charcoal, but it is often used to remove toxins from the system.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Jul 25, 2006 - 8:26 am:

Good news jojo. I believe in mineral oil because I have found it very effective in preventing disease when it should have occurred given the amount of grain ingested. I am less certain about the activated charcoal. There is a theory but no hard evidence of efficacy.
DrO
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