Goof-proof Hoofcare: “StayOns” Instant Hoof Poultice Wraps Simplify the Way You Wrap a Foot

This article is sponsored by Hamilton Biovet.

Here’s a product that is worth its weight in baby diapers.

If there was ever a contest that farriers, vet techs and veterinarians should run, it would be to see who has the fastest two hands in the world for making a duct tape bootie to attach over a hoof wrapped in a disposable baby diaper.

How many times have you wrapped a hoof in duct tape, only to have the horse walk right out of it as he stepped off the mats? It happens, even to the pros. Now you can use StayOns prepared quilted “instant poultice” wraps, available in multiple formulas from Hamilton Biovet in Massachusetts.

Some day, that may sound like an absurd idea, but we all know that there are people out there today who have perfected foot wrapping to an artform. We also know that there are people out there who get more poultice on themselves than on the hoof.

Every tack room in America seems to have some baby diapers stuffed in a cabinet, and they’re not for babies. We all have rolls of duct tape stashed around our barns, horse trailers and cars.

Poulticing is a messy job, but there’s always been a bit of a universal acceptance that foot wrapping was a skill that must be mastered.

But Hamilton Biovet launched a new product to the farrier market this summer that may take the “dread” out of “dreaded hoof abscess”. The product, called “StayOns”, is a quilted hoof wrap that contains “instant poultice”; you wet it, lay it over the hoof, and keep it on with a clever little foldable bootie.

That’s it: no duct tape, no diapers, no struggling, no mess, no cleanup chores. And it stays on because, unlike a diaper, it really is shaped to the horse’s foot. And the poultice mixture is pre-measured and pre-loaded; you just have to wet it and secure it over the hoof and secure it with a boot to hold it in place.

So just when you think there is nothing new under the sun, here’s a good old-fashioned clay and Epsom salt poultice. Or a bran and Epsom salt poultice. Or a plain Epsom salt poultice. Take your pick; the quilted booties come in three recipes.

The quilted pouches cover the enter foot, including the heel bulbs, where so many abscesses like to erupt, and all the way to the hairline, the other favorite eruption spot.

The best part of the StayOns may be when you take them off. There’s much less mess to clean! You can just hose it off.

There’s no question that traditional poulticing is a work-intensive endeavor, especially when it comes to the legs of sport and racehorses. You can make a mess twice, since the next morning, there’s a lot of post-poultice cleanup to be done, as well. (©Fran Jurga photo)

One of the things I especially like about this method of poulticing the foot is that the horse has to stand around for a shorter amount of time and that he has his feet handled for a much shorter time.

This is efficient time use for the groom or owner, but it is even better for the horse, especially if there’s a problem in more than one foot, such as road founder after a horse has gotten loose or stinging soles at the tracks.

Wrapping a horse’s foot is tough; wrapping a horse’s lifted foot when the weightbearing foot is painful is even tougher.

Many horse owners can go years between an abscess, puncture wound or foot problem that requires poulticing. They may forget how to do it, or not remember how much poultice to pack in the foot. Stayons take the guesswork out of the equation, since the poultice is pre-measured. They can see the poultice in the transparent quilts.

Everyone has a signature way of wrapping a foot up with duct tape. But would anyone be sorry to learn a new and cleaner way to do it? (© Fran Jurga photo)

There are hundreds of videos on YouTube that will show you how to soak and/or poultice a horse’s foot or leg. It’s an artform that we take for granted. Each groom or owner has his or her own way of doing it, and when they get good at it, they want to share how they figured it out.

The heyday of foot wrapping may have passed as people discover products that make it not just easier for caretakers, but safer for horses. A goof-proof product like StayOns insures that a horse’s foot gets treated and stays treated, until you take it off.

The StayOns hoof poultice wraps allow users to poultice the entire foot and heel bulbs as well as the bottom of the foot. The mess of the poultice stays in the moist quilted sacks. (Hamliton BioVet photo)

Reminders about hoof poulticing:

• Horse owners should always ask a veterinarian for advice before poulticing a foot for a condition that includes broken or irritated skin.
• A foot poultice may not be advised for some foot infections.
• Seek the advice of a veterinarian before applying poultice--or any medicated products--to young horses and pregnant or lactating mares.
• Never apply poultice to inflamed or irritated heel bulbs.
• Keep poultice stored in a safe, dry place that is out of the reach of dogs, cats and children.

About STAYONS and Hamilton Biovet: This product is made by the Better Bandage Company. Hamilton Biovet is the prime vendor for horse and farm owners, with exclusive rights in the farrier and farrier supply market in the USA. The poultice products may be ordered online from the Hamilton Biovet website. The cost is $13.99 for each pack of two wraps plus shipping. The coordinated fold-up booties are $14.99 each plus shipping. (These costs are current for September 1, 2013 and are subject to change without notice.) Check out the quilted leg poultice wraps, too! Email the company for more details.  "Like" Hamilton Biovet's Facebook page, too.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: The Hoof Blog (Hoofcare Publishing) received compensation for placement of this post. Hoofcare Publishing has no material connection to the brands, products, or services mentioned, other than products and services of Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Super Bowl Scoop: Hoof Boot Solves Budweiser Clydesdale Safety Concern

When you saw the new Budweiser Clydesdale commercial, was your first thought, "Why on earth would anyone ask a Clydesdale to canter on pavement?" Mine was. This actor was brave to stand in front of the horse as he approached. Notice the horse is barefoot. (photo courtesy of KC LaPierre)

You read it here first. But you're not going to read much. But here's something to talk about during half-time in the Super Bowl: the hoof connection to the Big Game. (You knew there'd be one!)

Midnite: Mini's Back on All Four Hooves Thanks to Prosthetic Boot

Midnite is a miniature horse at a rescue farm in North Texas; he has lived his whole life with a deformed hind foot that is missing its coffin bone, according to the Rescue.

Have you heard about Midnite? His story is all over the Internet and television news shows today. This young miniature horse was a law-enforcement rescue case who hopped into Ranch Hand Rescue in South Argyle, Texas on three legs. He couldn't put his left hind hoof down because...well, because it just wasn't there.

Midnite may have come to a safe, new home, but even as he gained weight and his overall health improved, he wasn't cheering up and that was a challenge. Almost as much of a challenge as simple movements like laying down, or getting back up. Scampering around with the other animals in the paddock wasn't an option. He won over the hearts of everyone at the rescue farm, especially director Bob Williams, and Bob decided to see if they couldn't do something to help the little guy.

The first attempt was using a donated Soft-Ride hoof boot (thanks, Soft-Ride!), with its removable gel-pad orthotics. These rehabilitation boots are familiar to many Hoofcare and Lameness readers, and lucky come in a vast array of sizes--even tiny enough for a mini. They taped the boot on the stump of his pastern each day and removed it each night. The staff massaged him, and powdered his stub, and they learned a lot about three-legged horses, especially how they need to re-disribute their weight after a long time of not using one of their limbs.

Here's a YouTube interview with Lane Farr, designer of the prosthetic clamshell boot.

From seeing a bit of improvement with the Soft-Ride boot, the rescue team, led by Bob Williams, scratched their heads and wondered what a human orthotics designer might be able to design for a tiny artificial hoof replacement.

Enter Lane Farr, a prosthetic designer with a lifelong connection to horses and a way with carbon graphite and fiberglas and gel foam. Lane designed a prosthetic support device that he told me both allows the little horse to bear some weight on what passes for a hoof, and also transfers some of the weight to a passive load share state rather than the direct load straight down the bony column through the pastern.

Lane told me that there is no medical history on the little horse,but that the assumption is that the deformity is congenital--it was present at birth.

The support/weight transfer boot has been through a couple of stages of re-design and Midnite is now able to run with it on, as you can see in the AP video.

I thought you might like to see these other videos, which show the boot up close. I'd love to see the inside of the boot and the gel construction and will ask Lane and Bob if we might get pictures of that. They're both busy with reporters today, and I know how they can be.

Hoofcare and Lameness apologizes for the ads on these and all videos. They are embedded by the hosts and they're just there, sorry. These television stations and media outlets are generous to allow Hoofcare and Lameness to embed the videos, or to post them on YouTube the way that Associated Press did. Many won't allow embedding at all, which is why many great stories can't be posted on the Hoof Blog. But for those who do work with us--the ads are ok, even though I will probably never need an orthodontist in Fort Worth! It seems like the least I can do for the privilege of sharing videos with you.

This short video has some good close-up views of the boot.

Finally, a big thanks, hats off and high-five to Bob Williams, the Board of Directors of Ranch Hands Rescue, Prostheticare, and Lane Farr for all their hard work on behalf of this little horse. I know some people say, "So what? Why bother?" but I would remind you that these are real people, without a lot of money to invest in a single case and who are pretty much self-taught, who took a risk and came up with a successful, low-impact way to help this horse.

What none of these videos tell you is that Ranch Hand Rescue could use your donation to help Midnite and all their other rescued animals. Here's a direct clickable link to their PayPal donation page. Please help them out!

It is true that with a $14,000 price tag, this clamshell design isn't going to sold every night on eBay, but this story has received more press than any story since Molly the Pony back in 2008, and I can tell you that that story had an amazing impact on the way that people think about going the extra mile and burning some extra brain cells before they give up on a horse.

I'd also like to thank Bob and Lane for taking the time to return my pestering calls when they have way too much going on already. Like me, they think you all, the readers of this blog, might be the ones who can make a difference.

Please prove them to be right.

Click here to go to the order/info page; it's easy to get yours!

 © Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing; Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found. Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any direct compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned, other than Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Winter Is Here! So Are Studded Hoof Boots

6 January 2010 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog at Hoofcare.com

This art is from an ad for ice calks that was in the Horseshoers Journal 100 years ago; courtesy of Cornell University's Flower Sprecher Veterinary Library.

Ten years ago I wrote an article on winter hoofcare. It began:

"Does the sound of sleigh bells set your nerves on edge, because you are anticipating a wreck on the next icy patch down the road? Do you dream of the day next spring when you will be able to see your horse below his knees? Do you lie awake at night designing heating wires that can be implanted in horseshoe pads to melt the ice balls?"

Funny how things don't change much around here. Winter still makes me nervous. The fresh snow is beautiful for a week at the most. Then it either melts or solidifies into an ice field, especially any place the ground is level.

Right about the time that happens for the first time each winter, horse owners start to panic, especially if they haven't had their horses shoes adapted for winter or pulled. Flat shoes on ice induce unanticipated equine acrobatics and an immediate call to the farrier. Sometimes, unfortunately, the call is to the vet clinic.

Today I found out that Cavallo is now offering studs for their hoof boots. Studded hoof boots are becoming a more universally-available traction option for winter riding or driving on horses that are barefoot or seasonally shoeless.

These photos, courtesy of Cavallo, show how simple it is to drill the hole for the stud and then use the drill to insert it. I'm assuming that the same drill is reversible and will remove the stud as well. You'd have to be very careful not to drill through the sole of the boot and you will notice in these photos that they are drilling into a brand new boot. If you are drilling into an older boot that has a lot of wear on the "tread", the placement of the studs would be critical, and the whole process might require more thought and accuracy. As always, check with the manufacturer of the boots for their experiences. Most horse owners would want to leave this drilling task to their farriers. If you make a mistake, you've ruined an expensive piece of equipment.

This is a pretty big difference from the insertion and removal of studs in a horseshoe that is attached to the horse, where a stud wrench is required. I think there would be a danger that horse owners would be tempted to leave the studs in the boots all winter and never take them out, or ride in them when they aren't needed. They'd also need to remember to plug the holes when the studs are removed. Just as with shoe calks, owners or grooms would need to keep the stud holes clean, check the studs for cracks and wear, and make sure the holes aren't fatigued. Horseshoes are replaced periodically, but a hoof boot is built to last for quite a while, so the stud hole will need to be checked to make sure it has a good grip on the neck of the stud.

There must be 101 ways to winter-shoe a horse, with a variety of rim and full pads, hard surfacing puddles, nuggets, pin studs, screw-in studs, ice/frost nails, etc. This draft horse is an extreme example; he is shod to work in the woods and pull a sleigh. Notice how much the special ice nails protrude from the shoe. (Michael Wildenstein photo)

Now, won't someone design a simple velcro strap-on device with pre-installed permanent studs? (One that stays put and doesn't shift under the horse as it walks, please.) Ice-studded strap-ons could be handy for very temporary use, and you would want to be able to put them on one horse, take them off, and put them on the next, so they should be adjustable in size. Another idea: Some sort of super-gritty (on the ground side), anti-slip sole packing material might be a godsend, just the thing for boarding barns that won't allow horses to wear winter shoes or hind shoes if they are turned out.

It's always important to remember that horses can massacre their pasterns and coronets with studs and that horses that interfere when tired can and will cut their legs or bandages. And that you should obviously be consistent in the placement of studs in boots. Logic says don't use the horse with just one studded boot on and be very careful about turning horses out with boots on. And remember that if they step on you with a studded boot on, it will hurt!

The biggest caveat of all in using studded boots would have to be that the boots fit well and the horse moves well in them. An icy day is not the time to try boots on a horse for the first time. Studded boots are not a replacement for shoes but rather safety and traction equipment for an unshod horse. Nothing is more upsetting than seeing a horse slip and slide across a paddock; it's even more upsetting to be on top of a sliding horse.

Even with studded hoof boots, a horse won't turn into one of those tolting Icelandics who race on the ice. They wear special shoes to be able to do that.

It's not too late to get a horse set up for this winter. It's never too late to take the best care you can to prevent injuries and stress. How great it is that horses have so many options these days. It means that people care and that clever-minded companies are recognizing a need and serving up new ideas to try.

Note: Horse owners should check with hoof boot manufacturers for individual recommendations not only of how to install studs, but what studs to install. Some hoof boot manufacturers include Stride Equus (Marquis), Delta-Mustad, Easy Care, Theo, Swiss Horse Boot, and Renegade, in addition to Cavallo, who just started selling their new boot-specific studs today. A little homework goes a long way.

© 2010 Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask.

Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page).

To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found.

Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.