Jess' slightly fat leg - update

Jessey

Well-Known Member
Dec 20, 2004
28,298
18,001
113
43
Suffolk, UK
Part of my plan for Jess' fat leg is to bandage in the hopes of preventing it swelling, but I have sat here for the last hour reaslising it has been a very long time since I applied anything other than a basic below knee to fetlock bandage using quilts/exercise bandages or polo wraps :p Her swelling is from coronet/heel to fetlock, how the piddle do you bandage that bit and what with? ;)

I have; polo wraps, exercise wraps, shaped pads, quilts, gamgee, vet wrap in my kit, probably more if I think about it
ETA: or is it better to cheat and order some mud fever/turnout boots or cavallo pastern wraps that go right down over the coronet and hope they are snug enough to help? or tubigrip?
And here I am with those straws again, what about inflatable armbands, that could give compression........o_O
 
Last edited:
Bandaging is something I am not well practised in. My vet warned me early on that getting it wrong can make things worse so I’ve always chickened out of doing any!!! However, I do know the basics, just not keen on doing it. I like the sound of a tubigrip.
i have mud fever boots for Chloe and they do go (I think ) where you’re needing them, and from memory they are very snug.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jessey
Bandaging is something I am not well practised in. My vet warned me early on that getting it wrong can make things worse so I’ve always chickened out of doing any!!! However, I do know the basics, just not keen on doing it. I like the sound of a tubigrip.
i have mud fever boots for Chloe and they do go (I think ) where you’re needing them, and from memory they are very snug.
Thanks :) What brand are yours @Trewsers?
 
I think I'd use polo bandages and reusable gamgee/pads and just bandage the leg as normal but then go right down to the hoof.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jessey
Thanks :) What brand are yours @Trewsers?

I think they are Equilibrium. I found them the other day lol when I was having a tack room tidy. They were really good as I remember. We stopped using them last winter as the mud was nowhere near as bad and her feathers were longer. I do know they stood up to a lot of cleaning when I did use them!
 
Replace the polo bandage with vet wrap and then put turnout boots over the top? I wouldn't think turnout boots alone would give enough support for what you want. Or, depending on how long you want to leave them on for, sports medicine type boots? It's never easy!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jessey
Replace the polo bandage with vet wrap and then put turnout boots over the top? I wouldn't think turnout boots alone would give enough support for what you want. Or, depending on how long you want to leave them on for, sports medicine type boots? It's never easy!
I have SMB's and equilibrium stretch and flex wraps, though the latter didn't help when ridden in. TBH I am not sure any bandage will give any compression where I need it, it starts between the lateral cartilages and spreads up from there so I'm struggling to see how anything will help at the point of origin :( unless I put a massive packing from heel to fetlock or something, but I can't envision it?
 
From what I've seen of the stretch and flex wraps I can't imagine them doing much except protect against light scuffs.

I can't see how you'll get compression without restricting the joint, but maybe just some support would be enough to make a difference. Also you can get magnetic bands to fit that area, and again while they wouldn't give compression magnets are meant to help with swelling.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jessey
Have you ever tried magnetic boots on her, Jessey? I know it's difficult with her living out, but it might be something you can use for the time you're at the yard each day.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Trewsers and Jessey
From what I've seen of the stretch and flex wraps I can't imagine them doing much except protect against light scuffs.

I can't see how you'll get compression without restricting the joint, but maybe just some support would be enough to make a difference. Also you can get magnetic bands to fit that area, and again while they wouldn't give compression magnets are meant to help with swelling.
The S&F are a very similar design to SMB's, just thinner neoprene so don't get as hot, neither go far down the pastern though, just to under the fetlock. I have magnets I can try but I'm not overly hopeful for those working TBH.
Compression is the human go to for edema management, it doesn't have to be tight but there but it does have to cover the whole area or the swelling will just collect around it and it needs to be even, so getting good coverage is pretty essential. I am ok with marginal restriction of the joint for short periods, I only plan to leave this on for a couple of hours after exercise to try and circumvent the accumulation during the recovery phase. The poor sod wears fly rug/mask/boots all summer, I don't want her stuck in head to toe bubble wrap year round so desperately want to find a solution avoiding that if possible.
 
Have you ever tried magnetic boots on her, Jessey? I know it's difficult with her living out, but it might be something you can use for the time you're at the yard each day.
I have magnets I can try, I'm not overly hopeful they will do much but silly not to try them when I have them :) I did look at the EquStreamz bands, but they are pretty pricey if they don't work and I've seen lots say they don't last very well, I am hoping to look at them in person at YHL next week.
 
What about tubigrip Jessey going right down over the hoof and her boots to help keep it down if its only going to be while you're there? You could try different sizes to get the desired support you want?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jessey
EquStreamz, in my opinion, don't last well/ Have a look at Equine Magnetix on Facebook - they're a bit bulkier (though softer), a lot cheaper & in my experience work just as well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jessey
What about tubigrip Jessey going right down over the hoof and her boots to help keep it down if its only going to be while you're there? You could try different sizes to get the desired support you want?
Yep I was thinking tubigrip might work, I was thinking I would just tape it to the hoof, as we aren't sure what's going on we have questioned if the boots could have caused this, though it still comes up without and I have switched to different boots for the last few rides, but still I don't want them on more than nec. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: mystiquemalaika
I'm so confused by this leg :( We did a 15 minute walk last night on the roads and it's still as fat as it gets if I do an hour W/T/C in the forest. I put the magnets on (they are flat pads with velcro on the back that you can put in a rug or bandage, brought when magnets were a new thing) with a snug polo wrap for 45 minutes after riding and I could see the first hint it would swell (filling between the lateral cartilages) before I left. I popped her back on track bell boots on this morning, though they haven't seemed to help other days I tried.
 
That's so odd - not helping here!

She's not knocking it or striking into it? Twisting it very slightly? How good is her foot balance - could it be a slight strain there or inside the hoof that shows higher up because the foot can't swell much? Little In sometimes gets slight swelling if he's due to be shod and they've got slightly past his ok length, but then his feet are a mess inside.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jessey
newrider.com