72 



ANIMAL MANAGEMENT. 



How to 

 bandage. 



How to 

 fasten. 



Bandage?: 



for 



warmth. 



Bandages 

 for work. 



Material 



of 



bandages. 



here. Bandages ,are put on either to keep the legs warm and the 

 circulation active or to protect them from injury whilst at the work, the first 

 of these uses being mainly considered here. To keep the legs warm a 

 bandage should not be any tighter than will prevent it slipping down ; 

 should cover as large a surface as possible ; be applied without wrinkles 

 and with even pressure throughout, and not fastened any tighter than the 

 whole has been put on. 



Stable bandages are usually about seven or eight feet long, and 

 should be put on as follows : — Starting just below the knee or hock, 

 enough should be unrolled to make one turn round the leg, at a slight 

 downward slope ; keeping the bandage close to the leg, allow it to unroll 

 itself round and down the limb in the same direction it was started, until 

 it reaches the coronet ; here it will naturally take an upward direction and 

 its unrolling should be continued till the point from which it started is 

 reached, where the tapes are to be tied in a bow on the outside of the leg, 

 and the ends should be tucked in neatly. In this position they will be 

 out of the way and not likely to be rubbed undone. As an additional 

 security the corner of the loose end first applied may be turned down so 

 that the next turn of the bandage will pass over and fix it. The nice 

 adjustment of a bandage can only be acquired by practice, but the above 

 directions will enable a correct method to be adopted. The usual 

 difficulties are : starting to unwind at too great a slope and then 

 endeavouring to correct this by pulling the material in the required 

 direction ; and, failing to get the bandage over the fetlock without altering 

 its direction. 



Warm bandages put on too tight defeat their object by stopping the 

 circulation, and wrinkles are very likely to cause injury to the skin from 

 the pressure of the folds which lie over them : for the same reason, knots 

 or bows should not be tied either on the back of the tendons or on the 

 front of the shin ; they should invariably be removed twice daily and 

 readjusted, a precaution which should prevent any injury from pressure. 



liandages put on for work should reach from below the knee to 

 above the fetlock and should not in any way interfere with either joint ; 

 they should be fastened with a double strap and buckle stitched on the 

 material, or if tapes are used, by a knot ; they should be removed as 

 soon as the work is done. 



Material of bandages should be pure woollen for warmth, and some 

 are now made with a fleecy side for this purpose. Bandages which are 

 put on to protect the legs from injury while at work, are, or should be, 

 made of stockinette, an elastic material which permits of some pressure 

 being applied when they are put on. 



