POULTICES AND POULTICING 



31 



Fig. 445. Poulticing the Throat 



injured part, and the greatest benefit will be obtained by thoroughly 

 enclosing the foot in the poultice. 



To secure the bag to the limb, tape or strong cord may be used. 



The importance of having 

 plenty of material under the 

 binder should be impressed 

 upon the beginner, so that 

 he may make the poultice 

 perfectly secure without the 

 danger of excoriating or 

 otherwise injuring the skin 

 beneath. 



A more workmanlike plan 

 of retaining a poultice on the 

 foot is that of bandaging 

 over it from the coronet up- 

 wards. 



The Heel is perhaps as convenient a situation as any for adjusting a 

 poultice, nothing but a bandage being needed to keep it in position, but it 

 is a highly sensitive portion of the horse's skin, and a good nurse will sup- 

 port his cataplasm on some soft 

 material. A piece of tow spread 

 out to the desired breadth serves 

 the purpose well. It has been 

 elsewhere remarked, and its im- 

 portance permits of repetition 

 here, that no application to the 

 integument of the horse should 

 be hotter than will be found com- 

 fortable to the bare elbow of the 

 attendant. Many bad heels are 

 made worse by neglect of this 

 precaution, and the same remark 

 applies to those cases where poul- 

 tices are allowed to become stale 

 before being changed. 



The Fetlock presents but one 

 difficulty in the retention of a 



poultice, and that is its roundness, and the tendency of the latter to slip 

 down. To prevent this a long bandage is first rolled round the pastern below 

 to form a support, and then continued lightly but firmly over the poultice. 



Fig. 446. Poultice applied to the Withers 



