Standing wraps on horses – wrap one leg, or wrap both legs for an injury?
If a horse needs leg support, should you use standing wraps on one leg or both? AH – this is a debate on par with horseshoes, blankets, and clipping! So I decided to ask someone with tons of experience in the matter. So I picked Dr. Orsini, a laminitis specialist at the New Bolton Center in Pennsylvania.
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It depends!
- Sometimes you need to wrap both legs, sometimes you can only wrap one.
- Dr. Orsini boiled it down to this simple formula – for a muscular or skeletal issue, you should wrap both the affected and the unaffected leg.
- For superficial things like cuts, wounds, etc, you can likely skip wrapping both legs and focus on the leg with the issue.
- Dr. Orsini also mentioned that if you have a weight-bearing issue – the uninjured leg will take more weight and can develop into supporting limb laminitis.
- Proactive icing of both legs and hooves, along with diligent veterinary visits, are warranted in cases like that. And by icing, we mean ice for 24-48 hours or more to help prevent laminitis.
These wraps are after almost 24 hours of travel – trailer, plane, and another trailer!
Considerations when wrapping your horse’s leg or legs:
- Spend the time talking to your vet about how long your horse’s affected leg needs to be wrapped. Can it get some air?
- What about the other unaffected leg? Do you need to do any other supportive care for the unaffected leg?
- Also, determine a wrapping schedule and decide how many legs need to be wrapped.
- Is your horse going to be on stall rest? Some horses stock up, and wrapping as a preventative measure is a good idea, especially on the hind legs. So, you might be wrapping all of the legs. Yeah for spaghetti laundry!
- Is your horse getting tangled up as he chews on his wraps? Well, aside from hanging the biggest hay net in the universe as a distraction, you may want to skip wrapping both legs as the unwrapping process might be more destructive. And find a deterrent, like strong soap, to coat the wrap. You can also use hot sauce, but the active ingredients of capsaicin will test positive at shows.
The first time I posted this picture to social media – you guys were MAD! Turns out, it’s totally OK in some situations.
- What’s the weather like? Well, if you are in the middle of a hot humid heatwave, wrapping legs is likely the last thing you want to do unless necessary, like maybe overnight. If your horse has in-and-out privileges, wraps might not work well if rain is in the forecast. Plan accordingly.
for thoughts on quilts vs. no-bows, read this
for thoughts on stopping your horse from eating his wraps, read this
Quilts vs. no-bows – the wrapping technique is the same.
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Hi-quality no-bows with Back On Track reputation (that's good!)
These boots are the gold standard for jumpers and horses that like to interfere.
Be practical when wrapping your horse's legs with a traditional color, but toss in some spice with the understated pattern!
Protect your horse's legs and let them shine bright.
Show off your horse's legs with these safe, reflective, and fashionable boots.
These SilverSox are great for protecting the legs from rubs, help with scratches and mud fever, and provide some compression, too.
Thank you!
